Rescuers find elderly man alive, wife dead

[Ruby Romaine]

We have half a happy ending'
Wednesday, September 21, 2005; Posted: 9:17 a.m. EDT (13:17 GMT)
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- John and Leola Lyons stayed together, locked in their neat little blue house, riding out the killer storm and the flood that followed.

A pair of agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms found the elderly couple inside their house Tuesday, more than three weeks after Hurricane Katrina roared through New Orleans.

John was keeping watch over his wife's body.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/21/katrina.rescue.ap/

[Seedersandleechers]

1. How sad...

[Rose Siding]

2. Oh, hell

Bless you, Mr Lyons, and may you find some peace :cry:

[Lerkfish]

3. how the hell is that a happy ending for the husband?

The love of your long life dies beside you and you are trapped with her body for five days.

wtf? happy ending?????

[GregW]

7. Happy in a Republican sort of way ...

If he had died too there'd be no evil DEATH tax.

[Bombero1956]

16. happy in a Republican way

because he can pay for her funeral instead of the feds.

[booksenkatz]

4. I've been wondering, and now I've got it confirmed

If all they are doing is knocking without actually entering, what if a survivor is asleep or passed out? Obviously, this man did not hear the knocking the first time a crew passed through. How many people have died because they just didn't happen to hear the knock that would have saved them?

Well, their deaths won't count anyway, since they were not killed directly by the winds of Katrina mussing their hair. Only wind-related deaths are being counted, right?
:puke:

[uppityperson]

9. There are many many unenetered unchecked houses

big red X means someone put a big red X on the door. If there is no "0", means they haven't checked. Lots of "NE" on doors, meaning no one entered to check it out. I thought I was cynical before going down there, am much worse now. Peace

[Ruby Romaine]

17. lots of elderly (including my dad) can't hear well- what if they couldn't

grab their hearing aid in time,if they have one, or the battery died?

[Ruby Romaine]

5. Mr Ernest Hollingsworth died on Sat. (rescued by NG who defied FEMA order)

http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_264015444.html

Hopefully Gerald Martin is doing well(found after 18 days)
http://www.nbc11.com/news/4992090/detail.html

[NorthernSpy]

6. the Lyonses had bottled water and canned food...

... but Leola Lyons didn't survive.

You don't prepare for disaster, you die. You do prepare for disaster, you die anyway.

:(

[Ruby Romaine]

8. remember what Cheney said- if you vote for Kerry you'll die-

Speaking to voters in Iowa on September 7, Cheney expressed what is now the very public message of the Bush campaign: "It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again. And we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating."

[Gregorian]

10. Same administration. Same lack of dignity.

Bush- the unnatural disaster.

[geckosfeet]

11. Not happy at all if you ask me. It is a tragic episode in thier lives

and in our countries history.

How does one see a half full glass for this man?

[Mabus]

12. That hurts to the core

It just fucking hurts. I can't imagine being alone with my spouse next to me dead. This is not a happy ending. The poor man. My heart grieves for him.

[lizziegrace]

14. It breaks my heart

to hear of and imagine what the people of NO must have endured. Words fail me and I'm running out of tears.

[Mabus]

15. Everytime I think I've run out

of tears something like this happens and they all come back. Words to describe how much this hurts aren't there. It is all pure emotion right now and even that it is mixture of compassion, hurt and anger.


welcome to DU. :hi:

[UpInArms]

13. U.S. GOVT: KATRINA RECOVERY FOCUSED ON DEBRIS REMOVAL

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/default.asp?refresh=on&Property=symb&Value=&doctype=806&submit=Go&scid=0&siteid=mktw&cbsReferrer=

1:26pm 09/21/05 U.S. GOVT: KATRINA RECOVERY FOCUSED ON DEBRIS REMOVAL

This appears to by why bodies continue to decay in the streets, on fences and in houses.

"Debris Removal" is the "focus"

:argh:

[Coventina]

18. Not to mention that there are many pets still to be rescued as well

For some reason, living beings aren't as important as "housekeeping"?