I’ve written so many emails to so many people since August 29^th that I can never remember what I’ve said to whom. So I’ve decided to start a blog. I’ll try to go back & fill in the entries I would have made if I’d thought of this earlier, but if I wait to get up-to-date before I start I’ll never get going. So here goes…

I went back into New Orleans today. My objectives were to clean out the fridge (scary thought), get another car-load of stuff from both the office and house, see if the temporary patches to the house roof were holding (after all, it was after curfew when we left last Sunday with visions of being shot by some 20-year-old National Guard kid from Michigan), see if the pecan tree that fell into my office had been removed from blocking the street, and if so, kludge together some temporary tarps to slow the ingress of rainwater to the building.

Overall, it was a successful day. I had no trouble getting into town. Funny, I came prepared to have to justify my presence to multiple people and agencies, but I didn’t meet a checkpoint all the way in. The station in Laplace was gone, so traffic on I-10 on the 13-mile bridge was much heavier that last week. I was a little surprised that there were no controls coming through Jefferson Parish, and really surprised when I drove unobstructed into Orleans on I-10. I took the Esplanade exit & just drove down Esplanade to N. Dupre, then 2 blocks to my house. Both sides of Esplanade were clear, with tree parts lining both sides of the street and the neutral ground. I could see several roofs covered with tarps, but no signs of anyone.

I went to the office first. I wanted to collect the business folders I needed first, in case someone came along and chased me out, and I wanted to see if the pecan tree was still in the roof. I walked upstairs and, Great! the tree is gone. Unfortunately I can now see the sky, but at least there’s no tree in the way. I walked back into the yard, then around the side of the building and got the bad news. After taking the tree out of the roof they dumped it on my fence, which had suffered no damage up to then. It’ll be fun trying to replace it. The fence posts, buried in concrete, are bent over right at the ground; they’ll have to be cut out of the ground. How do I replace them? The fence itself is a wreck. . Oh well, one more thing to do.

Entering the house, it was pleasant to see that the tropical fish were still alive. I think Bunny worries more about those silly fish than the mold marching across the closet ceiling. They were a little hungry, but didn’t seem any more so than they would be after not being fed for a day, rather than a week. I drained out a few gallons of water from the aquarium & refilled it with pure Kentwood Spring water. These critters better not get used to it, cause it won’t last once we get back.

After puttering around collecting most of the things on my list ( Damn! I forgot to get the showerhead. The one in our Zachary bathroom dribbles instead of flows.) I drained the water from the washing machine, and then finally worked up the courage to tackle the fridge.

I’d read emails about the horrors of opening the refrigerator door. I collected the trashcan, double-lined with heavy duty plastic bags, put on my gloves, took a deep breath, and jerked open the door. Anticlimax. It didn’t even smell that bad. The only mold I found was on the open dog food can. Even the cheese drawer wasn’t bad.

Having filled one trashcan I got the other, and encouraged by the fridge, pulled open the freezer. This was a little worse, but still not a problem. The only Yechh was that Bunny had bought some individual serving ice cream cups, and they had largely lost their contents to the bottom of the freezer.

Still, it cleaned up, and after washing it down with vinegar & water it was almost fresh. I left the doors open & headed to the last challenge – trying to cover the hole in the office roof.

The larger tree limbs left on the roof are going to have to wait for a chain saw.

After throwing the smaller branches to the ground. I was able to cobble 2 tarps together to more-or-less cover the opening. It won’t really keep all the rain out, and if the wind blows too hard it may all come apart, but it was the best I could do with what I had. I don’t really know why I’m that concerned, since the damage inside is pretty-well complete, anyway.

I chatted with Ben & Gene, the two old oddballs who live down the street & never left. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t think to bring them any ice. I promised to bring some next time, and as I was leaving I saw someone drive up & give them what was left from their ice chest.

On the way out I went to a friend’s apartment to recover some pictures she wanted. It was near Carrolton & Bienville, where the water was about 5 feet deep at the worst. Her apartment was fine – it was on the second floor – but her car was a total loss. The water line was above the bottom of the windows.

Driving out of town, I passed a major checkpoint set up inbound between Causeway & Bonnabel. I wonder why that wasn’t there earlier. I guess it was just one more case of missed communications.

I’d settled down to the boring drive back to Zachary when I climbed on the elevated 13 mile bridge in Kenner and traffic suddenly stopped. 2 lanes. Bumper to bumper. 5 to10 mph for 8 miles, til we finally passed the accident which was at last pulled over to the side. It felt like evacuation all over again.