Remembering Katrina - August 29, 2005

August 30th ..... A rising sun greeted us and brought back the unbearable heat of August. It is a suffocating heat that requires drinking plenty of fluids to ward off dehydration. The baby was being affected by the heat. We would sponge her down and take turns fanning her. I was very worried about her but wouldn't voice how I felt. She could die. Please Lord NO! We kept the windows open and on rare occasions we were able to create a draft. There are no screens on the windows and various insects came inside. The biting flies were the worse. The 2 yr. old girl had fly bites all over her body. Another worry that she could contract a disease.

What ice we had melted in the refrigerator along with the rotting meat. As a morale builder for the worried parents, I would tell them that help was coming soon as it had during hurricane Camille. Water and ice was brought to our doors and in rural areas dropped from helicopters. So we held on to that hope and waited.

Still no relief on August 31st. We had jugs of water but we desperately needed ICE. The tremendous heat and humidity was beginning to affect all of us. Something as simple as ice was uppermost in our minds. There was no electricity, running water, or telephone. A decent meal could not be cooked as grill had been under water. Oh yes --- we had cans of potted meat, spam, crackers and pork "n" beans but still we were hungry! We were dirty and tired. The heat was sapping our strength. I was the older one in the family and on three medications to control blood pressure. My medications would not last much longer. It wasn't a senseless oversight in preparation on my part as phamacist's will not let you stock up on drugs. No blame people ---- who could have known the disaster that would befall our beloved Mississippi.
Insects were invading the house. Mosquitos, beetles, flies and the dreaded ROACH! A praying mantis took refuge on ceiling in the kitchen. I was thankful that there were no snakes!

Aug.31 cont.. It is day 3 and our struggle to survive another day was in rapid decline. Depression was setting in living under such deplorable conditions. Sewage had backed up in the house and mold was beginning to grow. Although we had taken the wet carpet from the house water continued to seep through the slab. The flies swarmed because of the rotten meat in the garbage cans. Mosquitos thrived in the heat and dampness. There was no way to keep the insects from coming into the house as we had to open the windows or suffocate.

My anguish in not knowing if my home had survived was becoming increasingly more stressful for me. We didn't have transportation to get to the house. On several occasions the son in law would ride his bicycle in search of ice or milk for the children.. Should I lay yet another burden on him with the request I was going to make?

If my home was still there and livable I could take my daughter and her family to my house where they would be more comfortable. SO I asked and he said YES! Before departure on his bicycle I gave him my keys to bring the car back with him if all was well. Within the hour he drove up with the car. When he walked in the door and looked at me my heart was pounding waiting for him to speak. He simply said, "Your house is fine." I began to cry from a gamut of feelings. They had lost so much and I didn't lose anything. The emotion of that was hard to bear. Later that day I drove to the house. There was no power and although I knew it would be very uncomfortable to stay the night, I was HOME!

Sep 1 ... Arose early in the morning more exhausted than ever because I had slept in a leather recliner and was so hot that my body was literally stuck to it. I went outdoors and inspected the house for damage. Three back porch screens were torn loose and a very tall pine tree was leaning toward the house. The once pretty yards were ankle deep with debri. Oaks were stripped of their leaves. A wooden privacy fence in the back yard was now listing.

Inside the house I took thawed and rotting meat out to the garbage can. Furniture that I had moved was put back in place. It was now time to go back to Anita, Dave and the kids. We had no way to contact one another and I was worried about them as they were about me.

I inched my way down the streets carefully avoiding debri in the roads. In the light of day the devastation was breathtaking and unbelievable. It was so eerily quiet. Was like the world had ended and this ONE lone car was taking this lady back to the devastation she had left just the night before. I cried all the way to their house!

Upon entering the neighborhood where my daughter, son in law and four grandkids lived I was filled with apprehension. I had experienced this same feeling when my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Flight or Fight. Run a way from what would bring me much pain or stay by his side and face whatever came. I stayed. We had nine more happy years together. So.... knowing this was also at times going to bring me pain I opened the door to their house and said "I'm back!" The day was no different than the three days before. We were tired, dirty and so darn HOT. Please God please! We took turns mopping up the water seepage through the floors and did all we could possibly do to keep the children content. A neighbor came to tell us that a semi was in the area with supplies. Dave ran down the street to get what we needed off the truck. Diapers, lots of water, can goods, toilet tissue etc. Friends of another neighbor had gotten the supplies and drove them into the subdivision. We decided to call my next door neighbor and ask if they needed water. He said he had been trying to call but couldn't get a connection. The power was on. You have never seen anyone move as fast as we did gathering supplies, and getting the children into the car. We knew it was after curfew so we drove with bated breath. Nothing was going to stop us. We were headed for air conditioning!!!!

What could only be a five mile drive seemed like an eternity as night had fallen and we had to avoid obstacles such as trees and power lines laying across the roads. When we arrived at the house, I quickly unlocked the door and hurried through the house turning on lights to "light" my way to the a/c unit in the hallway. "Hurry, hurry! Get the children inside!" "We can unload the car later!" I realized I was barking out orders like a drill sergeant but earlier I talked about flight or fight where I had chosen to fight and be d----- if I could be stopped now. The baby needed special attention, the 2 yr. old girl already had what we then diagnosed as dysentary and the 7 and 8 yr. old boys were just plain listless. All of our faces were of a bright red color. NOW we had a chance to recover. The children were bathed as were my daughter and son in law. When my turn came there was no hot water. That's when we discovered the hot water tank wasn't working. We had simply used up what was left in the tank. In the desperate state of being we were in, none of us thought about contaminated water until much later. We were thankful we only drank bottled water. Our flushed faces took on a paler color as our bodies cooled down. The daughter and her husband slept in my bed with the 2 yr. old girl and the baby girl in a playpen and a baby carrier respectively. I slept with the 7 and 8 yr. old boys in another bedroom. I say slept but during the night I had to move them over so I wouldn't fall from the bed, remove a foot from my back and an occasional arm flung across my face. None of that mattered as we were SAFE and going to live much better than we had during the previous days. There is something I forgot and wonder how I could have. Daughter had rescued a mother cat and 4 newborn kittens just before Katrina struck. They were bedded down on the back porch. And then there was "Judge", a border collie that stayed inside. He was a great houseguest!

It has been over four months since Katrina made landfall and it would take me at least a year to write about it in detail so I have decided to still speak of Katrina but in a different way. It will affect our lives for a very long time but we will overcome. We will be made whole again and our children and grandchildren will be here to see a new Mississippi. It's right over the horizon! A new beginning!

Dave, Anita and grandchildren stayed with me for 12 days and then returned to their home where they are making repairs to their house. A slow process but accomplishments are being made.

Another daughter and her two sons lived in an apartment in Slidell, Louisiana and had evacuated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to a private church shelter. Their apartment was destroyed. An older daughter in Florida helped her sister get to her home where she stayed a few days before going to a hotel. The Red Cross picked up the tab. I sent money to bring her and the boys here with me until she could get back on her feet. They stayed a month and she returned to Florida where she is doing well.

I also have a daughter in Gulfport, Mississippi. Her home sustained only roof damage. She is an avid gardener and in June of 2005 there was a glowing article with pictures of her beautiful yards. Katrina swept the garden away.

Although my home was spared my sufferings came from the afflictions heaped on my daughters and their children. Before I end this post, I would like to give special thanks to my older daughter for her concern about the welfare of her sisters.

May God Bless You My Daughters!