Katrina

I am going to paint you a picture, all jokes aside for now. We arrived in New Orleans, found the station and purchased a ticket to see the areas in which the storm Katrina had made the most damage. As we boarded the bus and got under way, the driver started...He told us how the storm had affected everyone in New Orleans. "just imagine,yourself in your house, the water is coming up at 5ft. an hour, you can't get your car out, it is swept away or under water already, you have headed for the attic, with your family, and by the time you get up high enough, it is dark, cold(no electricity), you are hungry, there is no place to go to the bathroom, if you take medication, hopefully you thought to grab it before the water got it, you're thinking that you need to let someone know that you're there, but how? If you just had an ax, how many of us keep one in our attic, so you try with anything that is available to get through the roof, enough anyway to see what is going on. When you finally get a hole big enough to look out, all you see is water,floating debris,even bodys, and some of your neighbors, just as desperate, also on their roofs. You wait,and wait,and wait, hungry,exhausted, perhaps even sick, and where do you go to the bathroom?, for at least 24, maybe 48hrs, for someone to rescue you. When they do, where do they take you??? There are no hotels, motels,hospitals, these have all been flooded as well. You are taken care of as best as they can, then left to your own devices to find food, water etc. Now YOU, as myself, think, then get out of town for pete sake, but that is NOT an option, you see the only way out is the huge freeway bridge, and about halfway out of town the bridge dips, and in this dip is 25ft or more of water, and there are thousands on the top level of this bridge, hoping that the water won't get them too. The stench is horrible, this storm and all the water, affected the sewer system,the water system, etc., and broke the levies that you were told would NEVER break. Are you getting the picture yet??
What I am trying to get across, is that these people couldn't go to the local filling station to go to the bathroom, get water,food,a change of clothes. They were all in this situation, some for days, then after that, with no home to go to, the officials won't let you back in at all to see what shape your place is in, or if you could possibly get some of your clothing out, there was just to much contamination, but even if you can, you can't wash it, no Laundromats.
This was so hard for me to imagine, we take so much for granted. Even after 3yrs, some people are still not back in their homes, some will never be, lots of folks just got out. New Orleans went from approx. 420thousand people and today is a town of only 250thousand. They have fixed up a lot of it, but I will show you pictures, and try to explain to you, as much as I remember about them.
Before our guide was finished, our bus was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. My heart was so heavy with sorrow, it is hard to explain. Granted, a lot of these people that stayed just want someone else to do everything for them, but so many didn't have enough insurance, or they are to old to rebuild, or the old shack they lived in wasn't worth fixing, and they couldn't afford it anyway. Some are still living under a bridge, just waiting, waiting....
There were also parts that weren't flooded, but they were affected because so many rascals went in, and if they could get to you, they tried to loot, and take what you have, for themselves, with no thought of anyone but themselves. Sooo... these were and still are hard times, but the levies are fixed, and as I will show you they have new systems in place to stop this in case of another storm like Katrina. They have had Hurricanes, but none as brutal and devastating as this one.
Time after time we heard,"I lost everything in Katrina, but I'm still alive, Thank God" One lady in Wal~mart had on a shirt that I just loved, and I commented on it, it said "I've seen Normal, and it Ain't Pretty", and she said, This is one of only 3 shirts I grabbed when Katrina hit, and it has helped me laugh so many nites when all I wanted to do is cry or die, or both, but Thank God My family is OK and so am I, and we are making it"! This attitude is what we saw the most of, New Orleans will survive, it is a really special place, and Bill & I so enjoyed it. Thanks for listening, this was really hard for old softy me, and it is still hard not to tear up over it! As always, Smiles, Blessings & loveto ya all, Arlette & Bill too, and the Sassy