Incidents in the life of.....

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

The Baddest B***H

Katrina was something serious. I cannot believe she did as much damage as she did. I guess Trina wasn't kidding when she titled her first album what she did. I have been meaning to post; I just haven't had computer access.Anyway, here goes...

We left home the Sunday before she hit. I was tripping because KHallmon hadn't called and overreacted about the storm. Once I made it to Jackson, I called her, asked her if she had been watching the news, laughed at her hystricalness (is that a word?), and went on with the conversation. It's hard for us to stay on topic because we are both ADD. She complained about the gas lines and I filled her in on my latest drama with the opposite sex.

Sunday came and went. I called all my friends who were still on the coast and talked to them. I begged one of my friends to come to Jackson because she has a newborn.( I had already reserved her a hotel room.) I called one of my other friends and laughed at her because she had to stay on storm duty. (She works for MS Power in the accounting department. She's awesome.) I told her if it really got bad those people were going to beat her up and take the little rations she has because she is barely five feet tall and a size 6. She laughed and made some smart comment. We were really joking, never imagining it would really come down to her handing out rations.

Monday came. I woke up at 6, called my buddies to check on them. The only one I got to talk to was Ash. I asked her was she ready to hand out food and told her where the storm was. She told me it was really windy, but there wasn't much rain. Their power had gone out a few hours before, but her grandmother's power had gone out Sunday. She was complaining about it being hot and I told her she should have just left. It wasn't like she would really have to hand out food. We talked a few more minutes bc she needed to conserve power on her cell. I said ok and promised to call back in two hours because the worst part would have passed by then. I called back in those two hours and did not get an answer. WEIRD. No big deal, I would call later.

A few more hours passed and it started getting dark in Jackson. The rain was beating on my window. I gave my neice a bowl of cereal, called my folks, called the hotel, went to get something to eat, then checked into the hotel. I had to drive all the way to the end of County Line to Krystal's because everything was closed. I was now panicking. This is crazy. My family finally came to the hotel. We talked a little bit, tried to call home, and sat glued to the television. There was really no feed from Katrina. The weather channel had a little, but nothing major, just the wind speed.

I went back to the school, checked the dorm, showered, and got in the bed. I was watching something and talking to TYJ when the phone went dead. WTH? It ain't even cordless. Then the power went out. It's late, I'm in here by myself, there's no power, I'm leaving. I packed an overnight bag and got ready to go the hotel. I walked outside and changed my mind. The wind was horrible. I tried to call my sister to tell her I wasn't coming back because it was too dark, but our phones weren't working. I had to text her. She texted me back and called me a scaredy cat. I didn't care;I wasn't leaving.

Finally, on Tuesday, we saw some footage of New Orleans. There were thousands of people in the SuperDome and it's roof was leaking. Later, we learned that the levees were broke in New Orleans and the city was underwater. It was just a matter of time before that happened. The dag on town is already below sealevel. We saw all of those people trapped and wondered what was going to happen. We never dreamed that it would take days, almost a week to get all of those people out. We bitched and complained about the gov'mt not at least dropping them food. Hell, we bombed and fed Bagdad at the same time.

On Tuesday night, we saw the first footage of Mississippi. We could not believe the coast looked the way it did. Casinos were scattered. One was in the middle of highway 90, another was on top of a hotel, another only had a sign, and the entire front and first 2 floors of the Beau Rivage were gone. Then we saw Pascagoula. The entire beach was just fucked. Houses were now foundations. There were roofs across the streets and around the corners. People's keepsakes were found blocks away. And in the midst of all that the Jehovah Witness Temple looked normal.

One of my great-uncles called my uncle and told him to come get him. We laughed because that was all we could do. My uncle, 2 aunts, grandmother, and great-grandmother were stuck in the church that one of my aunt's husband pastors. They had a limited amount of food and were on the second floor of the church because the entire first floor was flooded. My mom, her oldest sister, and brother started fussing bc my grandmothers stayed there. That was when we first realized the severity of this storm. We couldn't call home, but they could call us. Text messaging worked, too so everyone was texting everyone. Texting and praying texting and laughing texting and praying. Someone sent my godbrother a text that bodies were floating down Market Street and we about died. She then wrote him back and told him they were from the graveyard and whole caskets were floating. What a relief. All I could think was thank God my grandma ain't buried over there. News kept pouring in. Two entire families on the beach were dead. Mr. Pickett and his family had to be rescued from their house. Tiffany almost had a heartache and started panicking when the water came in. Jeremy's grandmother had to be rescued out of a tree. They just kept coming.

Finally, we were able to contact everyone and all of my mom's family was accounted for. I had no idea what was going on with my father's family. On Thursday, my mom and her oldest sister went to Wal-Mart and stocked up on food to take home to the rest of my family. I really did not want them to go, but my moma was worried about my grannies. They went home Thursday and my sister, neice, and I went Saturday, alond with my uncle and his family. I was not ready for what I saw. I had been glued to the TV since Monday, but what I saw did not compare to what I stood in the middle of. Pascagoula was destroyed. St. Peters was all the way gone. My sister's house had a water line at least 4 ft high and everything had to be disposed of. I mean everything from the refrigerator to stuffed frogs. It was gone. Mold was in the sheet rock. The TVs were soaked, everything just gone. I went to my brother's house and his things were floating outside his house. WTH? I went home and saw the carporch on my sister's car. The dog was shell-shocked. He didn't even bark. Everything ruined.

I was worried sick about my dad because I had no idea where he was. I went by both of his sisters' houses and I knew they were ok because all of their things were outside of their homes. I went by my grandfather's house and I would have thought he lived somewhere else because absolutely nothing was wrong with his house, not even a missing shingle. He told me everyone was ok, even my uncle John, who lives in New Orleans. He had gone to Florida before the storm hit. He told me my aunts lost everything, but I already knew that. I went to my sister's and tried to help clean up, but I was too shocked. I lost my AKA album that Ranada made me and my frog that my sister bought me for probate. I should have taken those things with me. Of course I lost all of my furniture, but those things were keepsakes.

It's ok though. Now we rebuild. The house has been cleaned out. The insurance company and FEMA have been by and we are ready to start over. It's going to take a while, but we will be ok. We have our health and a complete family. A lot of people can't say that. I volunteered at the Red Cross for four hours. I prolly should have done more, but... I wanted to call the hotline and donate some money, but my best friend went off on me and told me if I wanted to donate something, donate to my moma! Good point. We are ok though. We didn't lose our lives. We lost a lot of possessions though. It's going to be ok. No more tears. Thank God. He had his way.

Be blessed.

Posted by Nik :: 9/20/2005 :: 0 Comments: