Home At Last

I made it home Thursday, September 15, 2005!

Blessed Be! It's so good to be home. We have electricity, gas, good clean running water and even cable and internet.

House is a mess and pretty smelly. The cats had overfilled the litter boxes and pooped on the floor beside them. The fridge still smells from last week but at least its not gut wrenching like it was.
Looks like we only lost a few of the potted plants. That doggone gardenia was gonna be beautiful. New hose is missing, holder and all. I just hoped that it was taken out of need and not for syphoning. I watered the plants first thing but the gardenia doesn't appear to be forgiving :'(
Cleaned the fridge and kitchen next. Still had more in the cupboards to toss out.

I brought fresh meat, veggies and beer with me. Bob followed later. Pat and Robin popped in and we had a beer in celebration. Baakir and Lisa showed up with our hose. They had borrowed it to clean out their fridge. That's cool. They had their new baby last week. They are staying with family down the street.

We popped in to the Dry Dock for a coupla beers then to the "Thank the Troops" block party/BBQ. It was so great to see so many of our friends back already and safe!

NOPD (and volunteer cities), National Guard, Armed Servicemen and Fort Pelican:
Bless you and Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Out of the Point continued

Bob's boss sed he found us a room in Pensacola so we headed to I55 North to I12. Before we got to I12 we got another call that they had a co-worker that had an extra bed. So we headed to Ellisburg, Mississippi, just south of Laurel. We got in late and John and Skippy were very gracious hosts.
Called my sister Kim and her hubby, Joey, on Friday morning. They're back at their house but no electric. They have one small generator running a small AC and some lights and tv. Bob went to work in Gulfport area.
When I pulled off the exit ramp I thought I was being directed to a detour. It turned out to be a local church giving out water, food and more. They had me in tears with their compassion.
Bob worked till just before dusk. When he came in, he and Joey hooked up our generator. Bob also got the water pump and water heater hooked up to it. So while we are still roughing it somewhat, we have all the creature comforts. A neighbor brought another small window AC and we cleaned out the fridge.

Sharon Giles called and they are in Dallas, Tx at her son's house. Glad to hear her and Don are okay.
I finally talked to Ricky on the drive into Algiers Point. He sez he is back home and doing as best as can be expected under the circumstances. He sed he has some neighbors helping him out.
I got through to Priscilla's cell phone last night. She is in Baton Rouge. She will be coming to Mandeville to stay at her sister's house today sometime. She is gonna look for a job first thing.
Todd Loats called Friday morning. He decided to go visit family in Denver. He's sure we will be having a giant community party for Mardi Gras 2006. I agree with him.

So, until I post different, Bob, Beaudreaux and I are in Mandeville at Kim and Joey's. The cell phones are still a little iffy but better. Kim and Joey's house phone # is 985-809-9213 in case you can't get through to the cells.

Blessed Be!

God Bless the Guards and Police!

Left Beaumont about 5am. Found gas in Crowley for $2.37 a gallon. Filled up car and spare gas cans. Got to Houma about 10am. Stopped at Wally World and bank. Stopped at Burger King drive thru. They had a sign up that they were out of a large list of condiment type stuff like lettuce and tomato, pickles, etc. All they had was meat, bread and french fries. Oh, well, we were hungry anyway.Clear sailing all the way to the 310 bridge. Then it was stop and go all the way to Avondale. There were signs all the way from Houma saying you couldn't get in without a Jeff Parish ID but no check points anywhere.We took Lapalco and there wasn't any traffic at all. The "Oh my God"'s start right there. The road had been cleared but the destruction was everywhere. The road was blocked by troops and Entergy crews at the Algiers Wally World. We uturned back to Holmes and made it to the Expressway then to G. DeGaulle to Shirley Drive to G. Myers/Newton and up Atlantic. Checked on the Keeney's house. It looked like they had just boarded up and left. Same with Joe and Kay's on Opelousas. Power lines were down out front but the house looked good from the front at least. Then home - I couldn't figure out what was wrong at first - the screen door had either blown off or been torn off and there was bright sunshine all over the back yard. The two beautiful holly trees were blown over. In addition to another tall sycamore. Bob sez "Well, the good news is - You can grow stuff in the back yard, now."
Inside, we thought that either the cats had died or crapped all over the place. Pan (the big orange tabby) and NoNo (young black cat) were fine. A little pissed, but okay. Turns out the smell was from the refrigerator. I was all for just sealing it up and tossing the whole thing out but Bob put on a face mask (actually a bandana) and cleaned it out. It was pretty nasty. I was in the back of the house and still gagging. Bob dumped every thing in a garbage can and even put the can on the curb. Think it will be picked up before we go home? LOL
I dumped clothes in a plastic container. Didn't really pay attention to what I grabbed, except every piece of underwear we own. Grabbed up a bunch of papers and a lot of my bead stuff. Maybe eventually I'll find time to make some bracelets and earrings.
As we were loading the vehicles a truck with guards stopped to see what we were up to. Several more passed by after but none stopped. I got pretty teary-eyed when we saw a troop of about 10 or 12 National Guards march by. We yelled "Thank you! and God Bless!" at them.
Bob's work van was fine. He sed someone tried to syphon but it has a anti-syphon device on it. It was almost empty anyway. He used one gas can and we loaded up and headed out. We first headed over to Broklyn Street looking for Jim and Berta. We wanted to give them the extra gas and water we had. No one around there so we headed to Bouny looking for Nathan. No one around there either. At that point we decided not to waste anymore time looking for anyone and headed out. Saw Dr. John on his way out, too.
We took the Expressway out of town and it was pretty clear sailing to Luling again except for a few long lights here and there.
Will continue later...

