Hurricane Katrina: My Story (Part 2)

Who knew a normally 7 hour drive from N.O. to Atlanta would be doubled plus more?! Within those 16 hours I probably experienced every emotion possible. Restlessness, boredom, anxiousness, sadness, happiness, anger, peace. One moment I didn't want to hear the oldies they were playing on the radio. The next moment, I just wanted the roads to part like the Red Sea & for the car to get wings, jets, anything & get me home ASAP!

The roads were filled with people trying to go any direction away from Katrina & New Orleans. Cars were stopped along the road so people & their pets could use the bathroom. They were also stopped to give people a break, so they could stretch & take a breather. Gas stations were filled with angry drivers that didn't know if they had enough gas to get to the next town. Gas pumps were filled with, well, nothing. They were empty. Every octane, every pump. Not one drop was left. Restaurants occupied hungry families. Rest areas housed cars of people needing to take a nap.

The time spent on the road kept getting longer & longer & Katrina kept coming closer & closer. At one point I figured we should just sit on the road & watch as she made landfall. Calls home began sounding the same, "Yeah we're still on the road." "We've move 500 yds in 2 hours." "I'll be there one day." "Katrina is gonna beat me home."

I finally made it home around 3am to 2 parents that were glad I was safe. Instead of going to bed, I sat on the couch for the next few hours & watched CNN's coverage of Katrina making landfall. I finally went to bed only to awaken Monday morning to watch CNN again. The damage I saw on the news was bad, but I knew I would be back by the end of the week.

Then the levees broke.

I watched as the waters flooded the city. Unbelievable. Calls coming in & out of my phone asking if I was watching the news & if I was safe. "Yes." One of the most memorable calls I got was from the dorm mother in the freshman dorm. (My first 2 years at Xavier I became very close to Ms. Mack. I told everyone she was my aunt.) She was still in New Orleans, still in the dorm. There were ~300 students along with some faculty & staff & their families still on campus. Ms. Mack was constantly calling to give updates. The first few calls were calm, but then they started to get worse. I didn't know what to do. It was almost impossible to call anyone with a 504 number so I couldn't get them help.

I spent the next day watching the news, taking calls from Ms. Mack & trying my best to get them out the dorm. I searched for the national guard's number. My roommate that came home with me called the NJ police department, while I called DeKalb County. We don't know what they could have done but I was desperate to get them off campus, out of the flood waters & out of New Orleans.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005, I went to bible study. Of course the main subject was praying for everyone affected by Katrina. I was doing fine. Then everything just hit me. POW! I broke down & cried til I don't think I could cry anymore. That was my breaking point. New Orleans was washed away. Ms. Mack was still in the dorm. People were stranded in attics, on the roof, at the Superdome & at the Convention Center. That could have been me. But I was safe & sound at home. I couldn't help those people. I felt guilty.

The students on campus were finally rescued & taken out of the city. Relief. Now came the waiting game. Is my apartment ok? Did the tree fall on my car? When can I go back? What about school? Each day came a new question with a new answer. Am I going to see my friends again? Is the my bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding ok?

I still only had my 3 days worth of clothes with me & the few clothes I left home when I went to college.  I borrowed my sister's clothes. They were the start to many fights. Most out of anger & frustration because I couldn't get back to my stuff.

"Carol if you're gonna wear my stuff wash it & return it!"

"I don't wanna wear your clothes! I'm sorry that it's cold outside 

& I left New Orleans with shorts, t-shirts & tank tops. I can't wait til you move out!"

"Well I can't wait til you go back to N.O."

"I can't either! Trust me, if I could leave now I would!"

That's somewhat how our conversations went on occasion. But deep down inside I was glad to be safe at home with a family that loved me. 

I kept begging my parents to let me go back. I was reading the comments being posted on www.nola.com & knew the area where I lived (Harahan) was fine. My parents kept telling me to wait. "But they're letting people back in!" Finally in October, I had convinced them to let me go back for a day 2 day trip. My mom & I drove to New Orleans to check on my stuff & to assess the damage. My apartment was fine. *sigh of relief* The bridesmaid dress was still in the closet. Now I had 2. (Mommy had me get another dress just in case this one was ruined.) The tree did not fall on my car! DANG! I got in it, put the key in the ignition, turned it & my red VW Passat started up with no problems. 

Once the sun went down, the city shut down. The next morning we rushed around taking care of business & driving around the city. I packed all my clothes & other belongings. Made sure the rental office had 3 checks. One for every month til I could get back for good. We drove to Xavier. The water lines were 5-6 ft in most places. We drove carefully thru the 9th ward to check out the damage to Ms. Mack's mom's house. Water line was to the roof. There was no coming back. 

Those next few months, I went to school at Georgia State University with a lot of other displaced students. I hated it. It was not Xavier. A school that I wanted to transfer out of for the first 2 years, but began to appreciate it after sitting in classrooms of 100 people at GSU. The student life was GREAT! I enjoyed sitting in the quad listening to the DJ & catching up with old high school classmates that went to GSU. But still, it was not Xavier.

School was finally going to reopen in January. PRAISE THE LORD! I started packing up my stuff. Shopping for my still partially unfurnished apartment with my new roommate. (More on the story of how I got a new one at a later date. DRAMA!) I even got a new VW Passat. VDub is his name. 

The date was around January 6, 2005. VDub was packed to the max. My roommate's car was packed beyond the max. We still had more stuff that needed to get to New Orleans! The cars were started & we made that journey back to the city where we belonged. This time it took the normal 7 hours.

Live.Love.Laugh.Sing.Dance.