Well, this is the first chance that I have had to post since I left for vacation. I woke up at 2 a.m. this morning to leave for Vegas. I flew from there to Salt Lake City, then changed planes for New Orelans. I am spending a couple of days there to be with family (aunts, cousins), and then it's off to the country to be with my mom and her side of the family. Angie and I were in New Orlean for Christmas 2004, and haven't been back to this part since 2001. Cottonport has a whopping popluation of about 2300, and is located in Central Louisana, 3 hours north of New Orleans.
Even though my aunt and her family live in Kenner, you would be surprised at how much damage was done by Hurricane Katrina, so many months ago. We toured yesterday, and it's so bad. There were "blue roofs" everywhere, which means that so many people just put blue tarps on their roofs b/c it's so hard to get roof repair done right now, b/c there is so much demand. It's also hard to find building materials. There were untold countless trailers in front of people's homes, where they are living in until their houses are back to normal. FEMA has provided the trailers. One street we drove down, you could see trailers all the way down the horizon, as far as the eye could see.
But the worst was downtown, right next to where the levee broke. On one side of the street, there were houses. On the other side, untold amounts of debris where homes were. It looked like a war torn, 3rd world country: demolished homes and power lines, overturned vehicles, homes with vehicles and trees and powerlines in them. Unbelieveable, you can't even put it into words. I am talking like 8 or 9 blocks, and it's so bad, all of this used to be in the street, you couldn't even get around. Now, everyone is driving by, taking pictures, and even though it is still bad, it took them 6 months to get it to where it's at now. It will take so long to get back to normal, if that is even possible. The problem is so complex, because it will take a lot more than just money to fix. And it's so bad, it's not like you can just take a group of friends to go clean it up. I'm speechless.
I am here until Saturday, and then I will be in Dallas with friends for a few more days before returning home.
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