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We Are Alive!

::regmar
09/06/05 6:53 PM GMT
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.

Thanks agains for your wishes.
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ж Regmar ж

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bjb
09/06/05 7:04 PM GMT
Thank you so much for getting here as soon as you could Regmar. I'm sure you will read how very worried we all were for you and your wife. I'll not forget and have no intention on letting anyone in my area forget either. There are plenty of angels here as well as all over the country. May you be touched by each and every one of them.
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When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance... Leanne Womack
::CaptainHero
09/06/05 7:19 PM GMT
Glad to see you are ok. Thanks for letting us know.
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"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." Bertrand Russell
mesmerized
09/06/05 7:23 PM GMT
Thank God you are safe and well...many of us have been very concerned for you...so good to know you are ok and being well taken care of...nor will I forget in the coming weeks and months...you and all the others will continue in our thoughts and prayers and I know all that can will do their part to help...thanks for letting us know...look forward to your return when circumstances permit...meanwhile, take care and all the best.:Pat.
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::groo2k
09/06/05 7:44 PM GMT
Glad you are OK Regmar. It is nice to hear about the kindness you have been shown. Good luck with the recovery.
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::xyccoc
09/06/05 7:45 PM GMT
glad to know youre ok Reg.. my house fared ok thru the storm.. lot of trees down, but none hit the house.. in florida rite now for work.. please dont hesitate to ask if you need anything my friend

Dj
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And everytime I feel that my lifes a waste.. I just cant rid myself of your bitter taste.. - Me (Option21)
XYZ
09/06/05 8:20 PM GMT
Its great that you're ok.
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prismmagic
09/06/05 8:26 PM GMT
My heart and best wishes go out to you and your friends Regmar. I trully hope that you and the rest of the people suffering this hardship will be able to re-build and make it through.
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Art is the perception of the creator. Meaning is the perception of the viewer. acceptance is the perception of society.
::Morwyn
09/06/05 8:32 PM GMT
So glad you are safe.. I was very worried.. I understand about the devastating.. I have seen and will not forget.. My heart goes out to everyone there..
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One bead at a time..
scionlord
09/06/05 8:45 PM GMT
Glad you are ok, hopefully you will be able to go home relatively soon.
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'Study the past, if you would divine the future.' - Confucius ................. Please look at these: Swirly Thing, Aircraft version 3
kodo34
09/06/05 8:47 PM GMT
Glad to hear you are ok , and the best of luck to you and your fellow citizans.
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have a nice day and read more fantasy.
::regmar
09/06/05 9:15 PM GMT
It sure is nice to read the wonderful notes of concern that I've received from my friends here. This community is full of fine people who occaisionally have differences of opinions, but are good people nonetheless. My wife and I will be going through some hard times in the near future, but we're better off than most, and it's good to know that there are people who care about us. I may not be as frequent a contributor in the short term, but know that my thoughts are with my friends here at Caedes.net.
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ж Regmar ж
kjh000
09/06/05 9:21 PM GMT
I care, but don't really know what to say since I don't know you that well. I'm glad to hear from you nonetheless. :) My best wishes for the future.
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::WENPEDER
09/06/05 9:25 PM GMT
I can only imagine what it was like to travel back to your home and see so much devastation, Reg. I join the others in thanking God you and yours are OK and that one of your homes didn't go down in ruins. Yes, you've got some hard times ahead and I'll join many others here in praying for you and your family.
Wen
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_myst_
09/06/05 10:08 PM GMT
yay!
you worried us all, you know that?
i'm happy you're all ok :)

best wishes!
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~~~ ...all that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream... ~~~
DixieNormus
09/06/05 10:53 PM GMT
Glad to see you're still with us. =0)
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KEIFER
09/07/05 4:00 AM GMT
Good News, for sure
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---Fear is the mind-killer---
::dreamer100
09/07/05 11:30 PM GMT
I'd like to thank you for checking in with us, I'm sure you've got more pressing concerns. I hope you're able to reconnect with all you search for and the next few months don't wear down the spirits of both you and Lourdes. I'm doing a lot in the comming weeks but Just can't seem to do enough. Stay safe, stay strong, the world aches with you.
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+Samatar
09/09/05 1:30 AM GMT
Glad your wife won that argument. It must be very hard to leave your home and possesions to the elements but in the end life is so much more precious... don't know if you are anywhere near the disaster area now but obviously make sure you stay clear of that disease ridden water we are hearing about on the news. Glas to hear one of your houses survived, at least, and hope the other is salvagable also.
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-Everyone is entitled to my opinion- Visit the new improved rescope.com.au
::regmar
09/09/05 11:58 AM GMT
I'm posting this message from a friend of mine who chose to ride out the storm in her and her husband's lakefront house on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. I replaced all names with bracketed words to protect her identity. If this doesn't tell what it was like I don't know what can. Here is her story, and I hope she doesn't mind my sharing it with you.

