Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 6

So the adjusters show up. It is a nice sunny day. It is a husband and wife team from Pennsylvania. She examines the inside of the house. He the roof. They seem cordial and all. The apologize for our loss and leave. I feel uneasy. Not sure why.

So now, all we could do was wait . . .

We returned back to Dallas. We still were unsure what our next step was. Do we get an apartment or not? Where is his company going to send us? One day we are going back to New Orleans the next day we are not. In the meantime, things are getting tense at the in-laws.

At one point my mother-in-law had a little bit of a heated discussion that sent me over the edge. She left the house and in the 30 minutes she was gone I packed up every single item we owned that was at their house and moved us out. Remember my husband rented a UHaul to go back to check on the house, well, he brought a lot of stuff back with him.

I had enough room in my Yukon for my daughter to sit in her carseat and me to sit in the driver's seat and I couldn't see out the rearview mirror!

I drove south into Dallas because I knew my husband was working in Dallas. I called him on my cell and asked for directions. I think he was in shock that I made such a drastic move so suddenly but he handled it well and was supportive of my decision despite how rude I was being to his parents. He told me how to get to him and made reservations for us to stay at the hotel directly next door to his temporary office.

We moved in and I settled down. I spent time shopping with my daughter, watching movies, going to Chuck E Cheese and hanging out with my old college roommate Liz. She let me use her washer and dryer and we had dinner over there a few times.

Then, we were told we were to go back to New Orleans. Despite the condition of our home. Hubby's job was returning to the city the following week.

I was on the phone A LOT making preparations for our return home, etc. My best friend Jen offered up her camper still parked in Ohio (she had moved to Florida the year before). That way we didn't have to wait on FEMA to get us one. I called my parents and asked them if they would tow it down for me. Jen went to work trying to get a current license & registration on it as it had expired since the trailer was in storage. It was a lot of back and forth and coordination between her and I and my parents and her parents. Jen was awesome and patient despite the quick turnaround time needed.

One random day in that week at the hotel, I got a phone call. I was in a mom's club back home that happened to be an international club. The woman calling me was from the headquarters. She got word from our chapter president of the damage to our house. She said they have a fund to help out their members in times of need such as this. She informed me that they were mailing me a $5000 check and needed to know where to send it! I was in my car and luckily I was parked because I just started crying. I had two feelings: guilt and humbleness. I felt guilty for being in need and humble for their generosity. I couldn't thank her enough. What do you say to someone who you don't know that is going to make getting those trees off your roof a reality?

We eventually made it home and met my parents with the trailer to live in. Before we could move back in, we had to clean up the house from the flea treatments and get the rooms with mold secured with plastic so it didn't spread. We also had to gut the walls and treat the studs to remove mold.

 

My parents stayed with us for a while helping us get things handled. Kate at 2.5 locked herself in the camper while we were all outside. It is a fun story to tell today but a little worrisome at the time. Roof has a blue tarp all across the front. Found a guy to remove the trees from our yard with his industrial size chain saw and front loader. Dad and his normal chain saw was not able to handle 50-60 year old 70-100 feet tall pine trees. The entire frontage of our almost 1 acre property was piled up 10-12 feet with tree debris. I used to have a picture of it using my mailbox as a reference for height!

 

Several moms from the Mom's Club I was a member of brought us meals during that time. It was so nice to get home cooked meals instead of eating out! My parents brought down tons of gifts from family and friendsfor Kate. It was like Christmas for her. We did have to throw out a lot of her stuff because the toy room was one of the rooms that got damaged badly.

 

A check from the insurance company arrived. $20,000. Really? Did they see my house?

 

 

 

 

 

So my parents eventually went back home. We were able to live in the house. Scott was working. I was trying to lead a normal life with Kate and find a contractor to fix our house. It just seemed to be one thing after another.  We needed to buy a new fridge but it was hard to find appliances after the storm for obvious reasons. They were sold out EVERYWHERE. So we ordered it online from the same place in Chicago we ordered the first one. Because the mail, let alone shipping was a total mess in New Orleans the 2 week shipping turned into months and we didn't get that new fridge until 2 weeks before Christmas! The first fridge got lost and then was later found sitting on a dock somewhere. The second fridge got sent back to Chicago after arriving in New Orleans. It was a mess. To get by I was using the camper fridge for veggies and fruit and a 1950s beer fridge that was plugged in outside the back door of the house in the carport.

 

What I didn't tell Jen about one of my dogs was that she only had 6 months to live. She had lymphoma for the second time. We treated her at age 3 for it and spent $5000. It bought us 5 more years with her. This time we passed on the treatment as $5000+ was not feasible anymore. She called me one day and said that Dakota seemed sick. I counted the months backward. It was about month 5ish. Crap. So I decided to drive there and get the dogs. Well, lo and behold, Hurricana Wilma was headed straight for her in Florida so I had to delay my trip! I didn't make it there in time. My best friend had to put my Dakota to sleep for me. I remember having to make that decision at an iHop. Jen called me two days before I was leaving to go to her house to say Dakota was in bad shape and what did I want her to do. I was having breakfast at iHop and was standing outside the restaurant on my cell phone crying telling her not to wait for me.

