Katrina and Rita

I thinking about what I remember about Katrina and Rita, I live about 2 hours between where both of them hit. I remember the vehicle after vehicle packed with people and the look of absolute fear on their faces and their blank stares. Vehicles piled high with every belonging they could carry with them. People who had no idea what tomorrow would bring but were scared to even think about it because it was too unimaginable. They were heading north, just heading north, they didn't know where they were going, where they were going to sleep or eat or find safety.

I housed several families that lost their homes. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a man that did everything he was suppose to all his life and suddenly had everything taken away. 

These people not only lost homes they lost their communities. Their doctors were gone, the pharmacy that they used for their babies and their eldery, the mechanic that could always get their car running, the grocery store on the corner, everything and everybody was gone.

The communities south of New Orleans like Chalmette, Meraux which were home to the middle class workers of New Orleans, you don't hear about the loss they faced all you hear about is New Orleans.

All of this the result of a barge breaking loose and crashing into a levee.

The suffering I witnessed in those weeks and months following those hurricanes is something I never want to see again.