Winnie and I just survived the most stressful event any married couple should ever have to face. No, I’m not talking about getting married then waiting two years to be able to live together. No, I’m not talking about one person traveling half-way around the world to live in a strange country speaking a strange language. No, I’m not even talking about living through the worst natural disaster in American history.
I’ve just successfully taught Winnie to drive.
My story is dedicated to the tens of thousands of people who were impacted so much worse, and lost so much more, than Winnie and I.
In this narrative I have attempted to describe the personal impact hurricane Katrina had on me and my immediate friends and family. I start with the weeks leading up to the storm, describe the day it hit, and then the long year after attempting to rebuild my home and my life.
Some photos are included in this story, for more please go to our Katrina Photo Gallery. This hurricane was a major Life-Altering Event for everyone who experienced it. This article and the small collection of photos are published in the hopes that people not directly involved will appreciate the significance of this event.
After several weeks of phone calls, e-mails, and a one-day commute to Washington, D.C., it’s finally come together. I’ve received and accepted a position with a new company located in Arlington, Virginia. My start date is no later than October 31, so we have to move fast!
This past Friday I had a new and interesting experience – I flew up to Washington, D.C. and back in one day for a job interview.
I brought Aunt Rita back to the New Orleans train station yesterday for her trip back home. We arrived about 9:30, plenty early for an 11:55 departure. We said our goodbyes, then I left for home.
I had the day off but Winnie had to work, so I didn’t have any big plans for the day. I decided to take the long slow way back, picking up highway 90 (Chef Menteur Highway) just outside the French Quarter so I could see more of the city and coastal Mississippi. I’ve taken this drive in the past, but not since Katrina swept through.
Aunt Rita came in this past Friday for a week-long visit to Mississippi. She’s actually continuing a long tradition of coming in for a Labor day visit, and completing a visit she planned for this time last year.
Today is the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On this one-year anniversary, everyone here is nervously watching another potential hurricane move north hoping it hits someplace where FEMA parks don’t exist.
Well, it was the end of another era for us. Yesterday, I sold my vending business, started just 17 months ago. But what a ride it was!
I’ve been trying to put into diary the gauntlet of emotions I’ve experienced these past months in dealing with the aftermath of Katrina. Over the past few days, reading about people being evicted from FEMA hotel housing, and reading DKossian comments along the themes of “Katrina Welfare Queens,” I decided I needed to write this all out.
On Visiting The Doctor
I’ve gained a personal perspective on the vast difference between Government-Run health care and Free-Market Driven heath care over these past several months.
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