Life changes and is never the same again

Yesterday people talked a lot about 9/11 and the victims of that tradegy. Most people outside New York and the surrounding states were not as affected. While it was a horrible hateful act, so was Oklahoma City, the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan and the on going nuclear crisis in 4 reactors caused by the Japanese earthquake and following disaster. My point is I think we all have tradegy in our lives no matter big or small it effects us in many different ways.

My tradegy was Hurricane Katrina.

I was born and mostly raised in New Orleans. I grow up both in the city and also in another low lying area in St. Bernard's parish. All my life I grow up under threat of hurricanes, especially the big one. Most of my life we had near bushes with storms. On August 29th, my birthday of all things, Katrina hit turning at the last minute to MS coast causing one of the biggest mostly costly natural and man maded disasters in our country's history. In one day I lost my childhood home and cherished items, my sister and her husband lost their home and business. Also we lost friends I grow up with, Mama's and Papa's friends. Elderly neighbors gone but never forgotten.

My family got out because they know it was going bad. None of us ever expected to not be able to go home for a few months and also a lot of my friends unable to come home even after 6 years.

I sat in horror as we watched those without the means to get out fought fight for their lives. I remember watching and crying because no one was helping them. No matter whose at fault for help not getting there quicker, people died in that heat for no reason. I like to say Kayne West got it just a little wrong, the government hates poor people. Look around your area and I'm sure you see poor and needy or maybe like myself are poor and needy.

Yes, some folks shouldn't have stayed, but many were left to do for themselves for days with little water or food. We still would have had major flooding and damage from Katrina. Then the levees, those levees we have begged for money to fix failed us just as we were afraid. People died needlessly because the government hasn't taken care of its infrastuture in many years.

Now 6 years late a lot has changed. I can finally look at pictures and video of August 29, 2005. I don't cry as much now. Yet everyday whether here or there I remember HER. I remember things gone maybe forever and new things in its place. I doubt it will ever be the New Orleans I grow up in but I'm just happy to finally feel some of the old magic of the area coming back.

Still everyday I remember my hometown. I wear fluer de lis about daily. I'm a huge Saints fan. WHO DAT!!! Geaux Saints!!!

Geaux New Orleans...

Today "Katrina" still kills in the form of overstress from rebuilding and trying to make the city right again. I lost a friend a few months after Katrina from a heart attack. We call it the Katrina disease because in the past 6 years many young men and women have died from all the stress.

I will always remember my fellow Louisiana's and others along the Gulf coast who died needlessly. Like victims of 9/11, remember the victims of Katrina. Remember many of us are still struggling to put our lives back together.