REFLECTIONS...09/22/05...
HURRICANE RITA, 09/24/05...IT WAS US THIS TIME!
(or this could be titled "Diary of a Mad Woman" *lol*)

9/22/05:  We had been watching Rita move closer and closer to the Gulf of Mexico with Texas and Louisiana evacuating left and right and predictions covering a large area from our gulf coast all the way to the Houston area.  I kept thinking, "No way can nature do this again and hit LA once more three weeks after Katrina devastated the New Orleans area."  The news media really went wild over this, and the predictions were so wishy washy.  No one really knew where this witch was going to hit first.  I just plugged up and worked.  Cameron Parish was a mandatory evacuation right off, then they ordered a mandatory evacuation for Calcasieu Parish south of I-10.  Later that morning, the whole parish was under a mandatory evacuation.  My daughter near Cameron Parish called and said they were leaving that morn, but she didn't know where they were going.  My other daughter and her daughter left that morn, as well, with her boyfriend for the Texarkana area.  Then, my brother and his son leave with his friend to her friend's house in Rayne.  When I finished working, I watched the news nonstop, and seeing the massive people on the streets from Houston to New Orleans going every which way but loose and in standstills, I was pretty frantic and kept wondering how the hell we were supposed to get out of town.  Everything had closed down before noon that day, so I had only my credit card or checks and no cash.  We left out around 1 to get some gas, and that was a totally futile effort.  If there was gas to be found, the lines were a mile long, and all the byways and highways were jammed packed bumper to bumper.  We finally found gas but had to wait in line for an hour just to get $20 worth which my son paid for since he had cash and I didn't.  We burned a fourth of a tank just trying to find gas to begin with, and I ended up with three-fourths of a tank of gas.  I felt completely HOPELESS, so we just came back home.  We would NEVER have made it out on less than a full tank with waiting in lines for hours and hours and would have ended up like so many who ran out of gas on the highways.  For some reason, I could not take that chance nor could I leave those helpless dogs outside to fend for themselves.  The emotions were strong here--I cried, I worried, watched the news coverage nonstop, and talked to family nonstop.  It took Radona and company 12 hours just to get to Shreveport, a drive that normally takes four hours.  I think Tony told me it took them seven hours to get to Rayne which is maybe an hour away.  This was all so surreal!  I stayed up all night long watching news and working.

09/23/05: Rita was definitely heading straight to the Cameron coast, and I worked till about 10:30 before I really panicked.  I quit working and started packing, told the kids to pack up, got my small dogs ready, etc.  I was going to take the outside dogs and put them in with tons of food and water, and we were just going to get the hell out of here and drive until we couldn't drive any more.  I thought we'd just stay in the van wherever we ended up.  Then, I wondered what we'd do for a bathroom and for food, and I wondered how far we'd end up and would it be out of Rita's path.  I mean, that witch was HUGE.  I was torn between taking the chance of leaving or staying here.  I called the dispatch officer at the SPD and asked for advice.  She pretty much told me what I already knew--"do not leave; you are safer at home."  I also asked just how bad this was going to be, and although very vague, her answer was honest, "very bad."  In the end, we were both right.  If we had left, we would have been somewhere out there in the middle of this storm in my van....not a pleasant scenario at all.  The "weather" seemed to change around 1:30 when the wind came in and it rained some.  I was worried but not too bad yet.  We put the outside dogs in and got them hunkered down.  I had all of us in the kitchen ready to hunker down, along with Sasha (who ran around) and my chis (who were in a cage together on a doggy bed with food and water).  People were calling me nonstop from Radona to my brother to my neighbors who had evacuated to Ruston.  I don't remember what time the weather got rougher, but the gusts were at least 50 mph, the rain came a bit harder, and it was cool.  I was on the phone constantly with family and friends, and I spent a good deal of time right outside the front door watching the weather and letting them hear it.  My brother thought he was safe, but Rita hit there, too, and they lost power and got some wind damage.  We were on the phone when our power went out around 9:30. 

Rita was to hit the Cameron coast around 12, so we braced ourselves for the storm.  I knew to get in the center of the house, preferably with no windows, and that, luckily, is my kitchen.  I had the girls get under the table (which is part of the cabinets/counters and nailed to the floor) on blankets, and I put the dog cage under there, as well, up against the wall and cabinets.  I put my feather mattress under there, and I got under the table, too.  Jeremy brought his couch into the kitchen and fell asleep on it--he refused to get under the table.  I knew this was going to be bad, but I just didn't realize HOW bad :-( 

