Houma

The spill has brought great benefits to many people. Unemployed contractors suddenly have 3-5 months of 12 hour day work, with overtime after 8 hours, often to sit idle. There is time to share pictures and stories of where life has taken them.

Like Bill from Bremerton. He was a programmer for Boeing, laid off in 2006. Found a job online in Juneau, AK. Moved to a basement apartment, as housing is a scarce commodity in Junea, while continuing to pay a mortage on a nice place just across a ferry ride from Seattle. But he can't get back. He got another job in Juneau after a while with the Coast Guard, thinking that with that experience he would be more likely to get hired on by the Navy bases in the Seattle area. That was almost four years ago, and so now he's biding his time, not really having much to return to, and not really having a meaningful contribution to make to the spill, but getting paid all the same.

It has become limbo for lots of folks. The boats idled at the docks, while awaiting the status change in the response from Level II to Level III, an artificial milestone that is achieved only with the initiation of a cascade of events starting with the bottom kill of the well. Never mind that there are 5000 feet of cement in the well casing and tubing, more than enough to permanently seal off the well, and more than the standard that has been used to seal off any other gulf well.

Only a bottom kill will do.

And so the army in limbo waits and appears busy, on Fox TV, in command posts, or doesn't even bother, but instead struggles with the internal decay that comes from taking something for nothing, without providing a service. The most hardened can rationalize this in the wrapper of a retainer, paid to be on hold.

Dr. Seus's waiting place.