Recent Posts
Home >Unlabelled > MSNBC's Ed Schultz returns to scene of post-Katrina relief airlift on Astini News
MSNBC's Ed Schultz returns to scene of post-Katrina relief airlift on Astini News
Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2011 by astini
It's the time of year when locals share Hurricane Katrina evacuation stories, and the McKenzie family has a beauty, thanks to MSNBC prime-time host Ed Schultz. Schultz will be in town to host a free medical clinic Monday (August 29), and preside over a live remote broadcast of his cable-news show.
But his relief efforts immediately post-Katrina relocated the 9th Ward's Larry and Yolanda McKenzie and their college-age daughter Brittany to a land where snowballs are much less flavorful.
With their New Orleans home flooded and immediate prospects looking grim, the McKenzies had made their way to temporary shelter at a church near Gulfport, Miss., when someone there walked into a roomful of evacuees and asked, "Does anybody here want to go to Fargo?"
As in North Dakota. Larry said yes.
"I was just looking for some stability and some normalcy," he said during a recent interview.
A bus mechanic at home, Larry McKenzie was placed in a job, and his family was found an apartment. To ensure only a minor interruption in her education, daughter Brittany, at the time a University of New Orleans student aiming for a career in medicine, was enrolled at North Dakota State.
When Katrina struck and the levees failed, Schultz was hosting his daily syndicated radio show from his North Dakota base. He watched, like everyone else, coverage of New Orleans flooding and Gulf Coast devastation, and felt he had to act.
His listeners began building a relief fund, which would eventually top $100,000. Schultz headed down, to both broadcast his show live from the scene and serve as a witness.
"It was total devastation," Schultz said in a recent interview. "You got the feeling, 'How in the world will these people ever get back on their feet?' It seemed like such a heavy lift at the time.
"We knew we couldn't help everybody. But we knew that if we could help a few people and change a few lives, it would be worth it."
The first airlift moved a total of eight people, including the McKenzies, to Fargo. Eventually, 20 in all would be temporarily relocated and cared for.
Schultz joined MSNBC's prime time lineup in October 2009. "The Ed Show" will originate from New Orleans at 9 p.m. Monday. Clinic details: www.regonline.com/2011NOLACARE.
Did Schultz's evacuees experience some culture clash? Sure. (We, and our emergency hosts in reciprocity, all did.)
But they also got a big dose of the normalcy that Larry McKenzie was yearning for.
Normalcy, Fargo-style.
"They had ice storms," said Brittany McKenzie. "There was snow from October until April. It was extremely cold, like bone-chilling."
Today, though, the family's memories of their Fargo airlift are all about warmth.
Brittany is back in a Louisiana school, Our Lady of the Lake College in Baton Rouge, with plans to become a podiatrist. (She's volunteered to help out at Monday's clinic.)
Larry is back fixing buses in New Orleans.
But there was a day, six years and a few days ago, when a homeless, flooded-out New Orleans family landed nearly 1,500 miles away from home to be met by a large welcoming committee of total strangers.
"Several hundred people met that jet at the Fargo airport," Schultz said. "I just felt moved. At that point, I knew we were doing the right thing."
"They understood what had happened," Larry McKenzie said. "And they reached out."
Dave Walker can be reached at dwalker@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3429. Read more TV coverage at NOLA.com/tv. Follow him at twitter.com/davewalkertp.
Blog Archive
-
▼
2011
(2934)
-
▼
August
(221)
- Alex Kinal comes from land Down Under to punt at W...
- Batman: Arkham City gets 'New Game Plus' mode - Sh...
- Beauty and the Beast Jr. - Fountain Hills, Arizona...
- ABC hopes `The Chew' can win over daytime viewers ...
- Lessons from Hurricane Irene: why it wasnât stro...
- Styx sets show at the Rialto on Astini News
- ÂMona Lisa heist fascinates a century later on ...
- BART likely to name new general manager at special...
- Camp & RV 4.0 Hits the Highway and Makes the Outdo...
- Thrills and chills on after-dark Alcatraz tour on ...
- US Postal Service may close 13 Metro Detroit offic...
- âScarfaceâ is revered nearly 30 years later â...
- Hearts reflect 9/11 victims - Local News - Delawar...
- Crews Repairing Washington Monument Ahead Of Irene...
- Jim Evans: Novel changed outlook | The Montgomery ...
- How to play Minecraft on your DS via DScraft | DS ...
- BBC News - 'Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh' causes s...
- Ask Karen Fresh Water Infection on Astini News
- Absurd NY Times Story on Green Jobs Ignores âExp...
- Carlton Fisk Still Irked by Deion Sanders' Showboa...
- Miracle dog survives amputation, cardiac arrest, t...
- Alexandra Richards looks like a model girl on Asti...
