Blogs from Houston

Abram Himelstein, who runs a neighborhood story project at an inner-city New Orleans high school, blogs from Houston. He desperately wants to hear from his students and friends. "With each text message that comes through, I feel less underwater."

He says most people in the Astrodome as of now are from the Seventh Ward, not many from the Sixth.

It would be nice to tell you that in exile, we are one big ward, and the divisions are gone. But in truth there are many of us who are setting up laptops and and checking lists on-line, while others are writing names on pieces of cardboard, trying to span hundreds of miles with hand-held signs.

He vows to return. "True, some of the old crumbly charm will be replaced by the eerily functional. More sheetrock, less plaster. But maybe we will know each other better and look after each other better."

The Houston Chronicle has its own blog at the Astrodome.