| 8/29/05 And 8/29/08
Now we're on a bus heading who knows where
anxiously awaiting Gustav--nervously
wondering what will be there when
we get back--and when we can--memories of
the flood--wounds still raw--tearing us apart.
Those who weren't here would say about us--
we'd been warned Katrina'd come--so what
happened was our fault--but we couldn't
leave--no car, no bus--and besides we'd
thought we'd known for years our levees
would keep us safe--but they didn't--I
woke early that morning--sensed something
wasn't right--smelled shit, piss, vomit,
gas--other bad things I couldn't name--
maybe even death itself--I heard the
rushing water--got out of bed--it was
already up to my knees--and still
quickly rising--shook Noah, Jonah
awake shouting "Get upstairs--NOW!"--
Saw to Grandma 'Becca--their daddy's
mother--diabetes had robbed her of her
legs--we couldn't afford to buy her
new ones--I thanked the Lord I had
the strength to carry her--then
brought up her chair, insulin and
other meds--started going back for
food--but foul water was coming close
to the attic--found the ax I'd kept
there--cut a hole in the roof as the
boys made a flag--then each of them
and I took turns going out to wave
it--minutes turned to hours--we saw
helicopters but they didn't see us--
I'd check on 'Becca and give her her
shots and pills--it was sweltering and
I could tell that she wasn't doing
very well--and silently prayed the
Lord would see her through and that
we all be rescued--we were all hungry
and thirsty--rescue finally arrived--
asked me who all was there--"My sons
and their grandma--she's in a bad way,
you see--here's her insulin and all
the other stuff she needs."--they
took her and the boys--but not
enough room with others abroad so
they had to leave me--at first I
thanked the Lord 'Becca had been
rescued--and didn't worry thinking
the helicopter would be back soon
and that 'Becca and the boys were
going to be cared for--but it got to
be two long days before anyone came--
my city was gone--this brought tears
to my eyes--I just couldn't stop crying--
my neighborhood and much more under
water--wondering what had become of my
Mom, Dad, and sisters--had they gotten
out OK or drowned--and what about other
family, my friends, my church, the boy's
school, stores, my beauty shop--everyone
and everything else I'd known?--I just
couldn't believe what had happened to
my city, my home--where I've lived all
my life--I think I cried the whole trip
but then put myself together--they were
dropping me off on the overpass and
now I had to find 'Becca and the boys--
I first went to the Dome--but a guard
there told me it I couldn't go in.
"Well, do you remember a sick elderly
lady without legs, in a wheelchair--and
two boys--they're eight and nine?"--"No,
Ma'am," he said--"I'm sure I'd have seen 'em
had they got here on my watch."--then I
asked for food and water 'cause I hadn't
eaten for at least a week--he said they
didn't have any I could have--then said
I should go to the Convention Center--so
I did--on the way there was a store
where folks were taking what they needed
to survive--and I went in to see what I
could find--slim pickin's--hardly any
food left--but I was grateful for what
I could find--and at the same time
felt badly for having done what I'd
needed to do--so I left a note by the
register saying sometime I'd come back
and pay for what I took--finally I got
to the Convention Center where I was
turned off by the funk--in the crowds
I asked almost everyone I saw--"Have
you seen a sick older lady without
legs in a wheelchair and two school-
age boys?"--finally one man said, "I
think I seen 'em"--then took me to the
front wall of the Center where I saw
Noah and Jonah looking rather well--
aside from what they'd gone through--
but 'Becca's slumped over in her chair
covered in a blanket--each boy gives
me a silent hug--and Noah, on the
verge of tears, said, "She's gone--she
passed last night--nobody would give
her her shots or anything."--for the
second time I broke down--now only
had she been a wonderful grandma to
Noah and Jonah, she'd been like another
mother to me--soon after that was our
exile to Houston--now it's three years
later--I wish I could say our life is
cool--but both Noah and Jonah have
been having trouble in school--we've
all had nightmares, flashbacks--I've
nerves, low energy, feel very down--
overwhelmed--if I didn't know I need
to stay strong for the boys, I don't
know what I'd do--but I don't mean to
totally cry the blues--the good thing
in our life is we're back in NOLA--and
we've a home--now, it's with one of my
sisters and her remaining kids and gets
crowded--but I'm grateful we're not in
Houston where we just couldn't fit in
and got homesick rather fast--or
homeless--and though I'm saddened by
some things I see in this city--there
are other signs we're keepin' on
keepin' on in spite of everything--
those small baby steps NOLA's making
to come back--and today I pray
that we'll be able to return home
soon as now we're on the bus heading
who knows where anxiously awaiting
Gustav--nervously wondering what will be
there when we get back--and when we can....
Now for more about Gustav and related issues: dizzydean has posted an excellent, informative series on what Houma and the Chitimacha tribes have been going through in the wake of Gustav--a story which, with 24/7 coverage of Sarah Palin and the convention, the MSM have missed entirely.
Last but not least, here are a couple of places to donate towards hurricane relief:
Network for Good. Or, as Barack Obama suggests, donate to the
Red Cross. Give what you can--but give. No amount will be too small. Thanks!
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