When my girlfriend moved back to New Orleans in July, I immediately planned to visit her during Labor Day weekend. I bought my plane ticket. We made our plans. In the first painful weeks of missing each other, we looked anxiously forward to the first weekend in September. Even when it was clear that hurricane Katrina would hit New Orleans directly, I still thought I'd make it down there. Obviously all of that has changed now.

Fortunately she and her family and friends are safe and far from the city. Stuck in a hotel, they're trapped in limbo like thousands, maybe millions of others. They can't go home. They don't know if they even still have homes. Hard information is scarce. So is patience. Frustration grows because the situation is beyond understanding and control. They can only wait for the days to go by and the water to drain out of New Orleans.

A number of music sites have posted New Orleans-related songs as well as links to the Red Cross and other organizations. I'd like to join this chorus. Here are a few tracks to download and a couple important sites to visit.

- Ralph Willis - "Baby Please Don't Go (Down to New Orleans)" (MP3)
- R.E.M. - "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" (MP3)
- Dr. John - "Basin Street Blues" (MP3)
- The Meters - "Talkin' 'Bout New Orleans" (MP3)
- Andi Hoffmann & B-Goes - "Riding to New Orleans" (MP3)
- Bob Dylan - "Tangled Up in Blue" (Real Audio)

- American Red Cross
- Habitat For Humanity