09/24/05: I must have dozed off and woke at 1:15 to the most horrible sound I had never heard before--an extremely loud roaring.  I could NOT believe what I was hearing, and it's hard to describe.  I could hear it coming from the south down my street, get louder in front of my house, an extremely loud roar, then whip around my house, and then seemed to explode in the back yard.  This was relentless and constant.  It just kept coming back over and over again.  I no sooner quit screaming when it would start all over again.  Needless to say, I was frantic!  I heard trees snap and crash all around me over the roaring, and I kept waiting for one to come crashing in my house.  The roof rippled three different times, and I kept waiting for it to fly off.  Things were flying around and hitting my house and van.  I heard my carport start to break up in the wind (tin) and finally crash down :-(  I even heard something rolling down the street--something rather large.  I was on the phone nonstop with my brother or one of my neighbors until we lost contact early a.m.  I was hysterical, and they were hysterical with me.  It was so ironic that my brother had left here only to get a good part of Rita in Rayne.  I could hear that ever present roar here over the phone, but he was OUTSIDE in it, so it wasn't nearly as bad as here.  Around 3:30 or so, I heard something different....a roaring at least 10 times louder than Rita, and even though I never confirmed it or heard that before, I knew what it was....a tornado.  If I was panicking before, I really didn't know what panic was till I heard this.  What I heard was unreal.  I was screaming hysterically at this point and woke up the kids to brace down.  I actually heard this thing coming down the street, and luckily, it was on the opposite side of the street.  I heard it bounce three times--like thunder but so much louder--and then it seemed to go up and around my house to the back and hit the patio of my cousin's house next door.  I heard it rip off.  I'm assuming it continued behind me--judging from the uprooted trees I saw later on.  I could not reach my brother or my neighbors, and I really had lost my mind--to the point that I was ready to bail.  I called the SPD again and got the same dispatcher from earlier.  What a godsend she was.  She talked me through the next hour and helped calm me down.  She kept telling me that the worst was over, the bad part of the storm was leaving us now, we were all fine, the house was fine, and we were going to be okay.  She told me things going on around them at the SPD (a block east of me) and kept reiterating that the worst was over.  She also explained to me what was going on, cause I surely didn't know.  She said we got the east side of the witch which is the worst side and that the loud explosion I kept hearing in the back of my house was something like the south wind and rain meeting the north wind and rain and colliding.  I forget was it is called, but I never want to hear that crap again!  I lived through it, I heard it, and yet I still can't put it into words.  It would no sooner explode in the back when I heard that damned roaring from the south again, and it would repeat.  This went on for over four hours.  Finally, around 5 a.m., the roaring wasn't as constant, and I was able to calm down and let that poor woman on the phone get back to her job.  I couldn't thank her enough for helping me through this.  By 6, the mean witch was gone--no more roaring, but the tropical winds and rain continued, which was a complete piece of cake in comparison.  I dozed off under the table still until my neighbors were able to get through at 6:30 to check on us.  My son opened the door to my dismay--I didn't want to see what was out there.  When I looked out, though still rather dark, my eyes focused enough to see a tree in my front yard, and I screamed bloody murder and cried even more.  The sight of a tree from across the street in my front yard was totally unreal.  My son wanted to see my carport, and I didn't want to know.  I knew my van was gone, but he screamed he could see my van was okay.  I cried even more.  When he looked down from the picture window in his room, he could see the carport had been pulled up and dropped over--between his window and the pecan tree.  I was in awe!  We later found the rest of the carport roof in the front yard.  I really expected to look out and see every house around me gone and so much damage, so I was surprised to see everyone around me still there.  My brother called, and we cried so much.  Radona called, and we cried.  It was just all so overwhelming.  My neighbor wanted a damage report, but the winds and rain were still too torrential to venture off the porch, and we couldn't see their house from there.  We did see a tree across the street into their front yard, though.  Later on, we ventured out and saw that their house was fine.  I called the SPD back to thank that dispatcher again, but she was gone, and ironically, the new dispatcher lives around the corner to the south from us.  When I told her where we were, she asked what side streets.  The first I named was hers, and she asked about her house.  I went out to make sure before I told her, and when I said her house was there, she cried!  I'm assuming she had been there all night like the other dispatcher.  Two of my neighbors showed up in my yard to talk and to help get the piece of carport roof off my van and off my house.  I didn't know either was home, and we talked about how scared we were.  A radio station from New Orleans ran around the area and stopped here to interview me, the kids, and my neighbor on the street east of mine.  My whole thing was, "We made it through, the damage is minor, and thank God, it was not worse."  A friend of my son's called and asked if we could go and check her house and told him that she heard there was some damage to SHS.  I didn't want to drive out, but I did.  Seeing the damage all around was surreal.  I could not believe what I was seeing, and I cried my heard out.  The beautiful oak trees at City Hall were all down, roofs ripped off, more trees down, tons and tons of power lines down.  We checked out his friend's house which had minor damage and then went towards SHS.  The sight there was unreal...the whole parking lot was filled with the auditorium roof and downed stadium lights---one landing on top of a brand new SUV.  Since I was already out, I had to venture to the cemetery to check on my parents and my sister.  I had this unrelenting fear that graves would be ripped up.  I was so glad to see everything was okay--until we were leaving and Amity screamed at me to look.  OH MY GOD!  There was a coffin sitting up out of the tomb.  I lost my mind!  I could not believe this witch couldn't even leave the dead alone.  Driving back downtown was surreal with lots of minor damage.  Later on, my neighbor mentioned a lady at the shelter with them from here and she wondered if I could check on her house.  That was a mistake.  I went down Burton Street, and when I got to a certain point, I fell apart.  The power plant is right there, and there were tons of lines down, and then I see these enormous trees uprooted and/or broken--snapped in half with the broken parts just hanging in the air.  Her street was not passable, so I turned around and came back.  I did see her house, though, and it was okay.  I found a neighbor behind me had left three dogs in cages, and I was furious over that!  The poor things were scared out of their minds, and I'm still wondering how they survived the storm!  I think I stayed on the phone all night long and didn't sleep much at all--the sight of complete darkness was pretty frightening.

09/25/05:  I decided to get a little normalcy here, so I started cleaning--sweeping off the porch, picking up branches and trash all over the yard.  In the process, I was inundated with fire ants that literally ate me up :-(  We put the outside dogs back in their pen, and they were happy to get back outside.  Those dogs were oblivious to the storm outside--never heard a word out of them.  They had all hunkered down in different nooks in that room and slept :-)  I went back to check on the neighbor's dogs and fed and watered them.  They were starving!  My son's boss at a local grocery had called him to help clean up the freezers and stuff, and he was gracious enough to let us shop, so we stocked up on snacks, sandwich spread, bread, drinks, batteries, charcoal, lighter fluid, etc.  All the meat in the freezer was melting, so we decided to BBQ what we could.  I finally heard from Daryth and came unglued.  She was in Mississippi with Contina and her mom, Donna, and Collin was with them.  I was so glad to hear that they were okay.  The extreme heat was back with indices over 100, so it was impossible to sleep.  I was up all night long listening to the radio that was back on--with 24-hour coverage of the aftermath.

09/26/05:  I heard that ice was available at the city hall, so we went and got two big bags.  The ice we had was long gone, so that was a huge godsend.  I stopped to talk to my neighbor to the east, and he told me that Dollar Tree had opened the day before for a few hours and would be open again that day, so we went early to get in line.  While there, a guy came up and told us that FEMA had set up at the old Wal-Mart down the street for ice, water, and MREs, so we drove down and got a load.  It was a definite experience to see the national guard all over the street with huge guns, but they were so darn nice.  We went back to Dollar Tree and got a few more non-perishable foods.  We came back and BBQ'd chicken, sausage, and pork chops, and my neighbor to the east came to eat supper with us.  Having real food for the first time in a few days was beyond good.  I had two beef roasts that were still frozen, so I put them on the grill to smoke overnight.  The rest of the meat I had (tons of it) was starting to thaw, so I gave it away to a family I met at Dollar Tree and a neighbor across the street who had gas to cook with.  I lost a lot of food but was glad to see someone use it instead of it all rotting.  My good friend, Mary, called after she got my message, and I cried.  Thank God she was safe!!!!!  It was another hot, sleepless night, and I ended up on the porch swing in the dark with my radio and a flashlight, and I fell asleep for a few hours.