 

Two days later I left for Florida. I decided since I was by myself and not in a hurry I would drive through Waveland, Bay St. Louise, Gulport areas. I got off at Waveland, MS and took the route I new to get to a beach house owned by Scott's boss. As I drove south towards the water through the neighborhood there were boats in the roads, houses off their foundation in the road. There were dirt paths around everything. This was early November. The only people I really saw were the utility companies in their trucks working Then, out of nowhere it was like the whole environment got eery. It was devastating. There was nothing. All of sudden like that. Nothing. There was a definitive line where the surge clearly took everything away. It was ground just covered in mud. As I drove through the streets, you would see an occasional lawn chair or something that didn't wash out to sea. Someone found a picture of a couple with their child and set it up against a tree.

 

I came to the ocean. I could go right or left. I knew the house I was looking for was two houses to my right. I could see from the corner the lot. There were no houses either direction. I turned left and headed toward Bay St. Louis. I saw a U-Haul truck on the beach covered in sand almost to the roof. The only way I knew it was a U-Haul was because of the coloring and partial lettering sticking out.

 

I saw a woman outside by two tents. There weren't many people so I stopped to talk to her. I asked her a lot of questions and asked her if I could bring her anything on my way back from Florida. She said Second Harvest was setup in town and feeding everyone. Walmart was open again. She had everything she needed. I asked about a FEMA trailer. Now, this is where everyone needs to listen up and forget what Oprah and the news told you about no one getting FEMA trailers . . . What I didn't realize and learned that day from her is that you could not get a FEMA trailer until you had approved electrical and sewage hookups for safety and obvious reasons for the sewage. She had an electrical pole erected and was waiting on the utility company to make it's way down to her with electricity so she could hook up to it. There were utility trucks everywhere and from all states. She was just waiting her turn. She was generally pretty happy and content. She had quite a spread. Two big tents, Water jugs everywhere. A tent for sleeping. A tent for food/living, etc. Now, that is a survivor. (Side note: FEMA called me two weeks after getting home and offered me a trailer. I denied it as I had one and didn't need it.)

 

What everyone needs to understand is that the infrastructure of the gulf coast was destroyed. I don't know the specifics, but their sewage and water lines could have been destroyed as well. That takes time to fix people. When Oprah rolled in 6 months later reporting on the lack of progress I almost punched the TV. I was seeing it first hand how bad it was. There is no bouncing back FROM NOTHING overnight. They weren't even cleaning up a lot of stuff or worrying about the houses in the middle of the roads. They just worked around all that. I saw them working on getting the necessities back in order - like electricity.  I returned in February and saw a lot more progress and cleanup. My parents were with me and they just couldn't believe it. The one thing my dad and mom commented on was the amount of FEMA trailer parks. Yes, that was the easiset way to get them setup with proper electrical and sewage instead of on individual lots. I also took them through Lakeview  (New Orleans neighborhood that rarely is covered because it's not the ninth ward) where there were FEMA trailers on almost every lot as their utility infrastructure was intact but their houses were completed flooded.

 

I spent a week at Jen's to relax a bit and I needed that. I also found out I was pregnant with Jack while there. It was a funny story. I was complaing how about a week or so ago I felt like I had the flu and how it only lasted one day. She reminded me that happened when I got pregnant with Kate. She asked me how long it was since I had a period. Lord, I had no idea. I was so distraught I wasn't keeping track. She stopped off at a Walgreens to get me a pregnancy test. It only took 1 second and that thing was screaming PREGNANT! lol! She got to enjoy me calling Scott and my parents to tell them. What a crazy ride.

 

I took my 1 dog home and continued to look for contractors and wrangle with the insurance company for more money - which was a documenting nightmare and full time job. We had to have a second adjuster come out. The insurance did not want to replace our entire roof, just the front! Are you serious? Contractors were telling us the whole roof needed to be replaced because every single tile was unglued from the winds and many were broken. So the morning of the adjustor coming, Scott gets a ladder out to have a look at the roof himself. I am inside with my back to the patio doors folding laundry when I hear a loud crash and him screaming. I turn around and there he is laying on the driveway under the ladder. The neighbor behind us was drinking coffee in his breakfast nook and came running. He heard him and could see him laying there. (First time we met the neighbor because there were no privacy fences anymore.) The ambulance came and he ended up with a very sprained ankle and broken arm. The good news is the second adjuster agreed we needed an entire new roof. Thank god.

