Tia Mary

Wasn't she headed to see the grandbaby!

Cheryl

I am posting the following on behalf of Olwyn Mary:

For those who came in late, we rode Katrina in New Orleans, and didn?t leave town until the levees broke. I was sure our part of town would not flood (it didn?t) but I was afraid of being caught in ?moat effect?. I already had bronchitis, but dh cannot drive after dark, so I drove all through the night to get to the house in a hick town outside Lake Charles where this woman had been calling me twice a day to say ?when are you coming??.

Imagine my surprise when, after we arrived, she said ?well, I know you sew, and you won?t have anything to do while you are here, so you can make some clothes for my grandchildren?.

I was not fit to do that at first, but I did make dinner two nights to have it ready when she got home from work.. Her poor, henpecked dh loved my cooking, and said so, but she refused to eat any of it and went and got something else. She is also an obsessive-compulsive cleaner, and goes round every evening attacking imaginary spots on the kitchen floor with a spray bottle and cloth. Her dh mentioned plaintively on more than one occasion ?she won?t even sit and watch a movie with me?. Needless to say, she does not do any form of needlework.

I gradually got sicker, not better, went to the local walk-in clinic, but found that (a) they only operate 9 to 5, and (b) don?t take insurance, which they don?t tell you until after you have produced your card, and then they also won?t take cash-apparently it is illegal. Oh well, off to the local ER to get some prescriptions renewed. Was so sick I didn?t even protest when they told me I was going to the 4th floor. Was there for 9 days ? the limit for pneumonia ? the first week passed in a blur. DH spent all day every day at my side, and only went back to the house to sleep. Was discharged to the house of our hostess, with visiting nurse coming in daily. Meanwhile, hostess was getting nastier and nastier, even though we tried not to be any trouble at all, and stayed in our room whenever she was home. After all, she had begged us to come, and I didn?t get sick deliberately.

Then Hurricane Rita came, pointing straight at where we were. No place to which to evacuate, not a hotel room in about 700 or 800 miles. Rode it out, and the next morning there was no damage to the house itself, just trees down all over.

After two days without electricity, this woman went completely berserk. She cannot live without central a/c and all her appliances. We tried to help, offering to do all the outdoor cooking etc., then she ordered us out. We only had ¾ tank of gas, nowhere to go, and me sick. Oh well.

Got on the road ? didn?t dare use the a/c even though there was a heat advisory. Stopped two places where there was gas, waited in line nearly an hour, then the pumps ran dry just before our turn. Carried on, on fumes and a prayer, and made it to Baton Rouge. Found gas, then a decent meal (with a gin and tonic first. Wonderful!!) Called a friend, whom we knew was already sheltering other friends of ours whose home is under water, and she said OF COURSE we could sleep on her floor that night if we could move the furniture out of the way (tiny one person apt.)

Two days ago (? I think, I have completely lost track- maybe it is three days) We arrived here in Kenner, LA, which is a suburb of N.O but which has power, water, and some stores open, and are staying with long-time friends who live here. We are allowed back into the city today, so will go and check, and I will report back later. My area never flooded, so I am not expecting major damage, but who knows what utilites are available, we know the water is not drinkable.

Here's a continuation of Olwyn Mary's post:

Was finally allowed into town the other day. My house is basically fine, praise heaven, except for the fridges and freezer which are mouldy. Not bad, as we had given away most of the contents before we left. There will be some roof leaks, as we lost some slates, but will just live with blue tarps until we come to the top of the list of the regular slate roof man. DH cleaned out the small fridge in the laundry room, which we mostly keep for soft drinks, beer and wine and the occasional piece of fruit which does not fit in the bowl on the sideboard, and that one is up and running. Today he cleaned the chest freezer, so that should be good in a couple of days. We have electricity, gas and landline phone, but the big problem is that the city water pipes have so many breaks that the quality is getting polluted between the treatment plant and the homes, and people with compromised immune systems are not even supposed to bathe in it. I was supposed to spend a couple of weeks in bed with the visiting nurse coming in daily, and you read what happened instead!!! Oh well. Basically, we go over to the house every day (stay out from under our current hostess's feet, even though we are very long-time friends) and dh does the work with me sitting directing operations. This has taken a toll on him, too, so he works for a while, then we both rest awhile, and so on. My doctors have not yet been allowed to open their offices, but dh saw his eye man last week and needs more surgery. He sees his cardiologist tomorrow, then he has promised that as soon as the eye man lets him leave town again, he will take me away to a resort hotel for a week to just lie and recover. Right now, the local airport has non-stop flights to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta, so I guess we will be going to Atlanta area.

Olwyn Mary.

Oh, bless her heart! I'm glad to hear she's safe and that her home is not damaged. But I'm terribly sorry to hear about the rest of her situation. Loads of hugs and good vibes going her way!

Dianne

Oh my, sounds like an awful time for you dear. To bad those flights don't come to NH, you'd be welcome and it a beautiful time of year.

Cheryl

thanks for letting us know.

Glad that Olwyn Mary is safe and her ordeal is finished (apart from getting back to normal in NO, that is!)

It all sounds like one those Steven King tales!!!

Pat P

Your experience with a hurricane makes mine last year look like amateur hour. I was complaining because of a few days without electricity and a ruined patio and roof.

Stay well and keep smiling.

Lucille

Except that in Storm of the Century there was no option of getting off the island... and then there was that demon thingy showed up.... :)

We ended up having to stay 3 extra days in Lizard Land so that Dh could go into work. DD's 'puter was on the fritz so I didn't get online in all that time. I tried to phone Olwyn Mary a few times after Rita blew through the area where she was staying but couldn't get through -- no surprise! I'll have to try to phone her and see if I can help out if she comes to Magnoliaville!! CiaoMeow >^;;^<