09/27/05:  Right off the bat, I got injured again.  I was sitting in the front yard, and all of a sudden, I felt a horrible sting on my left neck.  I grabbed whatever it was and saw a GIANT ant.  I've never had one of those bite me before, and it hurt like hell.  My neck burned forever and was stiff for a good while.  I put hydrocortisone cream on it and triple-A ointment.  Wal-Mart opened for a time that day, so we went and stood in line in hopes to get dog and cat food and a tent to sleep in.  The line was long, and we only had five minutes to shop once in there, but it went well.  We got everything on our list, and I spent the last bit of money I had--bill money.  Then we got MREs, ice, and water, and came home.  We had roast beef sandwiches for lunch, cleaned more in the yard, and then check on the neighbor's dogs--they were starving.  As we were feeding and watering them, this neighbor's brother hollered at me.  He had just gotten home.  We talked for a long time.  We cleaned more in the yard and ate our first MREs for supper which are amazing inventions and quite good.  It rained a good bit and cooled off for a very short while.  We were going to sleep in the tent to beat the heat in here, but it started lightning and raining again, so we had to come in here with a temp of 95 degrees.  I was up all night long listening to the radio but ended up outside on the porch swing and fell asleep, getting ate up by mosquitoes.  If it weren't for the radio, I would have gone nuts by now.  All the regular deejays are wonderful and keep us well informed on what is going on in and around our parish, but there is the bad and the ugly with the good.  There is this one volunteer DJ that I would love to beat up.  She is the most hateful, un-compassionate person I've ever run into, and what gets me is that she works for a Christian radio station in Moss Bluff.  Ironically, I find her to be the most UN-christian person.  From the time she started with the others on their simultaneous broadcast of the 24-hour coverage of Rita, she was extremely negative about those of us who had to stay behind, calling us names and really giving us a hard time.  She just went on and on and on, and my temper boiled.  Like any of us needed that crap!  This particular night, I was ready to drive to LC and find her.  I tried feverishly to get on the phone, but some guy beat me to it and gave her everything he had.  I was screaming YES on this end and clapping.  What he didn't tell her was how hot it was outside.  He told her exactly what I was thinking, and I wish I knew who he was so I could thank him.  I literally hate this witch, and when she is on, I turn to the other guys till she is gone.  I got on the phone the next morn with one of my favorite DJs who has been here 30 years, and I calmly let him know, unless you walk in someone's shoes, you can't know, so don't judge, and what we all need is empathy and compassion not a judge with a condescending attitude.  I got my point across, and this guy listened.  He's a great guy to begin with, though.  Another of their DJs keeps me sane in the middle of the night with cutting up.  He even played Cajun music for me.  He had asked the listeners what they missed most, and I called in and told him, "Other than the obvious, I missed Mike and KLCL Cajun Radio the most."  Then he asked me who my favorite band is, and without hesitation, I told him SRMP.  He said he would try to find something by them for me, but he didn't and played another song.  At that point, I didn't care.  I loved hearing that one song and it was enough to give me hope :-)  The next night, another DJ was giving him a hard time and mentioned hearing the Cajun song for me, and I called in again to mess with them, and this time, he played Wayne Toups for me and that other DJ :-)  I couldn't have asked for more than that!!!!!

I tell you, it's rough, but I'm glad I stayed now.  "I'm a survivor!"  That's the other network's tag line.  I lived through history in the making and most importantly, I'm home, and not moving from one place to another.  My brother, his son, and his friend and her kids had to leave where they were and are in FL now.  Daryth is now in DeRidder, so she moved closer, but there is no electricity there.  Collin is now in Baton Rouge, cause his grandmother came and picked him up.  Radona and company had to leave Texarkana and are now in Bay City, Texas.  This city is supposed to be closed, as is the whole parish, but hundreds of people have managed to sneak back in.  Tony and company drove all the way here just to be turned around by the National Guard.  I had applied for FEMA the afternoon of the storm, and then the president instituted the expedited assistance program at one per household.  Tony and Radona were both going to file, and I told them NO, that I had already filed and it would mess up my application if they did.  I am head of household and foot all the bills, so, basically, they are SOL!  Also, I watched what went on with Katrina for three weeks and saw how they were denied access back home and how they lost their homes to looters, fires, and etc.  I'm here to protect my home--it's all I have. 

I had been frantically trying to reach my aunt and finally got her.  They evacuated to Monroe where her oldest daughter lives.  I was glad to hear they were okay. 

09/28/05:  A coworker and friend called me to inform me that we were getting our last paychecks tomorrow in Lake Charles.  I had to laugh.  I can't go to LC to get it, plus my bank is closed, and I can't deposit it.  She said she was coming to LC to get her check and would pick mine up and take it back to Lafayette with her and deposit in my bank there.  LC is closed, but she said she could get in.  If they don't let her get my check, I'm broke until I can get to LC myself.  We got MREs and spent the day with my neighbor to the east. It rained most of the day.  We also washed clothes in the tub and hung them out to dry.  Another neighbor came over last night, and we spent a good while talking about the old neighborhood and getting all sentimental.  I listened to the other station last night and enjoyed their cutting up and the music.  I never heard one dis towards us non-evacuees, and it was a breath of fresh air.  I don't know how I slept, but I did.  It's too hot, but a cold front is coming.....

09/29/05: We got MREs and mainly hung around.  My neighbor to the east visited quite a bit.  It rained again, and it was hot.   My coworker called again to tell me that she decided to have her check mailed to her house, and they needed me to call and give my okay to have my check mailed to her.  So, I did, and it will be mailed to her tomorrow.  I also called FEMA to check on the status of my application, and I was informed that I was approved on September 27 for the expedited assistance.  So, I called my friend in Lafayette and asked if she could check my account balance for me, and the money was deposited that very day.  So, off we went to get a few things like a generator, more basic staples, and fill up the van.  I noticed today that my van got scratched up and banged up pretty bad in places, so I guess I'll need to file a claim with my insurance company.  Once home, JR hooked up the generator, and what a world of difference it makes to have a lamp and a fan on.  It's WONDERFUL!  That's all I needed to make me comfy!

So much has been done to clean up our city since the witch blew into town.  At the press conference today, all parish mayors got together and gave speeches.  I love our mayor, and some of his famous words were "Sulphur 21,019, Rita 0."  Priceless!  Our city was pretty devastated, but the clean up has gone well, the peace has been kept, and our city is coming back together.  The parish will open up tomorrow for a come and see day for most cities.  They are hoping to have residents come in and leave again but will not force anyone to leave providing they are self-sufficient and abide by the curfew of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.  The city is still dark and scary.  A rep from the electric company spoke and says progress is going much better than they expected.  There is some minor power back in the parish.  She predicted 75% back within another week and 97% within two weeks.  I have a generator now, so I'm feeling much better :-)

I've listened to most mayors and city officials, as well as sheriff and local law enforcement, and they have done such a great job.  I haven't seen too many policemen out, but I have seen a lot of our firemen--they came the afternoon of the storm to check on residents who had stayed and have continued to check on us and ride around.  They are amazing!