One day at the end of November I walked out of my front door and smelled gas really bad. A few months earlier a runner told us he smelled gas everytime he ran by in the morning. We had the fire department come out and check. Nothing. Well, I finally smelled it. We believe because it was now winter and the winds had changed pushing the gas toward my house and it was getting caught up in the alcove by the front door. I called the gas company. They found it right by the connection to my house. The guy unhooked my gas meter out front, put it in his truck and said "Call a plumber." I had no gas to my house that fast! As my luck would have it the first two weeks of December were frigid cold for Louisana. I was wearing my old wool sweaters and ski parkas from my up north days IN THE HOUSE! We had to go by 4 space heaters and all sleep in one room at night.

I called the plumber. He told me the gas line to my house was most likely cracked when the trees fell during Katrina. He said it is only 6 inches underground. He proceeded to tell me it would be about $2400 and whatever it cost to break up my driveway as it ran under my drive. I said, "You are going to have to break up my driveway?" He said, "Yes ma'am." With that I did an about face and walked into my house and slammed the door in his face. I didn't care about the money. I didn't want one more thing broken. After I regained my composure. I called the plumbing company and told the lady who answered to apologize to him for me. She said, "Honey, please don't worry. We will help you." The owner called me back and said he found someone who could tunnel under my driveway but it would cost more money. I told him I didn't care and to get it done ASAP. Unfortunately, I had to go two weeks without gas, heat or hot showers.

 

Christmas arrived about two weeks after my new fridge and my gas was fixed. It was the first time we didn't spend it with my family. It was quiet but nice. Kate got so many gifts it took us all day to open them. Scott cooked and we sat around finally in peace because we had secured more money from the insurance company and a contractor who was going to start the 3rd week in January.

Rebuilding the entire front of our house.

To wrap it up. The last and final thing to be fixed was our ornamental pond under the palm tree you see in the pic above. It was detroyed by the trees falling on it. It was the end of June before that got done. Scott came home from work on July 13 and told me he lost his job. On July 14th I gave birth to Jack.

Related: 31-17 . . . and then we danced.

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 5

Sept 2005
Days went on. Stress continued. We handled all the things you need to do. Apply for food stamps through the Red Cross. Apply with Fema for the $2000 evacuation money. Apply for $2000 from insurance company for being displaced to help cover expenses. We did it all.

I was keeping friends and family posted on what was going on via email on a regular basis. One surprise was an envelope that arrived in the mail at my in-laws from our friend Beth. She had emailed for our temporary address, but little did I know what she intended to send. It was two checks for $500! One was for us and another was for a guy, Jason, who worked with Hubby. Both Jason and Hubby worked with Beth in Pittsburgh. Beth and her husband Ray had become our friends and we knew some of their extended family. Beth collected $1000 from their family members. About 6 couples total I think? She split the money between ourselves and our friend Jason's family. I couldn't believe such generosity and that was just the first time I would cry from such acts of kindness. You must understand that Beth and Ray were not our best friends or super close to us. They were just a couple we met through my husband's job that we spent time with on occasion and enjoyed each other's company. So to have her do this for us meant so much and really sealed the bond between us. It really showed who they were. It was so unexpected. We didn't expect anything from anyone.

We finally secured a date to meet the insurance adjuster at our home. Hubby and I took off by ourselves back to New Orleans leaving our 2 1/2 year old daughter with my in-laws for the first time ever. She did fine. We just told her we were going to the airport to get mommy's car. Which was partially true but at that age time was not something she grasped.

Speaking of my car at the airport, hubby was watching a video of the hurricane that someone took from inside the airport parking garage. And in it he spotted my vehicle! He knew exactly where he had parked it in the outside parking lot by the fence and could see the sticker I had on my rear window in the video. However, when we actually returned to get the vehicle, the sticker was gone. The wind was so intense it ripped the cling sticker off my window. So the video must have been early on in the storm.

Anyway, we took off to the meet the adjuster. I got a little queasy and anxious as we got off I-12 and started approaching our neighorhood. I started to see just piles of debris along the roads. We pulled up to our house and it was just as I had seen in the video that hubby brought back from his first trip to the house. Bad. It was very sunny that day and hot! I walked around the property just looking. I peeked inside too. But we did not go in as we already knew our house was infested with fleas. Yes! Fleas!

Our neighbor and a good friend had entered our house many times to have service men look at restoring our electricity or to remove valuable items that might get damaged from the heat and moisture and lack of air conditioning. They had informed us of the flea infestation.

The lack of air conditioning infested our house with fleas. According to the exterminator, who had to treat our house THREE TIMES to kill all the fleas, the eggs were carried in by the dogs but since they were treated for fleas and our house was air conditioned the eggs never hatched. Well, when our house got damaged, lost electricity and was wet & hot inside it became an incubator and they hatched and went into survival mode (because no dogs were presnet to feed on) reproducing 4xs the normal rate. They survived off of each other and attacked anyone who entered the house! Gross! I know . . . Tell me about it.

