two years gone

[silveraspen]

Some of you may know that I lived in New Orleans for four years during university. It is a city I loved dearly then and still do now, and one that lies at the heart of a great many cherished memories.

I made a trip back on vacation in October, 2004. At the time I was visiting, so was Tropical Storm Matthew. I remember laughing about it at the

Comments

[newredshoes]

My hometown catches the edges of the hurricanes that hit the South; I remember the endless rain we had after Katrina, and feeling tainted by it. If only it had been as harmless there as it was in Athens.

*hugs*

[silveraspen]

*hugs back*

I think Viv can probably attest to this-- all the way up until the morning of the 28th, I was clinging to the "it's survived a zillion hurricanes, it'll be okay" approach. When Katrina headed for landfall east of the city, I got really, really quiet, because I knew the storm surge was going to be bad.

I just didn't know how bad.

[jezrana]

*hugs* It's always good to know that people in other states remember and care.

(And if you ever want to set foot here again, we have a futon I'd be willing to try to talk my parents into letting me offer up.)

[silveraspen]

*hugs back* Remember, care, and are unlikely to stop doing either. *points downward* The next three comments to this post are from people I went to university with.

(I intend to come back, and even to do so before I might end up there for work reasons. I will let you know when I do, as it's a when and not an if.)

[bewilde]

You know, a lady I work with now is a Katrina refugee who has settled in Tucson for the long haul. Speaking to her about NOLA is very bittersweet.

[silveraspen]

I imagine so.

On Sept. 19, 2005, I was in a small group which had to give a class presentation on disaster management and response. (Assignment made on August 20th, or thereabouts, before anyone knew.)

One of the people who arrived at school after Labor Day and joined the group was a young woman from Tulane.

Yeah.

[nethm]

NPR keeps running interviews w/ L9thW folks. Bittersweet is a good word. Part of you still kinda feels like you should be there, yknow? (UNO?)

[silveraspen]

It does, and I do.

I need to go back, but I fully expect that it won't be easy.

[metalsaurus]

For some reason, I keep remember evacuating for Andrew and Grant driving through the tail end of it (like a fool) to get back for classes.

And Wendy staying to have a hurricane party.

Odd. But it's strange to think that we couldn't all meet to go back to some of the places we haunted...

[silveraspen]

I remember that-- and me and R. driving north all the way back to TN, after leaving her car in Mississippi in a hospital parking lot, out of the range of the storm.

I sure wish it had all turned out with Katrina the way it did with Andrew, you know?

[metalsaurus]

Yeah.

It's sort of funny - I never returned because I left so many of my own ghosts there, but now, not being able to revisit them is such a strange loss...