New Orleans wasn't the only area hit by Hurricane Katrina. 70 miles south, at the mouth of the Mississippi River and just a few miles from "the end of the road" (literally) is where I grew up. The eye of the storm made a direct landing here. To give you some context, New Orleans did not get the eye.
Seeing the aftermath of total destruction in the town you were raised in is indescribable. I'll always be homesick for a place that no longer exists.
The stores my grandma took me to when I was a toddler,
the house she used to live in,
the house we used to live in,
the tree I climbed every day for years to see over the levee,
the place my dad took us on picnics,
the restaurant I helped my grandma in and had special family dinners,
the auditorium where I bravely belted out lines from Our Town,
the library where I devoured every worthwhile book,
the place where I had my first date,
the piece of ground we were standing on when my dad's eyes twinkled as he said "Let's make a memory,"
our favorite fishing spot,
the church where I last saw my grandma and spent the night on the pew refusing to leave,
the, the...
A childhood devoured.
I rarely mention it. I lost little compared to everyone else in my family. But to think of the loss is like standing before a void that shouldn't be, and still not comprehending it.
I only meant to post the photos on this post. It's difficult to look at them and not get nostalgic.
"After" pictures are not as effective without the "before" pictures, but I don't have those right now, except in my memories.
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| This was the football field at Fort Jackson. Only the very tops of the bleachers and press box can be seen here. |
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| The line of land is the levee. To the right, the lane of water was the road. |
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| Boats washed onto the levees. |
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| Buras High School, where my dad went to school and played football. |
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| I'm not sure where this is with it completely covered with water. |
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| The bottom of the Empire Bridge. |
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| Another view of Buras, Buras High School is on the right. |
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| My school, K-12, built on strong stilts for exactly this scenario. I used to think it vaguely amusing. |
