Lightning doesn't strike twice

Okay I know that's been disproven but you get the idea.  What are the chances that ONE specific day could be haunted with repeated tragedy?!?!?!

Exhibit A, B, & C

Katrina 2005

Isaac 2012

Ida 2021

All three of these Mother F**kers made landfall ON THE SAME DAY....IN THE SAME VICINITY!!!!!!!!

They were all different instities and sizes.  But they ALL brought death and destruction in their own way.  

Katrina - Massive b**ch that almost took up the whole gulf at one point.  Became a Cat 5 but weakened to a Cat 3 at landfall. Problem was it built up a Cat 5 storm surge that WIPED out Mississippi  Coast and destroyed NOLA and the surrounding parishes.  Thankfully my house was spared but we couldn't go home for about 2 weeks.  

Isaac - People discount Isaac because "it was only a Category 1".  But that @$$hole made TWO landfalls, and then just hovered battering the crap out of the area and pushing water into the unsuspecting River Parishes.  Leaving me homeless for 8 months!!!

Ida - Angry b**ch that Strengthened so fast we almost weren't prepared.  Smaller in diameter than the K word but made landfall as a Cat 4 and took her sweet f**king time moving along.  Destroying the bayou parishes and beating the crap out of the suburbs of NOLA. Leaving me homeless AGAIN for 6 months!!

10 years ago, still seems like yesterday - PART 4

This is the last "piece" about this. . . at least from me.

After Rita things slowly (mind melting slow) started to move forward.  Eventually we were allowed in Orleans parish to assess the damage to the grandparents home.  I took a few days off work (I'd found a job by this point).  It was forceful reminder of everything that had happened.  I practically grew up in their home, spending most of my summers there while my mom worked.  It was obvious when we pulled up that it was a total loss.  While the building was still standing there was a stillness to it that spoke volumes.  That with the brightly painted 'X' with numbers stood as ugly reminder of how many lives (human and pets) were lost.  The door was barricaded shut by the fridge which had fallen over as it floated around the kitchen.  The back storm door was locked from the inside so you couldn't open it to get to the back door.

Being pint sized I was able to slip through the front door between the fridge and the door.  I had to climb over so much...stuff...to get through the house and to the back door.  Of course the lock was sticking (water will do that) so it took me a while to finagle it open.  Every second I stood there in the dark flooded house my heartbeat picked up.  I felt like I wasn't alone although I knew I was.  My fear was running high.  It was at least 100 degrees and humid inside, obviously with no breeze.  Having that stupid but necessary mask on wasn't helping.  I ended up having to break the storm door by kicking it repeatedly (grandma wasn't happy but it was the only way).  Once inside, we got most of the windows open and I started the horrible task of documenting this tragedy in pictures. 

That 1st day we didn't do much except walk around in a daze, trying to wrap our brains around what had happened.  We KNEW what happened but to be standing there in the middle of it, seeing the water line from the not quite 8 feet of water, seeing all their material possessions, memories, and collections destroyed in one fateful moment as the waters came barging in.  There were many trips back to their former home.  Some I was there for, others I was not.  Each time we tried to salvage what we could and trash what we couldn't.  You would think as the days went on, it got easier...but it didn't.  If anything it got so much harder.  Because the more you dug around, the more mangled memories you found.  Good and bad, happy and sad...all of them broken by raging waters. 

At one point I was mucking about in their bedroom, I was the only one who could fit through the tiny opening...I had to clear debris (I am pint sized, NOT EASY) to finally wedge the door open enough.  I found my mom and dad's wedding album.  It was on the top shelf in a closet.  It was okay!  I mean a little damp but only at the bottom.  Most of the pictures were saved.  Granted my parents are divorced but this is still part of history, part of MY history and it gave us a little glimmer of hope that not everything was lost.  I also managed to shimmy my way into the attic to see what I could salvage.  It was very bright and had fresh air, thanks to the two ginormous holes ripped through the roof.  This time my spidey senses were spot on.  I was NOT alone.  My hidden companion hissed and growled and had glowing eyes.  Could of been a cat, could of been a racoon...I didn't stick around long enough to find out. 

It took many, many hours to go through the entire house.  This is 50+ years of stuff.  I ended up with a few items my grandma couldn't take but didn't want to toss or put in storage.  They were items that held a special place in my memories.  Nothing of monetary value but invaluable to me.

