I was in high school when Andrew came through and things at my house were mild. We sat around the house, read books and watched it rain steadily for numerous days. We even had a slumber party at my grandmother's house at some point as she was the first person to have her electricity restored.
Fall of '02 brought another big storm bearing down on Louisiana but I was in Texas at the time and far removed from the situation as long as I knew my family was ok. It was a pretty ferocious storm. Stories from the menfolk in the clan tell how the hunting camp was moved back off its piers about 50 yards into the marsh and how they had to roll it back in place, how the landscape had completely rearranged itself and small ponds were now big lakes and what was once water was now land, not to mention that the duck hunting went south permanently.
In 05, my fiance and I moved back to LA and were looking at houses, planning our wedding and focusing on starting our new life here. The day of our "Engagement Announcement" party Hurricane Katrina was the topic of discussion. Several family members stayed too late at the party and as a result were in traffic for hours on their way home to Houston. None of us had a clue what was in store. Even as we were in the midst of the storm, with all communication out with the exception of radio, we were clueless as to what was happening one hour south in New Orleans.
Three years have passed without incident and we now have Gustav bearing down on us. The horror of Katrina and Rita coupled with the fact that we are now homeowners with property to lose, makes me realize how naive I was about hurricanes. This is the first time I've been truly afraid and the first time I've done storm preparations. With giant trees on all sides of our home, I've already assimilated the insurance papers and house documents to take to a safe place as well as the backup hard drive for my computer. I'm hoping and praying this old house can live through another hurricane.
No comments:
Post a Comment