This is the note I left for my friends who asked how I was. We are alive. My wife and I got out Sunday night just as the hurricane was hitting. I, of course wanted to stay and ride it out. She, fortunately prevailed. We made a six-hour drive to Lake Charles, Louisiana where she had made a reservation at the Motel Six on the edge of town. How she got this reservation I will never know. People streaming past Lake Charles on the way to Houston missed it, but she got it. We holed up there for seven days in the crowd of refugees waiting to return to see the remains of our lives.
The people of Lake Charles, Louisiana showed us the finest side of humanity. They reached out personally to help us offering us lodging, food, and their cell phone numbers if we needed anything. We politely declined, knowing that others were in greater need than we were, but we marked their friendship and willingness to help, and we appreciated it. The city of Lake Charles may be small, but the hearts of its residents are huge.
On Thursday we drove the three hours to Thibodaux, Louisiana to rescue some friends stuck in a refugee center at Nichols State University, and we got our first look at the destroyed lives - people living with nothing but a trash bag of donated clothes on an eight-foot square of auditorium floor huddled with hundreds of others. It took us several hours, but we found the people we came to get, and we were able to get the message out to their worried families in Miami, that they were alive and safe.
The National Guard has been wonderful too. They have been polite and extremely helpful directing traffic and protecting the homes and property of we who evacuated. Yesterday Lourdes and I drove the three-hour drive (in six hours) to New Orleans to see our homes, and spent the day gathering what we could get out. The city looks like a disaster struck with seven power lines down and live on our block alone. I counted three trees down on our street, and as I progressed through town to get to our new house I had to change my route many times due to trees and debris blocking the street and because of live power lines arcing in the fetid water.
We had just bought a new home, and were renovating it when the storm hit, so our things were all still in the old house. The old house survived with only wind damage, but we were unable to get to the new house for the flood waters still two to three feet deep in our neighborhood. Other nieghborhoods are still inaccessible for the debris and floodwaters, but in our part of town there is no looting or other crimes. We had to leave at the end of the day, because the troops have orders to arrest anyone moving about after 6PM, so we couldn't do a more thorough exploration.
We will be out of our homes for another month I am sure, but we are glad that we aren't among the many bodies being dragged out of the waters that still fill the city. Thanks for your cares and prayers. Lourdes and I will be OK, but many others' lives will be destroyed along with their homes and possessions. Here's what I ask: Don't forget New Orleans' devastation as the weeks go by and the news media stop covering it. We need help down here, and we will for a long time.
The people of Lake Charles, Louisiana showed us the finest side of humanity. They reached out personally to help us offering us lodging, food, and their cell phone numbers if we needed anything. We politely declined, knowing that others were in greater need than we were, but we marked their friendship and willingness to help, and we appreciated it. The city of Lake Charles may be small, but the hearts of its residents are huge.
On Thursday we drove the three hours to Thibodaux, Louisiana to rescue some friends stuck in a refugee center at Nichols State University, and we got our first look at the destroyed lives - people living with nothing but a trash bag of donated clothes on an eight-foot square of auditorium floor huddled with hundreds of others. It took us several hours, but we found the people we came to get, and we were able to get the message out to their worried families in Miami, that they were alive and safe.
The National Guard has been wonderful too. They have been polite and extremely helpful directing traffic and protecting the homes and property of we who evacuated. Yesterday Lourdes and I drove the three-hour drive (in six hours) to New Orleans to see our homes, and spent the day gathering what we could get out. The city looks like a disaster struck with seven power lines down and live on our block alone. I counted three trees down on our street, and as I progressed through town to get to our new house I had to change my route many times due to trees and debris blocking the street and because of live power lines arcing in the fetid water.
We had just bought a new home, and were renovating it when the storm hit, so our things were all still in the old house. The old house survived with only wind damage, but we were unable to get to the new house for the flood waters still two to three feet deep in our neighborhood. Other nieghborhoods are still inaccessible for the debris and floodwaters, but in our part of town there is no looting or other crimes. We had to leave at the end of the day, because the troops have orders to arrest anyone moving about after 6PM, so we couldn't do a more thorough exploration.
We will be out of our homes for another month I am sure, but we are glad that we aren't among the many bodies being dragged out of the waters that still fill the city. Thanks for your cares and prayers. Lourdes and I will be OK, but many others' lives will be destroyed along with their homes and possessions. Here's what I ask: Don't forget New Orleans' devastation as the weeks go by and the news media stop covering it. We need help down here, and we will for a long time.
Thanks agains for your wishes.