Once done with their house I was called into action again by the other side of my family.  My paternal grandma's house was also damaged and uninhabitable.  While it wasn't flood waters for her, the gaping holes in the roof allowed the driving rain to...well rain inside.  It caused insane amounts of damage.  I helped clear out her stuff as well.  Once it was all said and done I said "If I never step foot in a flooded house again, it will be too soon."  Oh how those words would come back and haunt me 7 years later on the anniversary of this catastrophic storm. 

10 years ago, still seems like yesterday - PART 3

More than a week but not quite two went by and we were still without power in Baton Rouge where we were staying.  We'd located most of our family and friends but we still weren't allowed to go home. . .to see how much we lost.  The BR looked like a war zone.  Trees were down everywhere, roads were blocked and low lying areas were flooded.  When we were allowed to, we stood in lines to get food, to get water, to get ice, to get necessities, to get answers.  We got the first four eventually but answers were few and far between. 

We finally got word that our parish was reopening.  There was still no electricity but we could go home.  We much preferred being there with no lights rather than crowding my cousin's house with the rest of the fam and no lights.  So we packed up our belongings, our animals & my mom and headed home. 

Debris littered the streets and highways but getting home took much less time than getting out.  As we turned down our street we were greeted with some neighbors who had managed to make it back.  We saw our house, it was fine.  *whew*.  No water and limited wind damage.  A few downed trees and our fence was completely gone, but none hit the house...how, I have no idea but we considered ourselves extremely lucky!  You could see the water line in the front lawn.  Clearly the water had risen significantly if it got that high by us.  Our neighborhood had NEVER flooded in a storm, not even Andrew (1995) which flooded other parts of our town (as told by the older neighbors). 

Clean up and settling back in was unpleasant but at least we had a home still.  Plus the electricity didn't stay off for long after we got back.  It was another week or so (I think) before my mom was allowed back into her parish (not Orleans).  They wouldn't let anyone in UNLESS they had an address in the parish.  Thankfully I hadn't changed mine on my license yet so I was allowed to accompany her and my boyfriend worked for the state so his badge got him in as well.   

Her house was still there, yay!  No flooding, yay! Giant tree resting on the roof, boo!  The drive to her house looked even sketchier than the drive to ours.  Trees were down...all lying in the SAME direction.  Clearly straight line winds, immensely strong winds, did this.  We are talking about 100 year oaks and other MASSIVE trees, completely UPROOTED.  I monkey-ied my way up the fallen tree and onto her roof to get a better look.  It was absolutely sobering.  As far as you could see in any direction there was complete destruction.  We took lots of pictures and opened the windows to air things out.  She had quite a bit of water inside because of the holes punched in the roof thanks to the tree.  We deemed her house unlivable for now, so we got a few more necessities for her, locked it down and headed back to our house. 

It took weeks to get her insurance crap 1/2 way straight so she stayed with us.  Before they could even think about scheduling her house to be fixed we had ANOTHER hurricane.  Rita came barreling in.  She hit much more west of us (we did NOT evacuate) but she was a b**ch as well.  More trees came down by us (clearly weakened by the 1st storm) and the temporary levees breached again.  Once again the city was inundated with water. 

10 years ago, still seems like yesterday - PART 2

FOUR hours later we made it to Baton Rouge.  Normally that drive takes about 45 min - 1 hour from where I live.  We took back highways and little know routes, steering clear of Airline Hwy and I-10.  My mom and grandma took about 6 hours and my uncle and grandfather (who waited until the last freaking second to leave) took even longer.  If I remember correctly, they waited too long to initiate "contra flow", the highway systems were overwhelmed.  But they had to get people off the roads before the storm hit.  Honestly it was tad insane.  Cell phones were already messing up because everyone and their momma (literally) was on the phone trying to see where everyone was.  7 people, 6 dogs, 2 snakes, some feeder mice, 1 cat and 1 bird in a 1 bedroom house was a little crowded BUT it was safe...right?