I feel so displaced without a TV, so I'm going to watch the local news tonight via generator.  I'm writing via real lamp tonight and not a hurricane lamp.  There's a cool front here now, so it's nice and cool in here--thank God!  It's actually pleasant tonight unlike the past few days, and I will get a good night's rest for the first time in seven days.  Too funny--it's the little things that mean a lot.  The "mosquito man" was here tonight for the first time since last Wednesday.  This is something we take for granted--they come every night during "mosquito season."  Oh, another thing, the PO is supposed to open tomorrow to give out checks only--something else we have not seen in over a week.  Funny how I don't miss mail too much, but e-mail is a different story.

09/30/05: I barely slept last night--something was wrong/going on last night, cause Tonka barked almost nonstop till 4 a.m. and that is just not him.  I was livid!  I even went outside at one point to try to shut him up, and the storm door slammed into my heel, cutting it pretty badly.  When I finally fell asleep, I slept till 10:30 when my friend in OK called me.  We went to Wal-Mart to get antibiotic ointment and bandages for my heel, along with two hoses for the back yard as the other burst and a new phone for my room since my vintage Princess phone will not dial out without electricity.  We then got MREs and came home.  I got a big surprise when Daryth showed up.  They had gone home to Grand Lake and Creole to look and leave and decided to come visit.  Then my neighbor to the east came over for a long visit.  It has been a long day, and it's time for bed.  I just hope I can get some sleep tonight.  It has only been a week that we were bracing for the storm, yet it feels like eons ago.

10/01/05: I actually got some sleep last night--only waking up once at 2 a.m.  I look back a week ago and can hardly fathom what I saw and heard, much less lived through.  It's still all surreal.  Daryth just called to ask if she and Contina can come and stay here till they can eventually go home to Grand Lake/Creole in Cameron Parish.  There are too many people where they are now with more coming.  It'll be rougher here, but what can I do!  The generator is a problem--or should I say my son is the problem.  He is wasting gas left and right, and I can't keep affording gas.  Something has to give.  This boy has been a real pain, tormenting all of us, and I'm at the end of my rope.  Time to take our daily trip to get MREs and get gas again.  We've been very lucky, really, with very few injuries and all happening to ME *lol*  From fire ants to giant ants to mosquitoes to the storm door.  Besides that, I have a bunch of something on the back of my head near the neck line, and it hurts like hell--burning constantly to the point I can't move my neck and have to put ice on it and take naproxen.  I have no idea what bit me, but I curse them!  I also started hacking and running a low-grade temp last night :-(  Today, I'm squeaky and hoarse.  I'm just doomed *lol*  More complaints...the "cool front" is gone, and I almost missed it completely.  There is hope, though, as a bigger front is due in next weekend :-)  I had "Cajun red beans and beef sausage" for lunch with Tabasco sauce and red pepper, and OMG, it was as good as my own--well almost.  God, it's hot again, and I'm sitting outside on the porch swing with my table and umbrella by me to block the sun.  Some of the radio stations are back to their regular format, so I'm listening to some oldies.  Mike is back in town, and I heard him on the country station a few times where all the DJs had gotten together to broadcast 24-hour coverage of Rita and her aftermath.  It was good to hear Mike's voice, gave me hope for the future, and made me feel so alive :-)  I really miss his Cajun show and the 24-hour Cajun music!  I heard my favorite oldies DJ announce that Mike would be back soon, and I can't wait.  In the meantime, the oldies station is more than wonderful.  I left that station when KLCL went 24 hours with Cajun but listen occasionally.  I've been thinking about Wayne and Layne's and SRMP a lot lately.  I pray W&L's is still there.  SRMP is supposed to be there October 14, and I'm praying we will be there.  I need that!  This storm has had so many positive aspects--this one neighbor of mine has been living there 12 years, and I never knew it.  He grew up around the corner from me, so I know his family.  His sister and I were good friends.  Now, this storm has made us friends.  I met the neighbors across the street for the first time, too.  The other neighbor and I really never had talked before.  He's a lot younger and a friend of my brother's, and now we've shared so much in memories.  My cousin just called and is bringing ice and MREs.  Good.  I can't keep enough here.  I would love to be able to buy these on a regular basis--not only are they a complete meal with tons of extras, they are fairly low-cal and delicious.  Today, we took all the "frozen meals" out of the freezer (hot pockets, lean cuisine, healthy choice, etc.) to throw away.  They were still "cold," though, so they big dogs outside had a feast fit for a king.  I cringe to think how much I had in there and how much meat I lost.  Now, I have to replace it all :-(  Of the stores in town that are open, there is no frozen foods or meats yet and won't be till the power is back on.  I sat and watched the squirrels and birds today.  I noticed the birds never stopped singing through the storm and the squirrels were there running around.  I also heard newborn kittens crying early on the morning after the storm.  I couldn't believe these animals had survived.  Amazing!  When Daryth got here, they unloaded two huge bags of ice and some water but no MREs.  They had gotten two boxes but refused them!  I could not believe it.  I was pretty upset about that, as I specifically asked her to get MREs so we could have enough food for them, too.  My neighbor came over for a time, too.  At dark, we all came inside and played cards while listening to the radio.  It was another hot one!

