JeffAndJanice.com

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Sorry for so few updates lately, but I’m not really sure anyone reads this blog, so I don’t get into keeping it up.

We’ve had two hurricanes here since my last post. To drive around this area, you’d hardly know it, as no homes lost their roof, and very few trees were felled. But the damage was far more extensive than Hurricane Andrew’s. The storm surge reached to the edge of New Iberia, and I know many people who lost everything to flooding. Many people had water six feet deep in their homes. They’ve lost everything. Entire towns were destroyed, though the buildings are still standing. I’ve heard for years that storm surge could reach as far as New Iberia, but it always seemed like the exaggerations of fear mongers. Sure enough, thousands of homes were flooded.

For Katrina we had three evacuees stay with us. My friend Norm came with his wife and son (and cat). I hadn’t met Josh before that, and we didn’t know that he was a sous chef for Emeril. That first week was a bacchanalia of food and wine. Then Josh moved on, and we had Norm and Leslie for a while longer... still lots of food and wine. Then Leslie moved back home, but Norm stayed because he could not re-open his office in New Orleans. He found temporary office space locally and is living and working here still. Again, the food and wine never stopped flowing. We’ve had entirely too much fun for a disaster of such proportions. Norm says he’ll probably be here another week.

I’ve always wondered if Janice and I would take in someone who needed a place to stay. We’re very private people, and we rarely have company, but I can say with no hesitation that it’s really been a positive experience for us. Norm is a real gentleman, and a thoughtful houseguest. It’s been a genuine pleasure.

But they weren’t our only evacuees. After Katrina, a second storm blew through. This one was headed to Houston, where my mom lives, and she decided to evacuate and come here. In retrospect, it was a bad decision, because the storm hit closer to here than to Houston. I told her she’s the only person I know who actually evacuates TO a hurricane.

Her drive to Louisiana was a nightmare. She and her husband drove separate cars, so she ended up driving nearly 20 hours alone. Mom is not well, and it was very difficult for her to drive so long. Traffic moved at a snail’s pace, and it took all day to reach the state line. There was no gasoline to be bought along the evacuation route, and their tanks were nearly empty. Night was falling, and the hurricane was coming, and their cars were on empty. To make it worse, we were losing contact with them. Phone lines were clogged and we could no longer get a call through. Strangely, other people, as far away as Baltimore, were able to call them, but we couldn’t. Finally, I posted on the TSBB (my favorite sailing messageboard), that Mom was in trouble. One of the regulars there was able to reach them, and he arranged to meet them with gasoline. After 20 hours, we finally met up with them in Opelousas (figuring they’d never make it to New Iberia).

After the storm, Mom and Jimmy stayed at my house until they got word that it was okay to return to Houston. Their home had zero damage, and I don’t think they even lost electricity.

And then there was Barry. I was worried that he might not have fared well, since I hadn’t heard anything from him. I left a voice mail for him, and asked if there was anything he needed. He called back and told me he’d lost everything. He needed a place to live. As luck would have it, my garage apartment was coming available, and I offered it to him. He accepted. Unfortunately, he has large dogs, which makes it a stressful situation for Janice, as she worries about our cats 24 hours a day. We’ve worked out a schedule with Barry, and our cats now go outdoors only when we know the dogs are in. His dogs are quite gentle, and they live with a cat, but our cats don’t know that, so we’re worried they might panic and run into traffic, or run far enough that they wouldn’t find their way home. So far so good, and I think we can make it work.

“What about sailing?”

I’m glad you asked. I was at the top of the waiting list for a wet slip at the yacht club. I knew I’d get a slip sooner or later, but the storm hastened my ascent on the list (due to damaged and lost boats), and I now have a slip. I’m bringing the boat down this weekend, and I plan to sail O-F-T-E-N!!!

There’s plenty more to say, but you’ve probably already lost interest.

I’ll blog again later.

another hasty insight by Jeff on 10/13/2005

Thursday, October 13, 2005

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