I had returned from a business trip in Atlanta late Friday night. My flight was packed with CNN and NBC staff heading toward the Gulf Coast. My isle mate was a CNN producer whom I would connect with 5 days later.
5am ~ Hurricane Katrina was a category 3 hurricane..
10 am ~ Jefferson, St.Bernard, etc... issued evacuation orders..
5pm ~ Mayor issues "State of Emergency in Orleans Parish and calls for Voluntary Evacuations
(where I live)
On Saturday I woke up, walked my regular route with Remy but kept getting stopped by neighbors and friends and on each occasion we talked about what everyone was doing and when they would be making the decision if/when to leave. When I got home I was debriefed about each client and the status of evacuation. I will forever be grateful to my attorney for making sure my "Hurricane Policy" was in place long before August 2005. Everyone had a plan and by mid afternoon everyone was were and with whom they needed to be with. Between my job in corporate America and NOLAPC I was a MESS. We walked to dinner Saturday night and I wish I could describe the feeling amongst all of us. It was an odd energy... It was like everyone in the restaurant had a personal connection. The bar was packed... drinks flowing and people were toasting our city and each other. Random people were hugging each other and exchanging numbers. I made more new neighborhood friends that night than I had any Mardi Gras or neighborhood party. We were all in this together and I think we all new our lives were about to change in the most dramatic way. Dramatic... not yet traumatic.
We made our way home, stopping in to talk to neighbors and friends just to make sure we knew each others plans. When we got home, I left the gate open and the door unlocked and received friends until about 11ish when we watched one last update and went to bed. Little did I know it would be the last time I slept here for a very long time.
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