10/02/05: I got up at 7 after a fairly restful night.  I got up twice and went right back to sleep.  I'm still having nightmares :-(  We loaded up around 8:30 to get gas, go to Wal-Mart, and get MREs.  We got gas to the tune of $46 (ouch), tried to go to Wal-Mart, but they were back to having lines for whatever reason, and we declined, then got MREs and came back to eat dinner.  My dear neighbors came in today to check on their house and clean the fridge and freezer.  We had a nice reunion.  I can never thank them enough for keeping in touch from Ruston and helping to keep me sane.  They will be back home as soon as the power comes on, and only God knows when that will be.  The damage to power lines, transmission lines, and transformers around here was unreal.  Anyway, we are planning a big post-Rita BBQ as soon as we can all get together and things are more back to normal.  After dinner, I came out and raked as much as I could before I got way too heated.  Then I sat on the porch swing and drank cold water.  I couldn't stand it anymore, so we took a ride down 27 to see W&L's--the building is still there, but the outside awning was gone.  I drove Daryth and Contina around a bit to show them some of the damages, like to our church and the power plant on Burton, along with the big trees there.  Our power plant took a hard hit with tons of poles/lines down.  There is still a long way to go, but I notice more stores open with gas with each passing day showing more and more improvement.  We also stopped by the cemetery--the grave that was up was still up but now sideways.  I went close, and it was water that filled the tomb and made it float up :-(  I haven't talked about our sister parish, Cameron, where the storm came in.  Pretty much all of the parish is gone and/or devastated, especially Holly Beach and Cameron itself.  The other cities took some hard hits, as well, with homes and buildings destroyed, graveyards destroyed, bodies forced out of coffins, etc.  HORRORS!  I ran into another neighbor this morning who told me that he and his wife got stuck on the side of the road for three days and lived in the car.  He lost his mama last Sunday, too, and had to turn around and go to Rayne to bury her :-(  He said living in the car for three days was too much.  I cringed cause that could have been us.  Man, it's time to stop and smell the roses!  It was another hot one today.  I sat out most of the day and tried to keep cool, walked Sasha around the blocks, came in at 6, bathed, used the generator to wash and dry clothes--to hell with the tub thing *lol*  I went to bed early, too.

10/03/05:  I woke at 6 and sat outside till 9.  Then we went to Wal-Mart for a few things, like screen to fix broken ones, got MREs, and gas and came home.  I didn't do much of anything except sit out, hang out clothes, etc.  We did run to two grocery stores to find milk, but neither one had any.  Then, it poured like mad.  My neighbor to the east came to visit again for a few minutes.  I really enjoy his company :-)  Then we came in for supper and baths.  I really want to hook up my computer and check mail *lol*  I'm so out of touch without my music and my computer.  I miss movies but not as much!

10/04/05: I didn't sleep worth poo last night.  The dogs were wild.  There was something going on down the road--cars, people moving around, etc. around 1 am.  I have no idea what that was all about, cause curfew is now at 7 p.m.  It's another hot one here, but another cold front (bigger) is coming in Thursday with 70 days and 50 nights.  I can't wait.  We went to get gas and MREs early and came back here.  Once the lights come back on, it'll take eons to clean this house--it's beyond filthy.  I don't look forward to that at all.  BFI came by yesterday for the first time but only picked up one trash can.  I have two weeks' worth of trash out there plus a crap load of trees, branches, leaves, tin, and wood trash.  What a mess!  When I do venture out, I see tons of electric companies working, so the power should be back on soon.  I've never lived through anything like this before, so it's a real trip.  The first thing I will do when the power comes back on is turn my stereo full blast and listen to Cajun music.  KLCL is still not back on, and I'm desperate.  While I'm listening, I will turn on the computer and check mail.  Then we can watch TV while doing laundry and cleaning.  The last thing on the list is cleaning.  How I dread that!  Once all that is done, things will get back to normal, I guess.  My friend in Lafayette called.  My check still has not arrived.  She told me that our system at work is back up and asked me if I could work.  LOL  Um, I have no power!  My son heard we may have juice by Friday.  If so, I'll be back to work on Monday.  Friday is Calcasieu come back day. So, things should be closer to normal soon.  I think I'm gonna miss the peace and quiet. It has been extremely peaceful--no loud music in cars or racing down the streets.  These teenagers drive me nuts.  I know we never acted like they do!!!!!  I heard Red Cross will be setting up here maybe by the weekend, so that is good news.  We lost a lot of clothing and towels to mildew.  So, they will help a lot with no income for two weeks now, a lost paycheck, and no unemployment benefits for three to six weeks.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.  A major US Army personnel said recently "Things are so different down here compared to New Orleans.  There is was "give me, give me, give me."  Here it's, "get out of my way, I've got work to do."  :-)  I love that!

10/05/05:  Slept better last night.  Got up at 7 and hung out more clothes, went to the PO to get mail and found out my mail was in DeRidder--what a waste of time, then got MREs and gas and came home.  I cleaned some--the ice box was full of mold :-(  We washed more clothes and went to Family Dollar for a few things, and to a grocery store.  I talked to my neighbor/distant cousin behind me for a good while, too.  I also finally reached the disaster food relief service on the phone, and that was a futile effort.  I had to call three different numbers till I finally reached the correct place only to find out we had to apply in Jefferson Davis Parish in Jennings.  We sat outside till dark and played Trivial Pursuit, then we came in for supper and played cards.  I wanted to hear SRMP so bad that we were even trying to find batteries to put in a small CD player I have--of course, no C cell batteries to be found.  Then Amity got the idea to just plug up into the generator!  Well, duh!  Why didn't I think of that ages ago?  Cause I'm stoopid!  *lol*  She got out their stereo, and I plugged in Bon Reve.  I'm in heaven and feel better now!  I can't wait to get Dominos.  Two weeks without Cajun music is as bad as having no a/c in 100-degree heat indices.  Thanks to SRMP for making day #12 post Rita so pleasant.  Now I pray it's on to W&L's next Friday.

10/06/05:  I set the clock for 5 a.m. so we could head out to Jennings to file with the Red Cross and the LA Office of Family Security for disaster food relief.  We left at 6 and had smooth sailing all the way.  Once there, I had to stop and get directions and then found the sheriff's office to file with Red Cross.  Then, we went down the road to the security office to file for disaster food relief.  Daryth and Contina stayed in the van as they didn't want to wait in line--what fools.  They could have filed for relief.  The line was really long, but it went so fast that I was in the office within an hour and a half.  We spent the time talking to people all around us which made it go fast.  I was so grateful to get this disaster card, as it will help replace about half of what I lost when we get power back on.  The Red Cross disaster relief will come in the mail which we still don't have yet.  We found our way out and stopped for breakfast.  We had a longer trip home due to traffic.  Once here, we stopped to get MREs and ice and got more gasoline.  It's 11:30 now and time to go outside to get some relief from this heat.  The cold front should be in this afternoon.  When JR got in from work, he demanded I drive him to McDonald's all the way across town.  I was not happy about that!  We sat outside till around 7:30, and the neighbors on the corner and I thought we heard a gunshot a street over.  Luckily, a sheriff's car was coming down the street, so I stopped them and told them what we heard, and they went to investigate.  The neighbors saw a bunch of males standing around the corner.  All we know is the noise was LOUD.  I came in and got a bath and ate supper.  We were sitting here talking when we hear a knock at the door, and it was my neighbor from the east.  I was enjoying our conversation until two of my children decided to act like idiots and started picking on us, screaming stupid things like kids in first grade would do.  I was so embarrassed at one point that I had to go outside and cry.  A few minutes later, he met me out there, and I apologized.  He said it was no problem.  I explained how I said I really liked him and enjoyed our visits and the kids went crazy over it.  They have us as a couple.  We stood there and talked for at least another hour before he had to go home--he's back to work and has to get up early.  It was 10:30 when he left, and I went to my room and cried till I went to sleep.  If I ever see him again, I'll be surprised.  By the way, he had come by to tell me that W&L's was open, but my brother had already called and told me he had heard they were open for business.  So, I had Daryth call and find out about SRMP, and it's a GO!  YAY!  I can't wait to see the guys again and to buy their new CD/DVD, Dominos.

