K+15

It has been 15 years since the Federal Flood and Hurricane Katrina. Earlier this week, there were two storms in the gulf, both expected to develop into hurricanes. The forecast a week out had both coming at New Orleans, but as they got closer, Marco fizzled due to shear and we hardly felt anything. Laura developed into a monster storm, following a similar path as Hurricane Rita. 

We landed in Houston 3 days before Rita hit. We had bounced from my in-laws house, to my brother-in-law's house, to a friend's before securing an apartment in Houston thanks to friends.  I remember driving back and forth between Houston and NOLA after Rita and seeing trees shorn off half way, and twisted metal billboards and gas station canopies. 

Laura spared New Orleans, we were just on the outer edge and only got gusty winds and occasional rain though the rest of the state got slammed. Out of town friends and family were concerned we were staying, but I could reassure them that if state was bringing evacuees from the storm area to New Orleans to stay in hotels, it shouldn't be bad.

We had planned to have another "Isle of Denial" party like we did 5 years ago. With the 10 year anniversary of Katrina, the media was getting all ramped up and over blown. We decided to invite friends over but the rule was no one could talk about Katrina. We had a nice time, hanging out in the back yard, drinking and visiting. I supposed we could have held it this year--even with the pandemic, since we planned to be outside--but the weather isn't cooperating.

Having lived through Katrina, the Flood and aftermath--as incredibly stressful as it was and uncertain everything was--has given me the fortitude to weather this pandemic and 2020. I am not happy about it at all, but if things got better after Katrina, things will get better again. It just takes time.

Photos from the CBD where I had a cat sit this morning: