Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Post KATRINA

 It's been over 8 years since Hurricane Katrina formed and made landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

It was the summer of 2005, as eventful as any summer previous. Sun, heat and fun. Late August brought news of a hurricane forming - Katrina. With the technology and news coverage, what it is, where it is we had the normal abundance of reporters braving "where no man has gone before" and a greater number of "me's" watching from the safety of their living rooms and bedrooms believing we could withstand the winds as well as any news reporter.

It was the morning after landfall. 

The hurricane was declared over. 
Damage was minimal. 

THEN THE SURGE
THE LEVEES

they broke

the water came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and kept on coming and coming and coming and coming and coming and coming as if it would never ever stop. 

CHAPTER TWO
There is a girl I know, she goes by the name of "Z", spelled Xiomra, Xi for short.We work for the same company, in the same positions. Me on the east coast and her in New Orleans. 

We, the company, felt a kindred spirit for Xi and her staff during this time. Contact was lost. Voicemails and phone contact was non-existent. 

New Orleans suffered, yes, in many ways New Orleans died. 
Contact was lost. People were lost. People died. 

and yet people survived. PEOPLE LIVED. PEOPLE BECAME STRONGER. 

It was Xi, who during a phone message to the corporate office summed up everything. 

She said - "when we finally make contact with someone and then when we say good-bye, we don't say goodbye, we say I love you for we don't know when or if ever we will see them again. 

I love you





1 comment:

Tater_Pez said...

Special thanks to Sheila for her inspiration. Music listened to for this blog was - The Who: "Music Must Change", Green Day & U2: "The Saints are Coming" and Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint Album: "River in REverse"
Peace.