Beaumont, Tx

Bob, Boojie and I made it to Beaumont. We took the scenic route 287. Really nice trip. Nice Holiday Inn.

Headed for Beaumont

Bob, Beaudreaux and I are headed for Beaumont, Tx today. We will try to get into the Point tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Pat Hill

Pat called Bob from Arkansas today. Didn't find out if any others were with him but we think Robin is probably with him. Possibly Jesse Rose, too.

polimom.com | Polimom Says...

polimom.com | Polimom Says...
Lotsa up-to-date info on Algiers and Algiers Point. Check out the Blog and the Algiers forum.
This was sent to me by Bob Goeser.

Surrounded by Love and Worry

I had quite a few calls from worried friends today. Dearest Friends - Thank you for your loving and caring prayers! It is really heartening to hear from you.

Priscilla, my daughter, already got a phone call from FEMA today. They couldn't reach her on her cell phone and she gave them my cell number as a back up. Smart kid.

Got a call from Kay today. She said her and Joe tried to drive home this morning. They only made it as far as Meridian, Mississippi. They couldn't get any gas from there on and the traffic was miles long getting into the city. You've got to have enough gas to get you in and back out again. There is no gas for miles and miles away. You also have to have enough food and water to last till you leave. They are also asking that no one travel alone.

Sharon called from Houston. They are traveling in a 3 car caravan. Someone in Hattiesburg got them gas for 3/4 of a tank for each car. They will be going to a town south of Houston called El Campo. Sharon's sister found a house there. They will all bunk in together. Blessed Be!

Bob and I are doing okay still. I find myself getting depressed alot. I think I need a real good cry. I'm sure I'll get it soon enough but just not yet.

A Whole Week

The sad news continues to roll in. I keep trying to pull myself away from the tv news but I find I get sick to my stomach if I'm away from it for too long.
Bob and I are so much better off than most. This would be like a vacation under any other circumstance.
Saturday I signed up to volunteer at the shelter in Arlington. It is only about 20 minute drive away. I feel they will probably call me after the holiday weekend, when everyone else goes back to work.
I think I will try to call everyone in my contact list today.

Bob Goeser

Got an email from Bobbo. He was on vacation up north. Herc and Beth Kane were house sitting for him and heard that his house was okay. Good news, Bob. I know how you must be feeling though, so far away and so uncertain of what the future holds for us. We're all glad you're safe, Bob. Stay that way! Keep in touch!

Kay and Joe D

Oh what a surprise to answer the phone to hear Kay's voice! It really can make you feel good to learn that friends are okay.
Joe, Kay and Sherm are safely with Kay's daughter in Alabama.
Kay's heard from a few people from the neighborhood that are in a nearby shelter. She heard rumors about gangs attacking workers trying to restore power in the area. She said she will let me know if she hears any more news.

Ricky is safe!

Thank goodness! Priscilla called to let me know that her sister, Elizabeth heard that Ricky was safely in a shelter. She called back later to tell me that Ricky Sr. picked him up and Ricky Jr is now safe with his family.