Checking In…
I don’t have any real news to report but just thought I’d check in and give a personal account of what it’s like to be a refugee in the midst of this. My girlfriend and I evacuated New Orleans at 7:00 Sunday morning and got to Memphis, TN in what was actually a very easy and pleasant drive. Right as we left town, the first reports of the storm’s increasing strength began to come in on WWL radio. We began to realize the gravity of the situation, which was getting much worse than we ever imagined it would. As the day went on our stomachs were sinking, and they continue to sink some three days into this ordeal.
At this point it’s pretty clear that nothing will be left when, and if, we return. Right now water is probably up to the roof of our Mid-City house, which I bought last year. Knowing this, the questions in my head are about the future of my job, where I will stay if I choose to return, and of course, how long it will be before any sense of normalcy returns to my life. It will probably be years. I’m seriously considering the option of giving it all up and starting anew somewhere else. Given the heartache that’s going to follow, and the reality that a repeat of this event could happen someday, it’s something worth thinking about.
Despite all this grief, I am actually in very high spirits, knowing how fortunate I am. It’s impossible to fathom how many people are going to be in a much, much worse situation than I am. It’s also very hard to think about the loss of life that’s already occurred and the serious possibility that many more deaths will continue to occur in the wake of a disaster like this. I have been sick to my stomach all morning thinking about the people who are still in the city, a few of whom are close friends of mine. These next few days in New Orleans will be legendary, filled with stories of bravery and heroism, but also of unthinkable tragedy.
I hate to close with such an awful cliche, but to say “we’re not out of the water yet” would not even begin to explain the situation. My thoughts and tears are with everyone in this city, which will never, ever be the same.
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Chris,
Our thoughts are with all of you, too, and you can be assured that so are the prayers of a nation. We’ll be down for a visit as soon as you’re ready for us. Godspeed.
Thank you for all your posts. There are millions of us looking for every word of how people are surviving. Thank you for writing about what it’s like for you on a personal level. It’s stories like yours that enable us to empathize with you more closely as we hold you in a web of heart supporting you in thoughts and prayers.
These are life-changing days indeed when people discover what they are really made of and what’s really important
You and your fellow New Orleanians are being pushed to limits that few of us could ever understand. Instead of concentrating on your losses, look at the charity, grace, and dignity with which you and your fellow citizens by and large are handling such overwhelming circumstances.
I’m not certain if it’s any consolation to know that you all are in our thoughts and prayers, but you have love and support from millions of people you’ve never met.
I understand your pain! I happen to be on active duty in Memphis, but I was home in New Orleans. I brought my Mom and Neice back to Memphis with me! I will definitely keep everyone in my prayers!!
Well said, my friend. We’ve having the same thoughts over and over.
That said, we can’t wait to return to try to push the ball back up the hill a little more.
Being a refugee sucks in a lot of ways. But it’s also got me thinking in a less confined way. And you’re right about feeling lucky. Really, really lucky.
Good luck and safe travels. And eat some good BBQ for us.
…Craig
I’m so very sorry, Chris, anything we can do in DC to help, we will. I just wish there was more that we could do.
So much unnecessary anxiety caused by people who just don’t get the facts straight - I think you’d all agree. What a crock of sensationalist crap the national press is issuing. They ought to get some locals doing the coverage and directing the cameras.
Hopefully, we’ll find that we still have something to go back to.
If you hear of a way to get back into the city, anyone, let us know.
We’ve just got some news from the Westbank around the Avenue D area. My wife and me managed to evacuate to NE Mississippi on Saturday and we’ve been trying to get a hold of any news concerning the Westbank. We managed to get a hold of a employee at the West Jeff Hospital which is on Avenue D and Exressway. The clerk said that they are not allowed to leave the hospital yet, but that she herself lives on Avenue A in Marrero and as of 2 pm today (Tuesday) there was no standing water or flooding around the hospital or nearby areas according to her. Which is a great reliefe since we have our home on Avenue B just a few blocks away. I know many people complain about the lack of information about other parts of New Orleans besides the 9th Ward and French Quarter. But we are looking at it this way, if they do NOT report about the westbank then that means there is nothing “bad” to report. Kind of, no news is good news. So for all the fellow New Orleans and surrounding area stranded with loved ones all over the place or in some distanst hotel room, let’s keep up this way of information and hope for the best.
I read your post. Wow, I really feel for you. You didn’t ask for advice and it sounds like you don’t need any but, I’ll give you some anyway. Don’t try to think too far ahead it only causes anxiety. Don’t fear the unknown, noone has a crystal ball about his or her fate and your decisions will come to you in good time and whatever you chose to do it will the right one. Jobs grow on trees for articulate and resourceful people such as yourself, and besides you already landed on your feet. I’m glad you are ok.
Chris,
Hang in there. I know it’s hard to fathom right now, but New Orleans is going to need people like you to rebuild.