10/07/05:  I woke once around 5 a.m. cause I was chilly :-)  God, talk about feel good.  I had to grab a sheet to cover with and then slept till 8.  The front was delayed and came in during the night.  I don't have to tell ya it feels great!  I sat outside before we went to get MREs and ice.  Not much went on today--sat inside and outside, went to get gas for the generator, went to Payless where I got some casual dress shoes and slippers, and went to Family Dollar for a few things.  I did some cleaning and put new rugs down in the bathroom and in the hallway.  I also vacuumed the van.  Entergy has been in the area but no power as yet.  My cousin behind me has had power since Tuesday.  Go figure!  Radona called earlier.  They are packing and should be here Sunday.  I nearly cried.  I miss her, but I miss that little TayTay more.  I've only talked to her once in 15 days, and I'm lonesome.  The time I did talk to her, I broke down and cried, and she asked me what was wrong.  I asked her if her mom had told her what happened, to which she said no.  So, I told her we had a hurricane here, and she got frantic, screaming at me to call someone cause we were flooded (watching post Katrina on TV).  She thought we were stranded on rooftops!  I had to laugh over that.  I calmed her down and told her nobody here flooded and we were okay.  Poor kid!  We stayed up late playing cards and Trivial Pursuit.

10/08/05: Got woke up at 8 by the dogs--three had gotten loose.  So, we rounded them up, and then while I was getting dressed, my neighbor dropped by.  I didn't get to talk to him, though.  Then, I worked on getting tin to fix the dog pen.  Then we got gas, went to Wal-Mart where I got three tops and two pair of slacks, among other things, like a shop vac to clean out the freezer of water, then we got MREs, and came home.  Then we went to Stine's to get some T-posts for the dog pen, and me and Contina worked on it for a long time.  I ended up scratching the crap out of my right hand.  We went back to Stine's to get a wheel barrow for the leaves and branches all over the yard that were yet picked up.  My neighbor came back by for a nice long visit, and it was good to see him again.  When we came in, we played games for a short time while listening to SRMP.  I'm just beat and not into anything tonight.  My brother called earlier and said they would probably be home during the coming week.  I told him he better be back to go out Friday night.  Our good friend, M, one of the band member's wives, e-mailed Daryth back and told her she would be there Friday night :-)  I talked to Tay for a time, too.  The Red Cross started driving around with hot meals, and Holli has had a blast talking to the driver and getting meals for us.  What a nice thing for them to do, too.  Dale (my neighbor's son who is in the National Guard and just got home from Iraq a month ago) came home.  The rest of the family is still in Ruston.  I bought an "I survived Rita" tee shirt today.  I knew there would be a vender somewhere, and I had to get me a shirt. I'm having one boring night--I'm beyond tired, sore, and just plain annoyed.

10/09/05: Well, it's 3 a.m., and I just got home from the ER.  I was just in my room minding my own business listening to music and thinking when I heard the dogs bark outside.  So, I opened the window to look out with the flashlight, and before I could move my left hand, the window came crashing down on my four fingers :-(  Man alive, I saw stars and screamed bloody murder.  Nobody woke up, though :-(  I got the window off my hand with my right hand and looked down at my hand with the flashlight hesitantly, thinking I would see a missing finger or two.  It hurt THAT bad!  What I saw was enough to send me into a tailspin, though.  My poor middle finger was badly cut at the knuckle and swollen horribly--at least four times normal and was blue.  I made my way to the kitchen screaming and got Holli up who got Jeremy up who got Daryth up.  Off to the ER we went around 11 where we waited and waited and waited.  I would go from being completely numb to throbbing, burning pain.  Finally, at 1:30, I was called in for x-rays.  The doc came in at 2, and the first thing he asked me was "when did you break your thumb?"  Of course my answer was that I never did.  He laughed and said I had.  How in the world did I break my thumb before and never knew about it???  Beats the hell out of me!  He didn't see a fracture on my middle finger, but he said it was badly contused and could take days to weeks to heal.  Ugh!  Just my luck!  I protect my hands all the time, and this should not have happened!!!!  The nurse came in and put antibiotic ointment, a bandage, a finger brace, and bright yellow gauze around it and gave me instructions and a script for a narcotic.  She told me to try OTC stuff first, and I told her that's exactly what I would do since I would NOT get that drug filled.  I'm just not into that crap.  Naproxen would work just fine.  I swear, the past two weeks have been so accident prone for me--from fire ants to mosquitoes to a ripped heel to falling hard on my right knee to scraping my right hand and now nearly breaking my poor finger :-(  I'm going to try to sleep now and will go to Wal-Mart again for telfa, sticky gauze, and more naproxen later on.  Woe is me!  I'm sitting here wondering how I'm going to wash my hair *lol*  Damned good thing it wasn't my right hand!  Anyway....my eyes are crossing.  Later!

I managed to sleep a few hours, waking up only once.  We sat out for a while then went to get gas and stuff at Wal-Mart, then got MREs and came home.  I got the stuff for my poor finger, dog food, naproxen, sodas, and etc.  When we got back, I took two naproxen for my throbbing finger, and we sat outside most of the day, ate dinner, went to Brookshire for fly spray that I had forgotten earlier (flies are abundant here), walked around a few blocks with Sasha, etc.  Radona and Taylor came in late that afternoon, and I drove them to get food at Sonic.  We played Imagineif a lot, and that is hilarious.  When we came in for the evening, we just sat around and listened to Cajun music in the form of SRMP and JCCC  :-)  Tomorrow, I'll be in heaven cause Mike comes back on the air :-)  Yay!  I ran into an old coworker from years back who now works at PHS with me.  They just got home yesterday.  I asked to her inform my boss about my finger and how we are still without power.  I'm getting used to it now, living such a primitive life :-)  Radona made a comment that made me ROLFMAO.  She said, "Yall don't smell bad for being outside sweating all day."  Me and Daryth both said, "Duh, cause we take baths."  *lol*  We don't need power to take a bath.  Hopefully, tonight will be quiet and uneventful.  Counting the days to Friday night!  God, I can't wait!

