as told to (your name here)

What gets me

Everyone has something that gets to them. I don't care who you are, and you don't have to admit it to me. What gets me are the stories about the children, specifically getting separated. There was a story on the news yesterday about a 10 year old boy who, along with his family, got washed out of his house with the storm surge. They didn't pry into the exact details, but the boy was an instant orphan. That's the story that gets instant tears from me. And there are hundreds of stories about people not knowing where their families are. Not knowing who's alive and who's not is terrifying to me. It's like the end of the movie The Killing Fields. I've seen it enough times to know that when Sydney gets the call from the Red Cross aide station that the tears are about to flow.

But enough about my girlishness...

Update on my family: Everyone is still alive and well. My aunt & uncle made it into Slidell (suburb north of Lake Ponchartrain) to assess damage first hand. The northshore isn't cut off by downed bridges or flooded highways like most of the city of New Orleans, so getting in and out isn't difficult other than police roadblocks. Their house is mostly intact and did not flood. A large tree damaged the roof and let the rain in. The whole roof needs to be replaced, along with some of the carpet, but the structure is intact. No water, no electricity, but the gas is on. They're going to get a tarp on the roof and they've located a generator large enough to run a small air-conditioner and the refrigerator. The closest gasoline is about 75 miles away (nearly to Baton Rouge) where the cellphone service also resumes. That's probably the closest food & water as well, but they're going to be able to live in their home. My cousin is a diabetic, but my aunt is confident that the best place for her daughter is at her side and I don't have any reason to second-guess her at this point. Most of their immediate neighbors are in roughly the same shape, much worse off than you and I, but infinitely better than far too many.

I haven't heard anything more specific about my more distant cousins. The consensus is still that they've lost nearly everything and can't even get in to the city to confirm that. They've got closer relatives here in Texas to rely on. But they're still family and I still worry about them. Thanks for all the well-wishes.

posted by tinyhands @ 11:59 PM