I felt kind of helpless being there at the house. We didn't know what to do with ourselves as we waited for the adjuster. We did have a neighbor come over and tell us we need to get those trees off our roof or we will ruin the inside of our house. Like we didn't know that already. He basically told us to ante up the $5000! I wanted to tell him where to shove his glass of Merlot he was holding! Fortunately, we met some people staying with a neighbor who were in town to help clear debris and such. They offered to remove our trees and cover it with large blue tarps for $1200. Luckily, they got it done just in time for Hurricane Rita to roll in! Phew! And much to our luck Rita was the first rain since Katrina so our house did not get any more water in it.

We drove around town a bit and looked around. It was odd. Some things were back to normal and open for business but many were not. Or they were only letting in so many people at a time to a business because they lacked enough employees to sevice everyone.

We went to dinner at a co-worker's home. We sat among their extended family who lost their homes completely from flooding in the Lakeview area across the lake closer to New Orleans. It was a strange evening, yet sweet. We shared this tragedy with people we barely knew and some that suffered much worse than us. When I left I cried and thanked our hosts who just hugged me and assured me all would be ok.

We spent the night at our neighbors house. They were lucky enough to have electricity back on.

Then, the next morning the adjuster came . . .

Continue to Part 6....

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 3

Sept. 4th, 2005
Our 6th anniversary, and we are on an airplane flying from Virginia Beach to Dallas. On the way to the airport I saw signs all over Virginia about benefit concerts for Katrina victims and such. I saw people out collecting money at stop lights. Already I thought? Gosh, it just happened 5 days ago . . . I was impressed and touched.

I don't even recall the flight at all. I do recall getting off the airplane in Dallas and walking practically all the way to baggage and realizing my husband does not have our video camera on his shoulder. I ask him where it is and I see him freeze, think and then his face turned red as he shouted out some obscenity. "I left it in the overhead bin on the airplane!" He ran over to the counter of the airline we just flew on and asked the lady behind the counter to phone the plane and ask them to look for it. She explained that the plane had already been reloaded and we would be lucky if it had not already taken off again. I burst into tears and walked away thinking we don't know what we lost at home and now we may have lost one of the few possessions we had left. It was expensive and fairly new. It contained videos of our daughter from vacaton. I headed for the baggage area and spotted my father in-law. He approached me and saw me crying. Not being the affectionate type he felt obligated to hug me and tell me everything would be ok. He thought I was upset about our house. I told him that no, in fact, I was crying because we may have now lost our video camera and I couldn't take anymore stress!

After much persistance on my husband's part the camera was recovered. (A airline attendant got lazy and wouldn't look. Mgmt finally boarded the aircraft and found it right where we left it.)

We arrived at my in-laws and my husband immediately took off with my FIL to rent a u-haul and buy supplies to return to our house the next morning. He loaded it with a generator, wood, food, water, gas, chainsaw, tarps, and a gun for protection as our neighbors were telling us they all were using self protection and guarding our neighborhood from looters.

They left the next morning. They were able to get to our house because only residents were allowed to return and they finally cleared the debris from our road so they could actually get to the house. It was a sad site. So bad in fact, they spent the night, took some stuff from the house and returned on Sunday. There was nothing they could do. The trees and cleanup required heavy machinery.

In the meantime, my daughter who was potty trained for #1 (tee-tee) shortly before going to VA Beach and completed potty training for #2 (BM) while in VA Beach got potty trained for night time sleeping by default. I was so distraught and out of it with things rushing around in my brain I forgot for 3 nights in a row to put a pullup on her at night. Finally, my mother in law inquired why I wasn't doing it. I laughed and simply said, "I forgot." She was dry each morning when she woke up so I never put one on her after that. There is my secret to how my daughter stopped wearing pull ups at night! Ta Da!

On Sunday, when hubby returned we got in a very emotional argument. I was mad at him for everything. He brought all my old, crappy, painting, yardwork clothes, and nothing I usually wear? He grabbed a pile of clothes from the back of our closet and none of the hanging clothes which is what I wear. Though, he brought all his hanging clothes including suits for work! He also brought my bike and rollar blades, but none of the pictures and photo albums I requested. He thought I might want to get some exercise while there! Geez. Amazing how differently men and women think.

I was also angry at him for buying all the supplies, renting u-haul and going all that way to turnaround and come right back. I thought he should have stayed and did something with our house. Like hire someone to remove the trees, get the electric hooked back up, etc. He said there was just nothing he could do. They were wanting $5000 to remove the trees. Who has that type of cash to spend when you don't even know what is ahead and how much money you will need to live away for an undetermined amount of time.