-L
My family in Dallas has been praying for our neighboring states and hope that somehow things will work out for the best. There is so much loss and sorrow that we’re seeing on the TV since Katrina hit, I almost can’t bear to watch. Best of luck to you and your family. The entire nation is sending their love and prayers.
Chris.. and girlfriend
we’ve seriously enjoyed your posts about our “fair” city iver the last few months. I’ll say a prayer for your home.. and another that you bought flood ins. If and when you come back to new orleans.. look us up. the drinks are on us.
In the meantme… Sing like Doris Day…
…” the future’s not our’s to see que sera sera”…..
no really sing the whole song.. then.. Crack open a big ass bottle of hard likker.. turn on CNN and weep like a baby.. god knows I am.
I’m pretty sure our house is going to be kind of okay.. but it’s the loss of life… the midsection of the city.. Mandina’s, liuzza’a, katie’s… I’ve yet to break down.. but that’s only by the grace of numbness caused by Rum.. God bless rum.
All levity aside…our thoughts and prayers to whichever power you feel worthy.. have been sent.
I hope we get a chance to meet up after all of this is over.
Hello from Refugee Central - TEXAS! Can’t get you guys off my mind! Best of everything to you over the coming days, weeks, and months - it certainly can’t get much worse!
We live in League City, TX - another “City by the Bay” near Galveston
I’m a transplant, but my wife’s roots and bloodline run deep from New Orleans for generations!
Finally got some welcome word about an hour ago from one of her cousins who made it here, but she can’t of course contact her parents, sister or brother who stayed in the area.
The cousin that made it here lives in Harahan. Her folks live in Belle Chasse, but her parents and brother joined her other sister in Covington.
If anyone has info about Harahan, Belle Chasse, or Covington, she & we would greatly appreciate it!
I’m sure at some time in the future, we’ll be able to reciprocate. Gulf coast living is great, but….
Regards, love, thoughts and prayers for you all!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing. It’s really just begun to hit me today the gravity of the situation. My heart goes out to you and everyone who’s suddenly found their entire lives turned upside down. I hope and pray people are with their families, friends and pets right now.
Calcasieu Parish Needs Food For Evacuees
I have complete contact information for the individual below - if anyone can offer any help with food or anything,contact the parish offices directly.
The temperature in Louisiana today was 97 degrees and the heat index was 117, with more of the same expected tomorrow. This means bodies and refuse in the water will quickly begin to rot. Thus, the next crisis the city will likely face is disease and pestilence.
Electricity can not be restored until after the water is removed, and no one seems to know for sure how long this will take, but it could be quite awhile. In the meantime, tens of thousands–or perhaps even hundreds of thousands–of evacuees will need to be housed elsewhere for weeks or even months.
Most of the evacuees have gone through this exercise before and were expecting to return to their homes in a day or two after the storm had passed. Many left with little more than the clothes on their backs. They desperately need help.
Lake Charles is 200 miles west of New Orleans and suffered no effects from the storm, but we are now trying to shelter and feed the evacuees as best we can. I just received this email from a friend of mine, Richard Cole:
If you can help we need your help…. Several groups have been cooking for the last two days at the Lake Charles Civic Center for 2200+ people… They are serving 3 hot meals a day for the people from the New Orleans area… God bless their safety… If you would like to help with food, money or man power, these people would greatly appreciate it… If you have food you can bring to civic center kitchen on the back side and we will cook it… It is empty the freezer time.
Richard J. Cole, Jr, CLA
Calcasieu Parish Assessor
(337) 721-3005
(337) 540-2410
WILL DO. THANKS FOR POSTING THIS.
LAKE CHARLES CIVIC CENTER
900 LAKESHORE DRIVE
LAKE CHARLES , LA 70602
337-491-1256
DELIVER TO KITCHEN ON BACK SIDE OF BUILDING.
This is what I am putting on the label.
I am shipping a bog out fedex today. I have amny nice clothes and many many ready to eat meals (mri’s) I can send. I know its not much but I know that anything will help.
Would love to just go there and help serve the food or something.
PLEASE everyone do what you can do.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you! If you choose not to return to NO, NC is nice.
my thoughts, tears and prayers are with you, your family, friends and everyone impacted by katrina. even though i witnessed firsthand the 9/11 tragedy at the WTC, and existed in the city afterwards, i still cannot fathom what you are going through. stay strong, and even though i am SURE it seems like hell on earth right now, i truly believe that whatever God is out there has a solution to this.
Hi,
I’m a Canadian journalist - a radio producer at the CBC.
I have a deep affection for N.O., have visited several times, and having courted my wife there. I grieve for your city.
I am looking for folks who might be available to chat by phone about their situation…perhas to be interviewed on the radio.