- Ozzy Osbourne in 'God Bless Ozzy Osbourne' on Asti...
- Did Ellen's Convoy Injure Prince Johnson's Man? on...
- Adult dogs bond well too on Astini News
- Sri Lanka seeks probe on "grease devil" facebook p...
- The American Reporter Vol. 16, No. 4,277 on Astini...
- DCA Warns About 'Backfeeding' with Portable Genera...
- Segway entrepreneur Jimi Heselden left £340m to f...
- Victoria Beckham feels boring next to her new BFF ...
- Seagate Barracuda (500GB) Preview | PCMag.com on A...
- New Looks Behind the Scenes of Dark of the Moon on...
- Zac Efronâs âThe Lucky Oneâ Lucks Out With R...
- Yamaha to Stop Developing JDM Motorcycles Over 250...
- TV chef heats up kitchen in Redondo restaurant for...
- A night out in Fun City » Opinion » Cordele Disp...
- Russian Rocket Crash Could Delay Private Mission t...
- TBS to carry Brewers-Cubs on Sunday on Astini News
- Air-Conditioner Thefts Plaguing Mount Airy - Local...
- Timken and UA Join Forces to Accelerate Commercial...
- Dogs & Cats Forever pet of the week » TCPalm.com ...
- Disney breaks the mold with Aulani resort - travel...
- Steelers' Cotchery showing similarity to old relia...
- Michael Fassbender Almost Became a Rock Star! | Sh...
- Cosmopolitan Partners With SAFER to Launch Campaig...
- Denver sets fourth heat record in seven days on As...
- New York Giants again adjust to the weather on Ast...
- Ben Stein destroys OâReillyâs âTalking Point...
- Tiger Woods tries to find his groove again - News ...
- Doctors Using Stem Cells To Treat MS on Astini News
- Chocolat reveals dance practice video for âSyndr...
- Shutterfly Expands Baby Stationery Collection with...
- San Jose Sharks Lock Up Logan Couture for 2 Additi...
- A&E Announces 'Gene Simmons: Family Jewels' Return...
- Miranda Cosgrove is Recovering From Surgery Follow...
- Watkins Glen race track looking at safety again on...
- Potato futures gain 0.90 pc on spot demand on Asti...
- What Your Old Graphing Calculator Tells Us About T...
- Attleboro break-ins linked to metals - The Sun Chr...
- Isn't that illegal? Answering uncomfortable interv...
- Hurricane Irene: Apps for Your iPad, iPhone, iPod ...
- on Astini News
- Celebrity Column: The Band Perry has big family | ...
- Florida Lottery Teams up with Eight Florida Univer...
- London carnival kicks off amid riot concerns - Â L...
- Nagasaki: On the trail of Madame Butterfly on Ast...
- Aliens (Two Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1986] on ...
- Giants' stumble continues with extra-inning loss t...
- Golf benefit Sept. 17 for Mason City boy on Astini...
- Real 'Spiderman' hailed a hero after pulling down ...
- How to Plant, Care for and Prune Vinca Vine - Asso...
- New York Stock Exchange ready for trading Monday -...
- Zodiac Answers offers a synthesis of ancient astro...
- Carlos Beltran hits first HR since joining Giants ...
- Charlize Theron wants to have a baby on Astini News
- BBC News - Nelson Mandela musical opens in South A...
- Why Bruce Wayne Isn't In Batman: Arkham City on As...
- MSNBC's Ed Schultz returns to scene of post-Katrin...
- Astro-Med, Inc. Elects Mitchell I. Quain to Its Bo...
- Daniel Radcliffe is All Eye in 'The Woman in Black...
- Entourage forecasts over 170% growth on increased ...
- What life lesson came from your first job? - Local...
- Mitchel Musso & Doc Shaw: âKingsâ of D23 | Doc...
- NEC Introduces New Android(TM) based Cloud Communi...
- Black-coal generators pan plan for dirty mates on ...
- Singapore success on Wynn's radar - Business on As...
- Jesse James And Kat Von D Back Together: Engagemen...
- Mark Peikert reviews Skyjack, by Geoffrey Gray on ...
- National Cathedral Gets a Boo Boo - Housing Comple...
- Las Vegas woman arrested in toddler's death - News...
- Job searches can lead to scams - Framingham, MA on...
- Tony Romo: I Didn't Drink at My Bachelor Party | S...
- Apple DNA will remain the same after Steve Jobs, n...
- Sky and BBC News attract record audiences during U...
- El Bulli: Cooking in Progress on Astini News
- Big Brother props in charity sale - News, Entertai...
- Cincinnati Reds beat Washington Nationals | The Ne...
- Rupert Grint turns 23 - Celebrity Circuit on Astin...
- Singapore success on Wynn's radar - Business on As...
- Sean Kingston walks first red carpet since acciden...
-
▼
August
(221)