We were arguing quietly outside at his parents pool. I sat out there alone and cried and he kept coming out to talk to me. When I eventually went inside my FIL said that there would be no crying or fighting in his house. I literally exploded. I never had words with my FIL before. I went off. I used some harsh words. I got in his face. It was ugly. So ugly my husband had to step in and stop me. I remember thinking how could one not cry or fight with their spouse at a time of such stress. I do remember telling him that was fine with me. I would pack my stuff and fly to my parents and they would let me cry all I wanted. That is when Hubby stepped in. He knew I would do it and was not kidding! He begged me not to do it as I started to pack my suitcase.

Finally, my FIL came up to me, hugged me and told me not to go. He said he loved me as much as he loved his sons and that he wanted us to stay at his house.

This was just the beginning of a long journey of arguments, tense moments, tears, and testing of family ties.

Continue to Part 4

Hurricane Katrina - Our Story - Part 2

PART 2
On Monday it is a wait and see game as news coverage is scarce at first. We initially think all is generally ok in New Orleans. (I mean not what it would ultimately turn into.) Ya know, normal storm damage. By Monday night we start to see photos of houses cut in half by pine trees from our area. The photos of extensive tree damage start to frighten us. We are scouring NOLA forums looking for info about our neighborhood and our house. We find a woman who posts that she is going the next day to our street to check her parents house. We give her our house address and she promises to check our house and report back to us when she returns to Baton Rouge and can get internet again. So we wait. I am sick to my stomach.

Hubby is consumed with work. His vacation has turned into running things from our hotel while his boss (at the time) tries to figure out what to do. We think we are going back soon - until the flooding of New Orleans starts.

On Tuesday we got the email. I actually was the first to read it. I remember checking my email and seeing the woman from the forum's email in my inbox. I started shaking. I just knew it was not going to be good. By this time I had seen way to many photos with trees on houses from our area to think that my very wooded lot was spared from having any fall. And so many are very close to our house.

I opened the email. I remember it being about two lines of text that said our house had a tree on it and she was sorry about our lose. WHAT? What does that mean I yelled out loud. Hubby read it. He got angry. He said how could someone write that and not explain in more detail. Was the whole house destroyed? Did it look like those houses cut in half? I quivered with fear and thought the worse. I didn't cry. Just stood stunned and silent. Hubby furiously wrote back as nicely as he could muster to please give more details. She said she wasn't going back until the next day and would take another look and pictures and email them to us. So again we waited. . .

Feeling helpless we walked down to the hotel restaurant. We went in silence. The entire hotel staff knew where we were from and were always asking if we heard anything yet. As we walked to the restaurant I couldn't look up and make eye contact out of fear of them asking. We slid into a booth by the window overlooking the beach. I looked out towards the water and spotted my 2.5 year old daughter romping around with my parents. I started to sob. The waiter walked up and handed us the menus, saw me crying and knew. He said simply, "I'm sorry" and walked away. He must have told others as the manager came by and told us that we could stay at the hotel as long we needed. He then brought us iced teas. I don't recall ordering or eating.

In the meantime, we had a lot of preparations and decisions to make. By now we know there is no returning home. We don't know where hubby will be going to work yet. We don't know when we can even go to our house. Entire area closed. We don't even know what is wrong with it. We have dogs in Tallahassee with a friend who also needs to go wherever my husband goes. So again we wait for direction from Scott's boss on where they will go. That will determine where I and My Girl will go. If his business goes to Dallas, I will go with him and we will stay with his parents. If the busineess goes to the other two city options then I will drive home with my parents from VA and stay with them until further notice. So I can't cancel my flight or change it yet. We decided to at least stay at the hotel a few more days. That was the only certain we had in our life at that time.

On Wednesday, no email with pictures came. The woman sent a message that there were 2trees on our house. One on the left side. One on the right side. Looks bad. She had a difficult time getting to our house to see it. What? Can't get to our house? We sighed. Ok. Still don't know how bad, but at least that is a bit more info. At that point we would take anything. We appreciate her efforts. We feel bad about our initial anger. In retrospect, how could one not feel so emotional?

Hubby's boss decides on Dallas. Good. Now we can move forward with whatever plans.

First problem. We are in VA. Dogs are in FL. Gotta get all of us to Dallas. Can't fly to FL, get dogs and drive to Dallas. NO GAS ANYWHERE between Tallahassee and Dallas. Friend evac'd with dogs in Tallahasee can't get gas to take on road with him. Can't even find gas cans. He is sending his wife and kids to Philadelphia to his mother's house.

What to do? My best friend, Jen, has been in contact with me telling me to tell her how she can help. I call her and ask a favor you can only ask on a best friend. I ask her to drive 5 hrs one way to pick up my dogs and keep them at her house for an undetermined amount of time. She agrees immediately. Her husband? Not so hot on the idea. She doesn't care.

