My First Hurricane
So, Ryan and I survived the fierce Katrina. He and I packed the car with a couple changes of clothes, a litter box, one blanket, one pillow, five cats, and one sixteen year old cousin. We left Saturday morning for Crestview, Florida. We expected to be gone until Monday night or Tuesday morning at the latest. As Tuesday morning dawned, we realized that it would be much longer before we could even fathom returning home. As far as I can gather at this point, our apartment seems to be relatively free of damage. However, there is no electric, water, or gas. The estimates are weeks or even months. So, we currently find ourselves homeless with a starting lineup of kitties in tow. I'm very thankful that we heeded the warnings to evacuate, and I'm equally thankful that we decided to bring our kitties with us. Everyone was so jaded about leaving. I asked a few of my managers at work about their plans and they told me that they were tired of leaving everytime there was a bad storm. As of yet, I've heard of very little from my co-workers. I can only hope that they changed their minds before it was too late.
I'm sure many of you have seen the carnage from New Orleans and Mississippi. I am absolutely beside myself. I can't believe the amount of damage, but I am blown away by the looting and shooting that is taking place. It makes me physically ill everytime that I read a new headline. I've read the stories about the possibly thousands of bodies literally floating there in the city. I've heard about the refrigerated shrimp trucks awaiting the corpses. What makes the situation even more chilling is that we have still now word from my uncle. He was unable to leave New Orleans when the evacuation order was given. I had no idea how severe the storm would be, and I honestly didn't even think to contact him. I spoke to one of my aunts and she said, "he'll be fine...he's lived there for five years." This statement made sense to me at first. I have only lived in the New Orleans area for four months, so I assumed that he mostly likely would be fine. As the days pass, I realize that people who have lived there for decades were caught completely off guard. Many of those people have already paid with their lives. I hope above hope that my uncle was able to find suitable shelter, and I hope that he is somewhere safe. I've tried in vain to contact him, so that I can bring him North. I can't help shaking the feeling that I've failed him. I only hope that my grandmother is looking down and watching over him.
Ryan and I are very lucky. We had a place which to evacuate. We are well fed and comfortable. We were able to bring our pets with us. They are all doing fine. We will most likely have a home to which we can return. We (he) has a solid familial infrastructure that is providing for us during our time away from home. Ryan's birthday is Septemeber 2. His family decided that we should spend our time on a little vacation of sorts. We will be visiting all of our friends and relatives to the north. So if you're one our extended network, expect a visit from our traveling feline circus.
By the way, our kitties were fantastic during the eleven hour (usually a three hour trip) trek to Florida.
If you pray, pray for those who are still stuck in Katrina's aftermath. If you don't pray, send some positive thoughts their way.
I'm sure many of you have seen the carnage from New Orleans and Mississippi. I am absolutely beside myself. I can't believe the amount of damage, but I am blown away by the looting and shooting that is taking place. It makes me physically ill everytime that I read a new headline. I've read the stories about the possibly thousands of bodies literally floating there in the city. I've heard about the refrigerated shrimp trucks awaiting the corpses. What makes the situation even more chilling is that we have still now word from my uncle. He was unable to leave New Orleans when the evacuation order was given. I had no idea how severe the storm would be, and I honestly didn't even think to contact him. I spoke to one of my aunts and she said, "he'll be fine...he's lived there for five years." This statement made sense to me at first. I have only lived in the New Orleans area for four months, so I assumed that he mostly likely would be fine. As the days pass, I realize that people who have lived there for decades were caught completely off guard. Many of those people have already paid with their lives. I hope above hope that my uncle was able to find suitable shelter, and I hope that he is somewhere safe. I've tried in vain to contact him, so that I can bring him North. I can't help shaking the feeling that I've failed him. I only hope that my grandmother is looking down and watching over him.
Ryan and I are very lucky. We had a place which to evacuate. We are well fed and comfortable. We were able to bring our pets with us. They are all doing fine. We will most likely have a home to which we can return. We (he) has a solid familial infrastructure that is providing for us during our time away from home. Ryan's birthday is Septemeber 2. His family decided that we should spend our time on a little vacation of sorts. We will be visiting all of our friends and relatives to the north. So if you're one our extended network, expect a visit from our traveling feline circus.
By the way, our kitties were fantastic during the eleven hour (usually a three hour trip) trek to Florida.
If you pray, pray for those who are still stuck in Katrina's aftermath. If you don't pray, send some positive thoughts their way.