I returned to Louisiana from Martha\'s Vineyard two months after the sitting water resided into Lake Pontchartrain. My neighborhood was unrecognizable. I barely recognized my house. What was once an attractive shotgun painted beige and white had become a condemned residence that was grey and unsightly. The front lawn and porch floor were smothered over with thick dry mud. Most of the windows were smashed in with mud and mildew stained curtains (that were once violet) moving in the breeze. I didn\'t even need to unlock the front door to get into the house. The door pushed open with no force. I believe that as the water filled the house, the kitchen fridge floated against some of the windows causing the glass to shatter. All of my furniture was out of place. I had a chaise lounge in my bedroom that mangaged to exit the bedroom with the rising water and make its way down the hall where it got stuck between the door frame. Whatever pictures i had framed on the walls had come down with the water. The bathtubs stayed clogged with brackish water black as night. The smell was overwhelming. The most interesting part of my returning home to see the devastation was seeing my dining room table with all of the place settings in place just as I had left them. The vase with artificial flowers I had as a centerpiece never budged. I guess the table rose with the water and floated perfectly for three weeks.

Citation

“[Untitled],” Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, accessed March 29, 2024, https://hurricanearchive.org/items/show/45256.