I sit here this afternoon, clearly remembering this day, five years ago. The wind had calmed to a low, steady gust and the sky was a patch work of clouds on what was an overcast, late summer afternoon. After finally getting to the coast, I recall turning onto our road and seeing the debris on the road and in the yards. My first thought was "there are not a lot of trees down" while there were some, it just was not what I expected. My next thought was to get to my back yard where I hoped to see my dogs; praying they were both still alive.
My sons and I beat through the trash and debris, through what was left of our wind battered fences, and finally into our back yard. No dogs! We called out their names and still no sound from them. As we ventured deeper into the yard and around the back of the house, we could see the path where the water had escaped as it receded. Up to that point, I did not realize the impact the flood waters had on our life. We followed the path of strewn objects that once decorated our pool area, reviewed the remnants of our patio and our swimming pool that had been transformed into a trash filled, black water, pond.
As we continued around the house to the opposite side where we started, I heard a commotion. The receding waters clearly left our yard on this side of the house. As it did, the rushing water push objects that were in the yard into the corner of the fence. To our delightful surprise, we found both Taz and Buddy, atop the debris, awaiting rescue. We didn't know if they were happier to see us, or we them. Needless to say, that was the highlight of the day; it went downhill from there.
Once we finished the celebration with our pets and propped the fences so they could not get out, we ventured inside. This is where the realization of what Katrina had done to our world became obvious. Every room had the same look; as though everything was trying to escape but couldn't. Mud soaked carpet, furniture--everything was gone. Granted while we had it bad, there were some that had it worse. Some had no more than a slab of concrete where their house once stood and many others with all levels of damage. However, the worst was yet to come; I had to return to where my wife was and tell her what I had seen. I would have rather told her almost anything else. I knew she would be sad. And she was.
That was the first day, five years ago. While it took us almost two years to rebuild, we did get to remodel our house. A blessing or curse; it is in the eye of the beholder. We do feel very blessed looking back, but does one have to loose everything to gain some things; a thought to ponder. Did we learn some things along the way, yes we did.
As I sit here, an ire gust blows across my porch and the sky is a patch work of clouds on what is an overcast, late summer afternoon.
My thoughts and prayers are with all those that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. I hope that you are beyond that part of your life, or at least close to it. But we all know if you met her, you will never forget her.
Until next time,
~Tim