<---------------------------------------------------------->


<My husband> and I are alive by the grace of God. I don't know where to begin; however, I will try and tell you just what happened to us the day of the storm. Why we made the decision to stay I don't know it was stupid and foolish. <my husband> & I stayed in our 3 storiey home on the lake. The water started coming into the house on the first floor, we heard the windows bust out and then all of our furniture came rushing out piece by piece. All of the cars were floating away, the garages were gone and all of the boats and cars were gone. <my husband> had just got a brand new Hummer 3 he hadn't even let me drive it. After we saw what was happening we got really nervous. The water was getting higher and higher we went to the second floor I was still able to see from the music room what was
happening outside.

The stairwell ripped off the house, I thought that might be good and once that was gone maybe it wouldn't pull the rest of the house down. Boy was I wrong. We were standing on the 2nd floor lookinig at 10feet of water and watching the water get higher and higher. Then the water started coming into the 2nd floor I got my jewlery cases and threw them in a big purse then into the dryer and shut the door. We ran up to the 3rd flloor and we could see the walls and ceilings cracking we went out on the balcony were there was a jacuzzi. I asked <my husband> if the top of it would float, if you can believe this I had put the top behind the jacuzzi and it was still there.

The wall of water was around 30 feet high. In 15 seconds the entire house was gone and we were in the most horrible situation. <my husband> has tied a sheet around my waist; thank God he did. <my husband> told me to get into that tree across the street and that is exactly were I ended up. There was a kids swing set chain with plastic around the chain wrapped around the tree I was able to latch on to it and pull myself up into the tree. When I turned around the top of my house was coming at me. I raised my feet and somehow moved it off of me. I looked in the bayou and saw <my husband> and that was the last I saw of him.

I stayed in that tree for 7 hours with winds blowing so hard and me just begging God not to forsake me
and please don't let me drown. The wind and water just keep coming and wouldn't stop. I kept praying and praying and thinking about <the kids> just running the tapes of their lives in my head. I was looking
all around for an escape and there wasn't one. I was worried about my neighbr's house coming down and the debris coming towards me. It never did, in fact it is still standing and their pictures are still on the wall. I had their key around wrist but. we just couldn't get there because thier stairs went early. Finally I saw, about 400 feet away, a set of iron stairs attached to a wooden house on the lake.

I was getting cold and my legs and feet were blue. I had to raise my entire body up from out of the V in the tree long enough to wiggle my legs to get some circulation. I knew if I was blown into the water I would have to swim for my life and with no feeling I felt for sure I would drown. My neighbor's home never came down and I had her key on my wrist; however, no stairs to get up into it. At 6pm I saw the sun come out for an instant and I knew God was letting me know I would be ok. I understand what it means to feel the presence of God, because I felt his arms holding me in that tree. I don't know how hard the wind was blowing I only know it is a miracle I stayed in that tree. At 6:30 I came out of the tree I slid down and when I got to the bot<my husband> there was a big black snake, I was so scared I fell in the water and a nail went into the palm of my hand. I got up and went down the street towards the stairs about 400 feet. When I got there the waves were coming so strong and fast I was on the slab of the house next to the house with the stairs. I took off the sheet <my husband> had tied on my waist and tied one end to a blonde brick then stuffed it into a cinderblock and tied the other end onto a car tire. I was trying to block the debris that was coming from hitting me and knocking me out. There were pillings, huge wooden boards and trash everywhere.

I was timing the waves and figured I had 5 seconds in between each wave. I finally dove in the water and reached for the metal stairs; just as I got there a huge wave came I felt my body go straight out I held on for dear life. I went up the stairs and at the top was a sectional sofa with a refrigerator on it's back. I opened it up and there was a sprite I was so thankful, so dehidrated and weak. The entire back of the house had been blown out and everything was gone except the refrigerator and sofa. I turned the cushions over and started to lay down when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a door partially open.