Well, crap!  I spoke too soon.  Lots of excitement here after all.  We heard a lot of people talking and look out to see tons of headlights next door.  I went out to see what was going on, and I see five drunk men with the damned utility pole from next door (storm knocked it down) moved right next to my house, and they had the Entergy meter opened.  Daryth heard one guy screaming, "Man, this could cause on huge fire."  Really?!  I stood there on my carport watching them dig into the meter.  That, in and of itself, is criminal as it belongs to Entergy.  As we stood there, the lights in the trailer came on, and then it hit me that they had back fed into the meter.  Daryth had already called the cops and Entergy while me and Radona stood there. The cop that showed up after 45 minutes was a jerk and an idiot.  He investigated and came back to tell us that there was nothing illegal going on.  I told him that this was definitely illegal according to Entergy, and then he stupidly says he doesn't know anything about Entergy!  He gets on the phone with his supervisor to find out about Entergy, and apparently, he was an idiot, too, cause he didn't know jack.  The cop told us that there was only "power" at the bottom of this pole and that it was not dangerous.  I then asked him, if that was true, WHY did they move that pole five feet from where it was when it fell and closer to MY house (a foot away) and WHY did they tie red flags all over the lines?  He couldn't answer me.  Meanwhile, Entergy told us this was definitely ILLEGAL, and they would have someone out pronto.  I had been listening to the radio all this time with the local Entergy rep telling us repeatedly not to feed into our breaker boxes or meters, how dangerous it was, how illegal it was, and how they would press charges on anyone they found doing it.  I cannot sleep with all this worry :-(

10-10-05: I was up till 2 a.m. with worry!  Just got up at 8:30 and tried to call my aunt.  I've been frantic with worry as I haven't heard from her, and the last time I did, she was "hysterical."  I could only guess they had lost everything they had, but I needed to know for sure what was going on.  I finally reached my Nanny's husband in Monroe, and he told me that my aunt, uncle, cousin, and cousin's wife had come home the day before and were all in LC at my cousin's house, and he confirmed what I feared.  My aunt and uncle lost everything in their house :-(  I came apart when I heard it :-(  They had about five feet of water come in--they live on the ship channel (part of the intracostal canal).  I called and talked to my godmother for a time and then spoke to my aunt.  They are in good spirits which is good.  I just can't imagine starting over in your 80s.  I just got off the phone with my fav DJ about the problem next door hoping to get info to the local Entergy rep.  He was appalled over this and agreed that it was illegal and dangerous.  He took both my phone numbers and the offending address and said he would do what he could to get in touch with that rep and get this taken care of.  The smell in here is UNREAL and DANGEROUS, not to mention that the pole being fed into is dangerous and could kill someone.  I had to close my windows due to the smell, and that infuriates me to no end.  It's GROSS, and it's everywhere.  We went to get MREs, ice, and gas, and when we got home, there was no getting away from the smell.  I was already lightheaded, nauseated, had a headache, and my eyes and nose burned like fire.  I was being poisoned in my own friggin' house :-(  I couldn't go outside cause of the smell--front yard or back yard, and the house was definitely out.  I was beyond LIVID over this.  When James brought Radona and Taylor back, we took off and stayed gone most of the day--to various stores and such.  We got back late evening, and we visited with Brian and Cindy for a while who had come in from Ruston for a few days.  It rained most of the day.  The generator from hell was "off" when we got home.  GOOD!  We never saw Entergy come by, but something happened!  My brother had called me around noon, and he was LIVID over this shit.  I was under my carport--no, I was on my driveway and under what USED TO BE my carport, screaming about this crap, and I know my cousins next door heard me.  I was NOT about to let them force me out of my house and/or poison all of us after all of this because they were STUPID.  No way!  My brother was going to make some phone calls himself and see what he could get done.  So, I don't know if our phone calls to Entergy (we called THREE times night before), my call to the radio station, or my brother's calls did the trick, but something happened.  We played cards and Imagineif until James picked up Radona for supper.  Taylor spent the night with Amily and Tanya.  Brian had told us earlier that he found a busted transformer in their driveway when they got home that was NOT there the week prior.  How strange is that?  He said he talked to an Entergy worker who told him it could be another week before we have power back.  At this point in time, I could care less!  Geez!  I'm just fed up with everything right now.  Daryth re-bandaged my poor finger.  The swelling went down a good bit, but it's still majorly sore and very blue :-(  I'm still just begging for Friday night to get here--power or no power.  I can't wait.  Mike still ain't back on.  I found out they have a blown transformer :-(

10/11/05: We all went to bed early last night, and I slept through till 5 and went back to bed till 7.  I was screaming for joy when I went outside and saw that piece of crap next door was GONE, GONE, GONE!  In its place was a huge square burned area of grass!  OHMYGOD!  I'm still furious about this b.s.  I still have a headache today from the fumes.  All generators emit carbon monoxide, but the little ones (like normal people use) aerate well when outside in an open area and won't hurt anyone, but this death trap was NOT--the smoke was thick and fierce, and the smell was everywhere.  Also, Daryth mentioned that they had been up all night with this thing backfiring nonstop.  What a nightmare that was.  The power trucks lined our street early this morning!  Yay!  We went to get MREs and ice and came back here to eat breakfast.  Stopped by the PO to try to get mail and found out that we were finally getting home delivery again that day.  YAY!  We sat out for a while, and that was nice.  When Radona got here, I took her to get her paychecks and then we all went to Wal-Mart.  Brian called while there to let me know that the power was back on :-)  When we got home, we turned the breaker back on, and then it was time to start putting the house back together and clean.  Ugh!  I turned the stereo full blast to SRMP, and we cleaned some :-)  A guy came by to sell frozen sirloin burgers.  I ended up buying a box, as well as a box of seafood and a box of chicken.  How ironic that he comes by when the power comes back on!  *lol*  My neighbor to the east came by to visit for a good while, and we drank Mudslides :-)  When Radona and James got in, we played Imagineif and Farkle till 1 a.m.  It actually feels weird to have power back on.  This poor house is sooooo dirty!  Tomorrow, I'll get groceries and get new rugs for the den.  I'll be glad to get the house all cleaned up and get the yard cut.  I can't do much with my bummed finger.  It still hurts something awful.  As soon as my hand allows, it'll be back to work and the normal routine.

