Personal Narrative Essay On Hurricane Katrina
Hot. Humid. In other words, the usual New Orleans summertime day. Now all the local media were buzzing with the new Katrina tracking information. Many people were going about their usual Saturday routines. Some were still oblivious to what was happening. Greg had the kids. I got up, cleaned the house, and washed all the clothes, so if we left (I hadn’t decided for sure yet), I wouldn’t have to do it when we returned. I filled up at a nearby gas station and went shopping. There was an eerie feeling of nervous uncertainty in the air. Supplies were beginning to run out and there were long lines at the gas stations. You knew that people were asking the same question: “Is this the one?” The process of contra-flow (all Interstate 10 lanes going
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All these events went on as scheduled, because there was still “the storm always turns” feeling, and because we didn’t want to frighten the kids by changing their routine. By the time Saturday evening came, Jordan and Dionne were back with me and I began leaning toward leaving because things just didn’t feel the same as past hurricane scares. My New Orleans-based relatives were packing to leave for family in Austin, Texas. Time to go The deciding moment for me came when Mayor Ray Nagin was interrupted during a live interview to take a call from Governor Kathleen Blanco and from the Hurricane Center in Miami. Returning to the interview, he explained that the hurricane was neither turning nor losing strength, and that the only reason he could not issue a mandatory evacuation “at that time” was that there were still so many people who “could not” leave the city. As far as I was concerned, he was indeed issuing a “mandatory” evacuation with a legal disclaimer. When Greg called me that evening to check on our plans, it was definite that we were leaving. Sunday, Aug. 28 24 hours before Katrina I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight. I awoke at 3:00 a.m. and packed the car and our three cats. There was not a lot of room in the midsize car I
All these events went on as scheduled, because there was still “the storm always turns” feeling, and because we didn’t want to frighten the kids by changing their routine. By the time Saturday evening came, Jordan and Dionne were back with me and I began leaning toward leaving because things just didn’t feel the same as past hurricane scares. My New Orleans-based relatives were packing to leave for family in Austin, Texas. Time to go The deciding moment for me came when Mayor Ray Nagin was interrupted during a live interview to take a call from Governor Kathleen Blanco and from the Hurricane Center in Miami. Returning to the interview, he explained that the hurricane was neither turning nor losing strength, and that the only reason he could not issue a mandatory evacuation “at that time” was that there were still so many people who “could not” leave the city. As far as I was concerned, he was indeed issuing a “mandatory” evacuation with a legal disclaimer. When Greg called me that evening to check on our plans, it was definite that we were leaving. Sunday, Aug. 28 24 hours before Katrina I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight. I awoke at 3:00 a.m. and packed the car and our three cats. There was not a lot of room in the midsize car I