Thanks
Neil Sandell
neil_sandell@yahoo.ca
looking for parents in new orleans. Altie Mae Bridges and Willie Bridges. They were last heard from on Lehigh street near bullard in new orleans east. Also looking for sister named Cherly Anderson who was on Bass street. Please email me if you have heard anything about them, and or the status on lehigh street. Desperate to find my family.
Hi, I
Hi, I
Erdmittelalter zur
I just want to tell everyone that FEMA Has been working extremely hard since 08/29/05. I know, because I am one of the people that FEMA has hired to help! The first month we worked for 12 hours plus straight on the telephones gathering information. We did not have a day off for over a month. Now we work seven days and get one day off.
Our families are adjusting. They have not had a home cooked meal since we have started working. Our children see us for an hour, maybe an hour and a half a day and they understand when we tell them that we are tired and bring them a cold burger for dinner. Laundry at our homes are piling up sky high.. but we thank God we have laundry. We get maybe if we are lucky five hours a day sleep and our bodies have become adjusted.
My only goal since this devastation was to be a part of the recovery in any way possible. We are now in the process of trying to contact everyone that was displaced and trying to find them is very hard at times. Sometimes I make over ten phone calls for one person, because when people move they do not call to let us know to where they have moved. Sometimes we get family members or friends that think this is a big joke and tell us they do not know the person and when I call back and someone else answers (like a child) they tell me that they used to stay there. Then there are the registered people that called in thinking that they were going to get free Government money (and many did) when nothing at all was wrong with their homes and their family incomes were in access of over $100,000+ a year and their homes were insured. They clogged up our phone lines so that those that did need help could not get through! There are many that are now trying to get the tavel trailers for recreation, when there are those that need it for shelter. This is why you see so many that are just sitting doing nothing. Those are trailers that your next door neighbors ordered and there is nothing wrong with their homes. So now we have to find a way to get them to those that are in need. Now that we are trying to find those in need it is difficult because we have to weed through those that did not need our help in the first place.
Just locating the people and trying to find a safe place to put the trailers so that people will not be in danger once they are in them is a job in itself.
You could not even imagine in your wildest dreams, the magnitude of the numbers of workers that the Government has working around the clock to help put all of this together!
Not only are we working but so are our families. Mine will not have a Thanksgiving or a Christmas this year, because there is not enough time! We have no time to shop let alone put anything together.
The victims of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita and Wilma are more important to us this year. We think about those that have nothing, nothing at all and thank our Lord that we are in a position to help. That is what keeps us going.
FEMA is not God, FEMA is a Branch of the American Government that is made up of many regular everday people from all walks of life, backgrounds and educacation. You have to understand that whole cities have been destroyed. They cannot just magically create a city over night. It takes time, research and manpower. How can it be rebuilt in a way that this will never happen again? Things have to be planned and then put into the precise action.
It takes us as a nation to come together and help in any way necessary. One thing that I can make certain to you is that ALL of the cities, Parishes and counties will be rebuilt, better and stronger than before. We will appreciate each other as individuals, not being concerned of our background or ethnic heritage. Everything will come into place and will be appreciated more than before, because it will be built with love, respect and honor for ALL!
President Kennedy once said “Ask not what your country can do for you, but, what YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY!” At this time all of us need to be asking ourselves that same question.
While we are preparing for our holidays, we need to take a moment and just imagine ourselves in someone else’s shoes. What if? What if something terrible happened to the nice comfortable city or town that you are in now? What if a terrorist targeted your town? What if a hurricane, Tsunami, or tornado came through your city or town? What if everything that you worked hard for and cherished was suddenly gone? What if those family photographs that you cling to were just washed away?
While you are having your holiday dinners with friends and family over, think about those that cannot have a dinner that was made with love and care of a special family member and they cannot decide what it is that they will have to eat, think about those that do not have a place to have dinner, let alone a chair or a table to sit at, think about those that have lost their family and they will have no one to sit with. Think about those of us that our sacrificing hard to put everything together, neglecting friends and family and are hard at work not able to have a Christmas tree or a turkey with trimmings, because there is just not enough time, because others need us more. When you think of all of that, then think… WHAT CAN “I” DO FOR “MY” COUNTRY!?!
You would be amazed that with all of the ridicule that we get and with all of the long grueling hours that we work, we are still able to greet each other with a smile each day and give a word of encouragement to those that think they cannot make it another minute. We find time to give prayers to those that pass out from exhaustion and more prayer to those that have family members that are sick and dying and the workers cannot be there for them.
Through this ordeal our Government has become stronger, a more close knit family so to speak. A magnitude of individuals from literally every walk of life, willingly, gladly and proudly giving anything and everything of themselves. Neglecting everything that they hold dear to them until the job is done.
At this moment, in our countries most trying time, I can personally say that I have never in my life been more proud to be an American. It is my sincere honor and privilege to serve my country and I will continue to serve wherever and however, until the job is done!
Sincerely,
A Single Mother!