Hurricane Katrina

August 29, 2010 at 4:22pm

So this is my story.

O.K. This is as much for me as for other people who want to get to know me. I lived in Metairie, LA before Katrina. My house is only 2 miles from where the levy broke into Lakeview. I had been living in the greater New Orleans area since 2000. I was living in a 3 bedroom house with my husband, mother-in-law and her dysfunctional boyfriend of 20 plus years. My husband and I moved in to help with his mother's( Miss Christina) health issues. She had conjestive heart failure, insulin dependant diebetes, and 12% lung capacity from emphezema. She could no longer work, went on disability and needed help with the bills and the house in general. We lived there 2 years before Katrina hit. I became pregnant with our daughter in that time.

And now this is what happened......

Thursday August 23, 2005

I remember sitting by Aunt Lainie's Condo's pool with my family...my Aunt Niece, Aunt Lainie, cousin Noel (8 years old). We were having lunch and talking about Katrina's projected path... I remember other realitives being there, but it was a new tradition, and we were tring to get it started. And I have so many relatives in the area sometimes I get them mixed up as to which people were there and which week it was. Thursdays by the Lake front...we all enjoyed them. I had just had my baby shower about a week before at Aunt Neice's house. My sister had come in from Austrailia with her son Mason (1.5) for my shower. She had stayed with my grandmother in Chalmette /Lower 9th Ward, LA and just left to go home.

Sunday August 26, 2005

I had off work and watched the news and stared figuring out what my game plan was going to be for evacuation if need be. I went to the grocery and stocked up on water, peanut butter, bread, canned goods, powdered milk...you know anything that wouldn't spoil... even cookies and chips. My husband, being a chef for a country club, was in full swing. He had huge weddings to prepare for and parties out the butt. I didn't really talk to him much.

Monday August 27, 2005

It's bad. I am so afraid. I make arrangements to go to New Iberia, LA 2.5 hours away. All the T.V.s are on with the news showing that it's a catagory 5 heading straight for us. Miss Christina is trying to get into a special needs shelter with Waldo her boyfriend. She is calling and calling trying to get through to find out where she needs to go. My husband is still at work....they are trying to figure out if they should close the club or not. They have a Wedding for 500 people scheduled for 7:00PM that night. Mayor Nagen is on the news saying please leave. He can't order a manditory evacuation because he dosen't know how to get everyone out. The shelters start to fill up. I call off work.... I start packing up my car....I get tired and decide to lay down. It's about 11:30AM. At 12:00PM Dennis, my husband comes home. He has been working hard and hasn't really seen the news....he won't watch it. The general manager of the club told people with families to leave. He dosn't want to leave!!! I am soo scared. I just start to cry. He leaves to go get a beer. He comes back and starts arguing with me and his mother that we are not listening to him. "Stop telling me what I should do.... You don't even bother asking me what I think......With you two here I don't even need to think for myself because y'all have it covered!" So I ask him, he decides to evacuate up. He starts calling hotels in the area looking for a room. Friends call and tell us they have a room and that we could share, his Aunt Jean calls and tells us she has a room downtown New Orleans at the Windsor Court.

Just so you know Dennis lost his father, big Dennis, July 30th. He was struck by a black Ford F150 at dusk, walking across Veterans Blvd. I called the counrty club and told Dennis's chef what had happened. Then I went to the club where Chef had Dennis outside. I remember my husband saying, "That looks like my wife?" and Chef saying "It is." I told him to come with me....we needed to go to Charity hospital....Your dad has been in an acident....we don't know if he made it. Before we can go to the hospital, we went to go find Dennis's step mother and ended up at the scene. His father was laying in the middle of Veterans with a sheet over him. We knew then that we were not going to the hopital. Dennis identified his father at the scene of the accident. We were all there. We buried him August 4th, 2005.

So knowing that, going to a hotel room with his Aunt Jean (his father's sister) her husband, his 13 year old female cousin, and his peternal grandmother...was not what he wanted to do. Hotels are full, and some that took reservations are now shutting down. The news is telling everyone to get out now. The contra flow has begun. I lose it....My husband never leaves for evacuations. He stays to watch out for the neighborhood, he makes sure no one comes in and starts looting. He plans on staying just like every other time. His mother and I gang up on him...It doesn't work!!! He is firm in his decision. Finally i tell him,"If this house and neighborhood are more important than me and our child than I 'm going without him....and I won't be back."" If you are going to let your pregnant wife leave in such bedlam without anyone to help me if something bad happenes..I won't be able to forgive you." He said "I'm sorry...I love you....let's go." .....

To be continued....