The Hurricane was unforgettable. I was 15 years old and had lived in the New Orleans East before the storm. I hated everything about the storm and the media. The night before the storm it was wonderful. We stayed across from the servive road and around the corner form the Wal-Mart on Bundy in the East. That night was great. The weather was breezy and it felt good. I think it rained but not as much. I loved our neighborhood. My parents both had houses so my dad lived on Chef and Ray Ave and my mom stayed on Boston Dr. I was starting my frehmen year at Warren Easton High School. Things were perfect in my world. I loved life and never thought twice about evacuatiung for a storm. That was a jole and waste of money to my parents and me and my siblings. August 28th it was the evening and they wanted to evacuate the city. Since my dad had works at The Ritz Carlton on Canal Street he persuaded us to go to the Hotel for the night until there were news that things were clear to go home. So the day of the storm we were good. watching the news in the hotel watching people walk around on canal street. As night fell, the weather got really terrible. We were scared but Blessed to have a father that came and pulled us out our homes. So the next day everything was fine. Light was out and then next thing we know the news was describing about the levee breaking. My parents was like \"Everything is ok we probably not going to get flooded, so pack up and let\'s go home\". Terrible thing was that there were people from the Iberville project saying that all the East and 9th ward was flooded. We though they were lying. Then the news came on and showed video clips of the water rising. Then they showed a clip of Wal-Mart in the East flooded to the top of the its roof.My parents lied to us. At the time my 4 other siblings were crying and my lil baby brother was too young to understand anything. My dad face was so broken. My mom face was red as she tried to hold back her frustrations and pain. We did not understand how the hurricane was over but the levees all of a sudden broke. Whta type of Shit is that. I was in tears. Next thing I knew the lightsa was out at the hotel and some weird way the basement of the hotel was flooded out. Then i realized that we were homeless and my little brother was running out of milk and pampers. My father being the most greatest dad teamed up with my uncle and some other workers and they decided they had to do something. When we finally cracked open the window upstairs in the hotel we saw everyone looting on canal street. It took away the pain. We laughed and ate hotel foods that was in the refrigerator of the hotel. we dangled our feet out the window and laughed. There were people looting Big screen tv\'s, suits, fresh tennis shoes, clothes, etc. It was incrediible. Then the chaos came when the police called their selves intefering with the looters. people had swam from the hotel to go break in a Wal Greens to get supplies. I never saw my dad out there but some magical way we had pampers and milk for my lil brother. Things were hard and we did not know the time nor days. We were just living literally. I saw people with gaudy jewelry in a canoe just chilling and enjoying the water on canal street. I can\'t begin to tell you how fun and good it was to not think about being homeless and poor. Then the day came when we had to get on a bus and go to some place . I think Shreveport or Baton Rouge. So me my momma, and m,y siblings got on the bus, but i think my dad either had to stay behind to take care of the Hotel. Iam not too sure but I do know that we weren\'t really around him much during this time period which was weird because even though my mom and my dad had problems he always made it home to us. So then it was Baton Rouge bounced around from family members who let us stayed a little while. Then it was Houston,Texas.We tried to pick up the pieces but we were not happy and we were not done with Our City. We missed everything about the city. My mom would tell us that we were going to go back as soon as it was safe and whatever but the day did not come as quick as we thought. I was ready because the school i was at made me feel like a refugee for real. I felt Homeless, Poor, Uneducated, and stupid. I felt slow. Their education system did not run smoothly for many other \"Refugees\" at the school I attended. I still managed to maintain a G.P.A. of 3.2 and I got an award called the Phoneix award. I still did not feel smart nor happy and I was missing the food. Then the day came when my mom told us that we were going home and she was tired of Houston. I agreed too, because the people were being really hostile with us every where we went.Coming back home I wanted to go back to Houston.We were on our way to the city when we started seeing that everyuthing was empty.Looked like a damn fire and tornadoe ripped the city up. We moved to a 2 bedroom in the 7th ward with 8 people in the House. How Smushed we were! However, just as things seemed miserable Warren Easton Sr. High School was opening back up and I felt like my life was picking up.My dad was with us a lot now, my mom was happy and we were making the situation better. Laughter succeeded the pain we were supposed to be feeling. Yes, Our city isn\'t right but we did what we could. I graduated from Warren Easton and my dad house is almost completed. Six years now and we are doing great. However, I hate Katrina!!!

Citation

“[Untitled],” Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, accessed December 27, 2024, https://hurricanearchive.org/items/show/45267.