But first, I must find a kennel to keep them at overnight since our friend must leave Tallahasee on Thursday and Jen can't get to the dogs until Friday. I google kennels in the area. Call and explain the situation of one person dropping and another picking up. She asks if they have shot records. I freeze. I think, "Please don't let this one thing ruin what is turning into a feasible plan!" I say no and explain where we are at and where we live and that our vet is not even open or in town to fax records. She kindly apologizes and says not to worry about records. They will take the dogs and just keep them together in a kennel seperate from all the others. I breathe a sign of relief. One problem down. Many more to go . . .

Jen and her hubby drive to get the dogs. When they arrive both dogs had been nicely groomed by the kennel. No charge. They stop half way home at a waterfront restaurant that they have frequented in the past when scuba diving in the area. The waitress finds out the mission they are on and tells them they can bring the dogs out on the restaurant patio while they eat. So they take her up on the offer. The dogs lay at their feet and sleep. Jen's hubby is amazed at how well behaved they are and admits to her that he was not hot on the idea of a 10hour round trip to get them but he prayed to God how he could help the people of New Orleans and got the answer that he needed to do his part by helping us and this was how. He knew we would do the same for them.

That was Sept 4th. They kept the dogs until Nov. 11th.

Continue to Part 3

Operation Photo Rescue

I am alum of Ohio University. And I am very proud of that fact. One thing that I love about OU is the strong alumni connection. I was reading the quarterly magazine that OU sends me and read something that hit home. Or at least my current home.

Shortly after Katrina, another OU alum from Baton Rouge who was visiting home but living in Viriginia took a photo of a woman throwing out family photos damaged in hurricane Katrina. She went back to work and she and her editor decided to start Operation Photo Rescue and set up shop about 70 miles northest of New Orleans. They have to date restored over 1500 photos for not only Katrina victims but victims of other disasters, house fires, etc. What keeps them going is their OU connection with West Coast Imaging who prints the photos for them. Two groups of OU alumni who did not know each other but came together for a good cause.

For more info on Operation Photo Rescue go to www.operationphotorescue.com.

Yeah OU!

* info from Ohio Today Fall/Winter 2007

Rebuilding New Orleans Cartoon

I received this in an email and thought it was worthy of posting here. Sorry to whomever deserves the credit line. I can't read it!

For complete description of materials and how to build it please refer to Genesis Chapter 6:14-16

My thoughts on the new series K-Ville

Back in july I posted about the new TV series that takes place in New Orleans, K-Ville (read it here)

Yesterday I watched the pilot on TV. I had to.

So what did I think? Well, it certainly doesn't do the city justice so far. I mean, what you see in the show is about the same ole' crap you hear about on the news. To me, it is like beating a dead horse. There is so much more to this city! When it started out with September 1, 2005 and the officers in boats on flooded streets trying to rescue people I said, "Oh here we go . . . "

I can only hope that it takes on more positive angles then it did in the pilot. Otherwise, I won't be watching it. I don't watch the news because of the negativity why would I want to watch K-ville for entertainment?

Can we move on people! New Orleans is drowning again. This time in negativity and the drama of Katrina!

Southshore businesses head north

For those of you who don't know New Orleans geography allow me to explain something real quick. There is a Southshore and a Northshore in the Greater New Orleans area. The southshore is what the rest of the world knows New Orleans to be and is basically south of Lake Pontchatrain. The Northshore is a bedroom community located (you guessed it!) north of Lake Pontchatrain. There is a very nice 25 mile bridge that connects the southshore to the northsore. Pre-Katrina, the southies (as I like to call 'em) thought the people on the northshore lived in another country. Of course they thought the northies to be crazy to commute across that dang bridge everyday!

HOWEVER!
Post-Katrina, many a southie has made the northshore their home and they seem to enjoy life over here in this other country and don't think us so crazy anymore. Ok. Well, maybe a little crazy . . .

Anyway, my point. . . .

With our new residents, I am happy to welcome all the new businesses that have found their way north too! Like the new Cafe Du Monde with a drive thru window! My friends Laura and Shannon want everyone to support their old favorite that just arrived R&O out on 190 in Covington. Can't forget Randazzo's bakery and Vic & Natly's both in Covington. I am sure there are many more. I am sorta a newcomer so these businesses are all new to me even if they did move north. Welcome!

Everyone is moving

Since Katrina, I have had 9 of my friends move out of state. None because of lose of house. One because of lose of job. The others, mostly job changes. That is how this area I live in is. Transient.

I am sad to say that another one of my good friends moved today. She moved to the Atlanta area. I am probably most sad for my daughter. She is at the age now that she really cherishs her friends and 2 of her best friends - the ones she begs to have over daily - have moved out of state in the last month. Yet, she doesn't understand moving. She keeps asking why and if I know how to get to their new house. She even asked me why they don't take their house with them and didn't seem too hot on the idea that someone else was going to be living in their house now. She then asked if we were moving too. It was sorta sad. She cried a little but I still don't think she gets it. Heck, she thought they lived out of state just because they lived on the other side of town. When returning from their house we would get to a certain intersection and she would say, "Are we back in Louisiana now?"