It didn't seem like very much time had passed before the tell tale signs of a super storm started to make themselves known.  The animals were a wreck!  The dogs could not sit still.  My cat chewed a hole in the underside of my cousin's box spring to hide in it.  And to be truthful we were all on edge as well. The TV was on a 24/7 loop of local news recapping what we all already knew, Katrina could easily wipe NOLA and the Mississippi Gulf Coast off the map.  Eventually the power went out and we were left to sit there listening to WWL News Radio by candle/lantern light as the wind howled outside.  It was hot as Hades in the house...it was August people...so we chanced opening the front door (it had a latched screen door) and some windows.  We attempted to sleep at some point...an unspoken agreement to leave the radio on to hear any updates they might have.  I remember laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, trying to comfort my trembling dogs.  Between the screaming wind and driving rain, it sounded like someone was snapping twigs outside, mixed with something that sounded like a giant taking a step (all I needed was to hear Fe Fi Fo Fum).  We knew what was happening...the winds were so strong tree limbs were breaking and the ancient oaks all around us were falling on their sides.  No one said it, but we were all thinking it.  We were 60+ miles inland from NOLA. . .if it's this bad here. . .there might be nothing left to go home to.  As Katrina moved further inland we all sat around the radio quiet and listening.  That is when they said something I will NEVER forget.  The newscaster said in a broken voice "The levees have failed, the City of New Orleans is under water".  The grandparents were very very quiet.  They lived in the City not a suburb like the rest of us.  The reports were still patchy but it was clear that it was unbelievably bad.  And while no one had said it on the radio we all knew they were dancing around the subject of loss of life. . . how many people stayed. . .how many people didn't make it. 

Up until now we hadn't heard much about any place else other than Louisiana.  The first report we heard about Mississippi just about broke me.  Yes my city was flooded but they basically said NOTHING was left of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  Where houses and businesses once stood, now there were only the foundations and scattered debris giving you a glimpse of the lives that were lived there.  The casinos were pretty much gone.  "It looked like a bomb went off."   They couldn't tell us  how much was left anywhere. . .what we might go home to. . .or if there was a home still there.  They were calling us all refugees.  Life along the gulf coast was forever changed. . .again.

10 years ago, still seems like yesterday - PART 1

This is long but interesting...at least I think it is.

So many things have changed in 10 years.  So many things haven't.  But the things that have changed are mostly for the good, I think.  We learned so much that day.  We learned that mother nature is a force to be reckoned with. That she is 100% capable of wiping us out without a second thought.  I am sure there will be a zillion posts about this anniversary and although I hate being a "follower" I will jump on the bandwagon, just this once. I never want to relive that day but I think it is important to remember everything that happened that lead us to this point.  I am not good with exact time frames but I can give you a round about time of the happenings in my world. 

I was 24, living with my long term boyfriend, in a house we bought earlier that year in a suburb of a suburb of a suburb of New Orleans (a bit rural but still a city, we have a Walmart, HELLO!).  I had just been laid off from my job and was in the midst of finding somewhere else to work while finishing my Master's Degree.  To say my life was upside down is a bit of an understatement.  The week of Katrina I had 3 interviews. One was VERY promising, he basically told me I had the job when I was leaving.  The entire week and a bit prior I'd been paying little attention to the news and happenings in the world but I made sure to know about the weather.  When you are from this area, you watch the weather during hurricane season.  I kept hearing about this storm and its potential development, etc etc etc.  The City of New Orleans had cried wolf (evacuate) before (Georges & Ivan come to mind) and the storm went somewhere else, so while I took the caution seriously, I wasn't very concerned.  When they said LEAVE the last two times, we left, but my gut said it was silly to do so and I was more annoyed than anything (especially sitting in traffic for ELEVEN hours just to get to Lafayette).  This storm was different and I told my boyfriend that.  I had a VERY bad feeling...I was actually scared.  I know people say in hindsight you say this but I swear, before anything happened...I just had the worst feeling in my gut.  As the days ticked down, I did what I always do, I prepared for a storm.  I bought water, canned food, batteries, candles, lanterns, dog/cat supplies, money, Rxs, etc.  We took the boards out of storage and put them in the front of the shed in case we needed to board the windows.  We went through the motions as we've all done many, many times before. 

I woke up a couple days before (I think) and thought I was hallucinating.  This had to be a bad dream.  This B**ch was basically a Cat 4, expected to get to a Cat 5 and pointed straight for Louisiana/Mississippi.  It took up almost the entire gulf.  I sat there gaping at the TV.  My boyfriend's work called him in to do emergency prep while I started prepping the house.  Thankfully at that time he mainly worked from home so it wasn't too bad.  I honestly don't remember when it happened exactly (could have been the same day, could have been the next...its all a blur) but I remember every television in my house going off and announcing an Emergency Statement.  Our parish was under a Mandatory Evacuation (1st time in History for this parish).   They were expecting a storm surge taller than my house, winds gusting well over 150 mph and driving rains...she was called a "doomsday storm" more than once.  The weather forecasters were so somber...they KNEW this was going to be extremely bad.   Before long there were police patrols in the streets repeating over and over, "Get out...we will not be able to help you if you stay."  We packed what we could, put the important stuff in the attic and prepared to go...north. 

