One year ago this hour

[BOSSHOG]

We had just finished securing our home as best we could. All potential projectiles stashed in the garage. Everything unplugged. All empty space in the freezer packed with bottled water. Bathtubs filled with water. And then we evacuated because we didn't want to be home when katrina came. 48 hours later we made the trek home to discover minor damage to the house and trees down all over the place. Today is really a nice day.

[lonestarnot]

1. Good to hear you were one of the lucky ones.

[ThomCat]

2. That is awesome good fortune.

Congratulations. :)

I wish many, many more people could be in your situation. I've been reading a lot recently about the aftermath and what people are still dealing with.
:cry:

[BOSSHOG]

3. We were extremely lucky

and had a great deal of assistance from neighbors and friends. We all dug in, got out our tools, tractors, backhoes, chainsaws and cleaned up our mess. We got a quick payoff from the insurance company and had our house back in order by the first of October. So many houses not far from us look like the hurricane hit yesterday.

My wife and I went to New Orleans East and Bay St Louis to help people clean up their homes. What a nasty mess.

[lyonn]

5. Good to hear Boss

Was wondering, the groups of people that come there for a week or so that help with the clean-up, are their efforts noticeable? Or, is the clean-up so big that it goes un-noticed? My 17 yr. old granddaughter was attending summer courses at a college during her summer break from high school and was going with a group from the college to help. When they found out her age and that she wasn't out of high school yet she and others still in high school were turned down, but, she was really excited about going, along with many of the others attending the summer college classes. Kids are great, if we can only keep this country together long enough for them to enjoy what America was based on and the opportunities we "once" had!

New Orleans is such a sad part of our history now. With a govt. that cares it could be the City we all loved and enjoyed again. It appears that things are still in chaos, no direction by the people at the Top.

[BOSSHOG]

6. The cleanup has been an incredible undertaking

and the volunteers are heavensent. There is just so much to clean up. On a small scale I spent an entire weekend trying to "cleanout" our attic. I got rid of truckloads and I still have a garage full of "stuff." (Why did I ever take it all up there.) Large parts of NOLA are still a mess and the Mayor wanders about fat, dumb and happy.

[lyonn]

9. Sorry to hear that about the Mayor

What tv presents isn't much except his goofy remarks, although some I agree with. Why are there still apparently miles of rubble? Here in Okla. after the 1999 tornado miles of smashed homes and trees were removed in a very short period of time. Can't compare to New Orleans but, the job was done. Could it be that DeWitt of Fema under Clinton's direction had anything to do with it? Yes

In NYC all that rubble was gone, even out of country!, in a very short time. Not New Orleans.

[Warpy]

4. Glad you managed to get through it OK, BOSSHOG

A buddy online tried to ride it out, ended up having to chainsaw through a tree to get out a window when it was over (the door was blocked worse). One acquaintance died in Biloxi.

The interior desecration shows on satellite have been featuring NO and what has been necessary to salvage those houses that were salvageable. It's been a real education.

Nobody's shown Stupid with his gob full of cake or strumming that guitar, though.

[11 Bravo]

7. I remember some of your posts

as that bitch was bearing down on NOLA. I also remember the relief I felt when, days later, you and other Gulf Coast Duers slowly began checking in. Glad you're still with us, teammate.

[Bake]

8. I remember it too

We had just moved into our house north of Jackson, MS. Katrina was a Cat 1 storm when it came through here. I had never seen or even imagined winds like these, that just kept on blowing and kept on getting stronger. When there was a temporary let-up in the wind, the next round was even worse. We watched the 75 foot pines in our back yard bending almost to the breaking point, wondering if or when they would come crashing through the back of the house (mostly glass). The power went out around 5:00 PM, and didn't come back for five days. And what we had, 160 miles north of the coast, was nothing compared to what Boss went through. We were lucky. Other than downed limbs, we had no damage; others in the Jackson area weren't so lucky, but again, nothing like on the coast.

And by the way, for one of the posters above, Katrina wasn't just NOLA. Mississippi got hammered. Much of the Mississippi Gulf coast is still in ruins. People forget that sometimes, when all they hear about is New Orleans. Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, Waveland -- they got the full force of Katrina.

Glad you're still with us, Boss!

Bake