Recieved September 20, 2005 In responce to my question of having to evacuate from Hurricane Rita.... Jeez, I don't know if we'll have to evacuate again, but I certainly hope not. EVERYONE is very tired and very broke around here! We will certainly be watching this one and the one right behind it very closely, as our levee system is still very weak, to say the least. Actually, everything is very weak right now. Clean-up continues on, but now seems to be going at a snails pace. We got our first garbage pick-up yesterday since before the storm. The smell in the city and surrounding affected areas is TERRIBLE. Just think of the number of refrigerators and freezers that lost power for weeks and all that mess. Just in my apartment complex alone stood hundreds of refrigerators where all the food had spoiled..........it's hard to imagine and I could never have really understood all the issues that arise during and after a catastrophe. So many trees lost.....you've seen the beautiful trees in Louisiana...........they came tumbling down everywhere. Piles and piles of trees everywhere, waiting to be picked up. We drove into Jefferson Parish the other day, which is the parish between us and New Orleans.....oh my gosh. Multi-level storage buildings where the side of the building was torn off and people's things are just hanging out the building and blowing in the breeze. For miles and miles, businesses are closed and looks like may never re-open, as people have left and haven't come back and don't intend to come back. Curfews -- the businesses that are open close at 5PM, even Wal-Mart. Some business owners want to be back up and running, but they have no personnel in which to run the business because there isn't housing in which people can come back to. Those that are like me and have no family in the surrounding area are basically just screwed right now because they have no one to stay with while rebuilding and clean-up efforts occur. Even here at the Refinery, so many homeless. Shell has brought in travel trailers for employees to live in so that they can work while they sort out their home situations. You have to have cash to function around here, as still so many of the ATM's do not work. The banks are affected and wire transfers from local banks have not occured since the hurricane. Even if you have money, it's hard to lay your hands on cash -- it's difficult to withdraw. The telephones (even cell phones) do not work most of the time. I talked to a guy last week that had 4 paychecks totalling in the thousands of dollars, yet they were no good anywhere, even the bank they were drawn on offered him $50 per check to cash. Things like that have gotten a little better this week, as supplies, cash, power and the such are restored. The difference in the grocery store this week from last is a VAST improvement just in my neighborhood. I've found myself not wanting to watch TV, as the images are just too overwhelming when you see them everyday in real life too. I don't even want to leave the house, as every jaunt outside is a smelly, constant reminder of all everyone has lost and my never recover. Friday I have to make a trip to Slidell, which was impacted in a big way. I'm dreading seeing all the destruction. I started out going to take pictures, but you can't really stop and look. The military and police presence has reduced in our area this week, but as we were driving in Jefferson Parish, we saw where the decontamination site was at. Personnel had on the decom suits and were decontaminating trucks, boats, vechicles, etc. To even go into New Orleans, you have to get tetanus, diptheryria and hepatitis shots. A friend from New Orleans is staying with me right now, as he and his family have lost their house. He said it was worse than any report could have prepared him for. The house was over 100 years old, has withstood the sands of time, and now it's ruined. There are still 3 feet of water in the house and the mold/mildew is up on the walls over six feet already. The water got so high that all the furniture was tossed around and is now floating. Even the refrigerator floated on the water enough that it was unplugged and laying on it's side. He said New Orleans is now a dirty yucky shade of brown with so much muck and all the plant/tree life is dead. I heard yesterday that some of the coastal cities will not be reopened at all and will become marsh land. This may change the way the map now looks. It's eery and spooky. This has brought out the worst and the best of people that is for sure. I tallied up all the receipts from the day we evacuated until last week when the refrigertor was restocked.....I've spent at least $3500 in travel and relocating the kids. FEMA paid $2000 (thank goodness). My costs were low, considering it didn't cost me any rent/tuition/books or anything to get Kandise back in school in Oklahoma. Cameron University was awesome to us. They put Kandise up in a brand new apartment on campus, gave her $400 for books and waived her tuition and rent for a full semester. I don't know what I would have done without their help. I had just paid $400 for books and $400 for this month's rent at UNO, which have now floated away. Everyday at about 6-7 PM, you start seeing the convoy of utility trucks, police, military, semi's, etc coming out of the city. They all have on their flashing lights -- it's quite a sight and puts a lump in my throat. Everytime I see it, I think of that song "When the lights go down in the City". Heavy sigh........enough for now. Keep praying for us, as it has worked so far!!!! God willing (and the creek don't rise -- haha).....I'm hoping to have the kids back at the first of the year. Of course at their age, you never know what they'll want to do in any given week. They may all choose to relocate permentantly. I'm here as long as I have a job and a place to live. Love you mom, Liz