I called my mom to make sure she was leaving.  She actually fought with me about having no where to go and said my grandparents were staying as well.  To say I lost my $hit is an understatement.  But none of them would budge.  All I kept hearing was "we stayed for Betsy and Camille, this will be fine." Finally my younger cousin called me FREAKING out.  She lived more north where she was in school, granted not REALLY north...not even Central LA but still North of us.  She told us to go to her place.  It was small but we were welcome.  Together we convinced (barely convinced) our family to heed the warning and get the F out!  I am not ashamed to say I used tears to get our Patriarch to listen.  By this point the wind had begun to blow a bit.  She was still well offshore but she was so big...it is the most disturbing feeling...you have the sun blazing and a nice breeze on a seemingly BEAUTIFUL summer day but there is nothing but the sound of people packing up their lives.  No birds, no animals, no bugs really...nature had left.  My two dogs were pacing paths in the grass and my cat was no where to be found, they were clearly nervous.  After boarding up the windows on our new home (can I tell you how creepy it is to be inside a boarded house!), we packed up what we could in our cars (including our pets) and headed to our state capitol. 

NOLA ReBuilding - Lakeview

Even being from NOLA it still shocks me at some of the progress (or lack there of) in re-building.

I know a few people that live in the area called Lakeview that have completely re-done their homes. And have been done for quite some time. I'm not knocking anyone, I get how difficult it can be for people who are trying to fix their homes. It's hard to do a complete rebuild of your home especially if you have bad luck with contractors. I am talking about the ones that have had NOTHING done. The ones rotting on their lots.

I was driving to go meet my friends at a Festival this past weekend and was shocked at the progress. Now I was pleasantly surprised how many houses had be redone or almost completed. I was disgusted at the others. I was going along seeing all these great renovated homes, which looked so nice and hopeful and then right down the street or next door, there was one that was completely decrepit. It was quite obvious the only work done on it was it being gutted...MAYBE. The doors and windows were missing or broken and you could still see the stained waterline on the outside of the house. It looked like the hurricane just hit a week ago and people hadn't returned yet to their home. It was like this the whole way to the Festival. It wasn't a majority of the homes but it was still a good many. Some were up for sale others just falling apart there.

Now why did this bother me so much. Well lets see, its not just because it makes Lakeview look bad its because of the other problems. These homes were in water for quite sometime, saturated and molded by the flood brought on by Katrina. I know how bad this mold and rot became...I help completely gut out 3 houses in NOLA. And this was just a few months after the storm. We are going on year 3 this August 29th; almost 3 years since the flood waters receded.

Okay back to why I am so annoyed with it. You see NOLA has had a termite/rodent issue for as long as I can remember. Termites used to "swarm" for a few weeks late spring/early summer. Nothing spectacular, you'd just see some flying around lights, especially at outdoor parks and stuff like that. Nothing like what I saw this weekend. I was sitting at the Festival and at around 8PM the termites came out of the woodwork...literally! It wasn't just a small group. I mean this was a MASSIVE swarm, it looked like something out of a horror movie. They were everywhere. All around the lights, electronics, diving into peoples food and drinks, landing in hair etc etc etc. It was like a freaking cloud of termites hovering above the crowd. Then I started thinking, they are probably devouring the blighted houses in the area, multiplying like crazy and putting the new developments in danger of becoming infested. Plus these were just the ones that "came out to play" imagine how many more there are underground and hiding out in homes around the area. Makes my skin crawl. Then I started thinking, if termites are making homes out of the abandoned ones just think what else is living in there. I keep hearing about cat sized rats running around (and no I am not talking about Nutria). I think I would die if I saw one, a rat...and I'm not really scared of rodents but a rat that big...

Like I said I really don't like to judge people, pest control is expensive especially termite treatment but my goodness if you could have seen this you would have felt the same...I think. I just kept thinking, why even try to sell the dilapidated houses, just knock them down and sell the land... I know I don't fully understand everything and its not just that easy...knocking down a house but I just had to say something.

I keep wondering what we are doing here in NOLA. Don't we want people to move back and come visit? Doesn't having an insane termite and rodent problem make people NOT want to come around here. Shouldn't there be a time limit on how long a blighted house can just sit there...I mean I thought this was in place (a time frame to gut/rebuild) but from what I saw I am not sure. And this is in a "good/decent" part of town...I can only imagine what is going on in poorer areas. Can anyone shed some light on this? I love my city and hate to see ANY part of it like this.