But I know for sure she understands friendship and will miss them dearly. And so will her mommy.

Two blog posts about New Orleans

The first is from a resident: Come For A Visit

The second is from someone who went to college at Tulane and returned for a visit in March 2007. I'm Back!

New Orleans theme song

Sometimes I feel like this could be the new theme song for SOME OF OUR New Orleans residents. (See previous post)

Waiting On The World To Change - lyrics by John Mayer. Listen to song here

me and all my friends
we're all misunderstood
they say we stand for nothing and
there's no way we ever could
now we see everything that's going wrong
with the world and those who lead it
we just feel like we don't have the means
to rise above and beat it

so we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

it's hard to beat the system
when we're standing at a distance
so we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
now if we had the power
to bring our neighbors home from war
they would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door
and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information, oh
they can bend it all they want

that's why we're waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

it's not that we don't care,
we just know that the fight ain't fair
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

and we're still waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
one day our generation
is gonna rule the population
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

Just another example of NOLA Attitude

New Orleans columnist Chris Rose wrote this column recently "Weeds Shall Overcome". I really love his columns, but this one has been on my mind and I feel the need to comment. First of all, let me just say, I by no means expect a 71 year old woman to get out a mower and start cleaning up. Especially in this heat!

Here's the part that bothers me. What are her daughter and granddaughter doing that live with her? If they can maintain their own lot then I assume they own a mower and trimmer. Get out there and start working on the adjoining lots. Take it upon yourself to fix things. If no one else will do it, then do it yourself. If they don't like the world around them change it! Take action.

Don't have a mower, ask to borrow one. Save your money and buy one. Or maybe call up every lawn service in the phone book and ask them to volunteer their time. Yes, the weeds are probably low on the city's priority list right now. And no, homeowners are not caring for their lots like they are supposed to because they probably live out of state right now. BUT! Don't let all that stop you.

Where I live it was a VERY long time before the city started cutting our weeds along the highways/roadways and in the medians. I saw residents out there cutting themselves because they got tired of looking at it. Residents of my subdivision cut the areas skirting our subdivision and the entrance because the service that was contracted to do it was unavailable or so backed up with work they couldn't get to it. They just took upon themselves to fix something that bothered them or just needed to be done!

The woman says, "And that's what I pray for every day -- a miracle -- that one morning I come out here and sit on my rocker and it's all been cut down. And it's beautiful." Again, waiting around for SOMEONE ELSE to do something to fix the problem. Again, waiting for a handout. Again, waiting on the city. Again, waiting on the government. That is the problem in this city. Some people are just waiting for someone else to fix it.

And where are the citizens of New Orleans to help her? Why are people from Austin, TX here volunteering their time to cut the grass? Why not others from this area who have finished their recovery. It is good that Chris Rose wrote this column because now we know.

People need to take action. Fix problems themselves. Ask for help from those they know. Not just sit, pray and wait.

Should I stay or should I go.

Today I was listening to my friend Greta who writes the blog KissMyGumbo.com on 99.5 FM while I was on the treadmill at the gym. I loved the show this week. However, I still could sense the negativity throughout the discussion. (Not from Greta though!)The show's title was "Should I stay or should I go." Meaning should you remain in New Orleans or leave. Well, needless to say the title alone set a very negative atmosphere. One gentleman called in and I believe he said he was an attorney (or doctor or something professional like that - the reception was bad in the gym. I tried to get the treadmill closest to the window!) and that he needed a good reason to stay other than Mardi Gras and Jazz Festival. Crime was bad. Cost of living was high. Schools suck. Corruption, blah, blah, blah. If I had my cell phone on me I would have called into the show! Instead, here is my list of 5 reasons to stay just for him!

1. This is where you are from and where you live - as well as your parents (he mentioned his parents lived in the city too.)
2. There are far worse places to live in this country.
3. Since there are less people living here, this is your chance to become a big fish in a small pond - professionally.
4. Pre-Katrina: New Orleans was in the top ten for murder rates, the city public schools always sucked and there was already corruption.
5. Katrina gave this city the opportunity to start fresh. Clean up it's act. This is a chance for the city to move in a new direction. Don't you want to be a part of it?

The easy way out is to jump on the negativity bandwagon. I am not much for bandwagons so I will walk the long road. You know where to find me . . .

Why I stay

I was recently asked to write up something on "Why I stay". So I thought I would share it here.

At some point in my early adult life I realized a few things about life. I found out that I can overcome hardship if I don’t let it get the best of me and take action. I learned that most events in my life happen for a reason that I am unaware of until after the fact. I realized that I can live almost anywhere and find the good in each place.