There was debris in the hall but I managed to get through and when I got inside it was a bedroom, totally dry, with big white pillows and a bed with a nice comforter. There was a chest of drawers with a dry T-shirt and sheets which I warmed up with. I know that God saved that room because yesterday <my husband> & I went back to North Shore Beach to look for anything and someone had come by and condemed the house I was in. I saw the owner and thanked him because his house helped save my life. If I had had to stay in that tree all night I would have either died from snake bits or frozen to death. I used that sheet <my husband> tied around me to keep my legs warm. Well I spend the night in that bedroom Thanking God and asking him why he saved me and what he wants me to do for him. Around 2am I started to see things in the water, I thought there was a house coming at me and would hit the house I was in, knock it down then I would be back in the water. I got dressed in my wet clothes, started to tie all the sheets together and tied the end to the head board of the bed. Next, I knocked out the rest of the glass in the one broken window in case I had to go through it I didn't want to get cut up any more than I was.

I saw a quarter moon and a million bright stars in the sky it was a beautiful sight. I must have fallen to sleep because, when I woke up it was daylight. I went to the window and called for <my husband> and he answered me. " I can't see you, stay where you are, I'm coming to get you" I wasn't staying one more second in that house. I went outside threw down all the pillows from the sofa and made a walk way to the street. There was still water in the front yard; however, not that much.

<my husband> came down the street he was on. He had managed to stay alive by holding onto a pilling under a camp or maybe two. He finally spotted a set of stairs with a paddle boat turned over and swam desperatley to it. He wanted to come and look for me. I kept trying to send him a mental message to stay put and let him know I was ok. He got into a house that was completely intact with candles and a flashlight. He wrote a note to <the kids> to let them know how much I loved them and how proud of them I was and that the last time he saw me I was wrapped tight in a tree. We went down to where our home was and there was a silver cross in front. We went into someone's home and got shoes for me, since the only ones I had were the ones I made out of a green sweatshirt I found in the house I was in. We bandaged up our wounds and started looking for water, we say planes but they didn't come for us. We decided to go back to the home where <my husband> had spent the night and rest, the next day were were going to walk out.

<My husband> found a little ice, a beer and 2 glasses, which he fixed for us. He washed my shoes off and then we heard a siren. It was the Coast Guard, they were there by accident. The place they were headed they couldn't get to, They took us with them to the South Shore, we walked from there to my Mothers home in Metairie, where believe it oir not the phone worked we called the kids and <my husband>'s brother to let them know were were alive. We went to the office and took an old truck to Kentwood, La. where it ran out of gas. <The kids> came for us.

I appologize for the spelling and grammar. I just wanted to tell you the story.


<---------------------------------------------------->
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ж Regmar ж
::Morwyn
09/09/05 12:10 AM GMT
Thank you..
I think that everyone needs to read this..
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One bead at a time..
mesmerized
09/09/05 3:49 PM GMT
So many gut-wrenching stories have come out of all this...thank you Regmar, for sharing this one.:Pat.
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silverhawk1064
09/10/05 12:48 AM GMT
Thank you for sharing that story. I agree with mom (morwyn) Everyone should read this and thank there lucky stars for what they have.
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::WENPEDER
09/10/05 6:15 PM GMT
::Big sigh::....that story made may eyes water, reg. Thanks so much for posting it. Yep, it sure does force a person to put one's blessings in perspective.
Wen
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::Torque
09/11/05 11:48 PM GMT
Hey Regmar, I just wanted to let you know how glad I am to hear that you and yours are safe, and happy for the survivors of the terrifying ordeal above as well. I hope things will return to normal for you as quickly as possible.
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~My select image - Wading Patiently
J_272004
09/12/05 3:08 AM GMT
Wow .. that was heart renching... they are so lucky.. god was truly with them that night... you can only imagine the fear they went through it would have been terrifying... im so glad that they are safe.. I agree with Wendy.. it certainly puts things in perspective and make you realise just how lucky we are... All the best to you and Lourdes may your lives get back to normal quickly...
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"Life's like chocolate left in the sun... once it melts its gone"

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