In January 2004, my husband, who at the time was not looking for a new job, showed me a printout of a job description. He said, “It is located in New Orleans and sounds perfect for me. If I could get the position would you move to New Orleans?” Living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the time, I was apparently suffering from cabin fever and knowing that New Orleans was somewhere in the deep south and probably not cold that time of year I gave him a semi-perky “Sure!”. That is all the incentive he needed. Two weeks later he was on a plane down here to interview and by Mardi Gras he was working! I had never even visited New Orleans before. Having always gotten Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana mixed up when it came to geographic location in the US I didn’t even realize it was next to Texas! I remembered reading a book once that took place in Louisiana and the main character constantly complaining about the humidity. I remembered watching the movie Ya-Ya Sisterhood and the young ladies always trying to stay cool. I remembered my Grandparents visited once and came back with a cookbook with words I couldn’t even pronounce or didn’t know what they meant like roux, jambalaya, gumbo, creole, & etouffee. My husband wanted to take a trip down here once and I scrunched up my face and said, “Isn’t that the place with all the weird food?” Wasn’t interested. Needless to say, it was the last place I thought I would live.

And then it happened. I moved down here April 4, 2004. It was freezing rain the day we left Pittsburgh. We arrived at our new house in Covington and all the flowers in our front garden were blooming, the grass was green, the sky was as blue as ever, the sun was out and it was 75 degrees! Imagine my delight! That first night in town my husband took us to the now non-existent Patio Grill on Lakeshore Drive in Mandeville. There we were dining outside, listening to live music, admiring the beauty of the lake and watching the sunset. We toasted our new life in the south. I sat back, sighed and said, “This is like being on vacation.” My husband laughed and said, “And this is where you live now!” I had just stumbled across a well-kept secret.

The first year we lived here I often emailed friends and family about how much I loved it here. I often spoke of the water being in such close proximity. I even emailed pictures once of the sunset as I drove north on the causeway bridge. I felt happy to be here.

We only lived here 16 months before hurricane Katrina. We were on vacation when she hit. From our vacation spot, we went directly to Dallas where my husband’s company was temporarily relocating. We stayed 8 weeks. Our house was crushed by 3 very tall pines. I never thought that we wouldn’t return. I was just focused on what we needed to do to get back into our home. It was a rough time. It was a sad time. It was a life-changing time. It was a time to learn. Learn about ourselves, our strengths, our capabilities and what is most important to us - lessons that can only be taught in such life-changing events.

It took us a complete year to be fully rebuilt and recovered. And in that year our dog died, my husband fell off our roof and broke his arm, our main gas line broke, and my husband lost his job. The only positive was that our second child was born. Despite it all we still wanted to stay.

Why? Well, it is hard to put into words so I will give you a few examples:

I stay because I can rollerblade in February.
I stay because something is in bloom at least 9 months out of the year.
I stay because while listening to musician Emily Gray in the French Quarter she gave my 3 year old daughter a CD of her music and my daughter still talks about it till this day.
I stay because it is easy to be a big fish in a small pond.
I stay because anyone can fit in here no matter what your lifestyle, religion, interests, wealth, ethnicity, career or marital status.
I stay because my neighbors and friends in New Orleans did more for me the 3 months following the hurricane than any neighbor I had growing up ever did for me in 20 years.
I stay because the lake is only 2 miles from my house.
I stay because I can be at the beach in less than an hour.
I stay because I love crossing the causeway bridge – it is so serene and beautiful on a sunny, clear day.
I stay because being around water calms me, allows me to think clearer, revives my soul.
I stay because I’ve experienced true southern hospitality and love it!
I stay because Mardi Gras is one of the wackiest traditions I’ve come across.
I stay because I think it is funny how crazy ya’ll go over king cake!
I stay because I am learning French without taking a class.
I stay because I am learning to appreciate all that weird food.
I stay because my husband had the opportunity to start his own business here.
I stay because I can stay home with my kids and still afford to live here.
I stay because this is where I live and so far no one has given me any reason to leave.

Can we kill K-Ville?

Seriously.
Does New Orleans really need a television series about the continuing chaos after Katrina? Don't we see this drama unfold everyday on the news? Yes, filming a televsion series on location here brings in millions of dollars to the city, but it also kills (pun intended) our reputation even more! About K-Ville

Everday our local news reports on yet another murder/shooting in the city. But let me tell the rest of the world that 99% of these are occuring in a very specific area - most likely 1 or 2 zipcodes only. Basically, the same areas they occurred pre-Katrina. So please don't be afraid to visit us! Yes, occasionally a tourist is taken advantage of when visiting. Just like any other major city. Just don't be dumb. Don't walk down dark alleys at night. Don't talk to those you don't know. Don't carry your purse on your shoulder at night while out partying. Don't walk alone in the city. USE COMMON SENSE!