10/12/05:  Two more days *lol*  Strange how this storm created habits--Amity commented about going to get MREs and ice this morning *lol*  It was so part of the routine for the past near three weeks!  We went to Wal-Mart to get replacement rugs and also got shoes, then stopped by Misse's for a lot of meats and fridge items.  It almost felt normal again!  I had to take Radona to her appointment at 1, so the girls and I went to get can goods at Brookshire's then waited 45 minutes or so in the van for R.  Once here, I separated and packed some meat and got the freezer organized as best I could while the girls cleaned and got the pantry organized.  JR was supposed to cut the grass, but I knew that was NOT going to happen.  I'll have to get out there and do it myself, but I hate to think what will happen next.  I'm injured and scarred enough!  I cut my right arm again today to add to the huge scratch on my hand from Saturday.  All this manual labor is killing me!  I'm really wondering if things will ever get back to "normal."  This has been one hell of an experience!  I tried to watch some TV tonight and fell asleep!  Typical!

10/13/05:  One more day!  Got up at 6.  I tried to watch TV and fell asleep.  Didn't do much except clean then went to Wal-Mart again to get a haircut and get Taylor's hair cut.  My boss called to see how my hand was and also to inform me that our employer had generously given us two weeks "disaster pay."  I could not believe it.  That goes above and beyond the call of duty, and I'm so grateful! She told me not to rush my finger cause it could make it worse, and she switched my weekend call from this one to next to give me more time to heal.  When I told her of all the injuries, she told me I need to sit in a corner and not move!  *lol*  My cousin's daughter-in-law came by to bring back my small grill, and she told me what happened next door.  Entergy did come by after all, and her MIL decided to take that piece of crap generator from hell and go home with it.  GOOD!  When I told this young woman how it was poisoning us and how it burned the grass in the front yard, she was shocked.  They had a generator hooked up to their camper but LEGALLY like we had ours hooked up.  Dale came by to visit, and we played Imagineif.  I tried to watch movies and fell asleep.  I guess I'm making up for lost sleep! 

10/14/05:  Today is finally here!  Yippee!!!!  It's 12 hours till we will leave, but it'll go by fast--got lots to do today, like put on makeup, pick out what to wear, and leave *lol*  I'm already nervous and anxious!  I want to have fun!  We ended up going to the Dollar Store to get flowers for my parents' graves--today's mom's 82nd BD :-(  I sat on mom's grave and cried like a baby!  Time does not heal all wounds....it seems to get worse with me!  How I miss her so :-(  That old saying of outta sight outta mind is full of it.  It seems to hurt worse and worse every single day!  I took Daryth by Stage to get a pair of Capri jeans for tonight and then stopped by Brookshires to get some frozen dinners.  We came home and ate dinner, then I put on makeup leisurely.  Got notice that my small retirement check from my old part-time job has not been processed cause they could not read the fax I sent them two friggin' months ago.  I had to call customer service to find this out, and he told me to re-fax the info.  On first try, it was not legible again.  So, I went over and over everything I wrote and faxed it once more.  This time, it was legible :-)  So, I hope to finally get this check soon.  We got news that school will resume on October 25.  Daryth and Contina got called to work, so they are going to be staying with C's dad in LC now.  The day is going by ever so slowly...three and a half hours to go.

10/15/05:  We went to The Waffle House after we left the club and got home around 2.  I immediately plugged in Dominos so I could finally hear SRMP's new CD, and I thought I was out of my gourd cause it wouldn't read it.  It's a dual disc, but I had put the CD side in right.  When I reversed it, it played just fine.  So, the CD side is the DVD side and vice versa.  Dominos is pretty awesome, and to my surprise, I had heard a lot of the new songs already and just didn't know they were going to be on the new CD.  The DVD is really awesome, too.  Anyway, we had a great time last night considering.  The guys were awesome as usual and really played their hearts out.  I did dance a bit, and we all acted like fools, but I really wasn't into it like normal.  I guess my thing was that part of "our gang" was missing with Caycie moving to VA and Tony and TeePaul not home yet :-(  Maybe in two weeks when we go back to see Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys to celebrate JR's 18th BD.  We shall see!

I didn't do much of anything today.  I did run JR to Stage to get a jacket and then he wanted to go to Wal-Mart.  He had stupidly moved my van to the front yard as a joke, and as I'm backing out, I killed one of our beautiful siamese kittens :-(  I was furious and screamed at him that playing with vehicles is NOT funny.  If he had left my van alone, that kitten would not have been killed :-(  So, we didn't go to Wal-Mart.  I just rested most of the day with music. I'm just 100% worn out.  I got my first diaster unemployment payment that day--not much, but it's appreciated.

10/16/05:  Will my poor finger ever function again is the million dollar question.  That's all I wonder about!  It's yellow and blue now, and I still can't bend it.  I'm still just too tired for words.  Oh, right before I went to bed last night, I heard this huge crash in my bathroom---my mirror came crashing down and broke into a million pieces.  Like I need seven more years of bad luck!  *lol*  I watched some TV today and went to Wal-Mart to get a new mirror.  I also got some towels, wash cloths, diet Pepsi, a mat for the den to match the rugs, and a runner for the hallway.  I will need to order another rug for the den on-line, as there are NONE anywhere.  There are no deliveries being made like normal.  I'm also looking for a new chair and a new futon for the den.  I ended up outside this afternoon doing more yard work.  The big trucks came by and picked up the trees, branches, and leaves and left a huge mess.  I took the tent down and then cut most of the grass which Amity finished up.  How I hated that with my hurt hand, but it's the only way it will get done.  My neighbor helped out by weeding.  We had an incident, though.  The neighbor next to him appeared in my yard and ended up on my porch swing stoned out of his gourd.  I was totally appalled over this b.s.  I told him three times to leave, and he was rolling his eyes and mumbling--totally incoherent.  I even told him if he didn't leave I was calling the police to get him off my property!  He had a beer bottle in his hand and had spilled most of it on my swing and on the porch, and I kept waiting for it to come crashing down.  I asked the neighbor to get him off my porch, but he didn't bother for a long time, and the cop was called.  By the time the cop arrived, the neighbor had gotten this fool up and out of my yard.  The cop asked me what happened, so I told him.  This fool was passed out in my neighbor's yard, and the cop went over and frisked him.  This guy was not just drunk....he was HIGHER than a kite!  I don't play this kind of game, and I was furious!  The cop came back and told me if he came back in my yard to call again and they would arrest him.  Later on, an old friend was next door and called me over, and that guy came up and apologized.  He claimed he was "in a diabetic-coma-type state" and needed his insulin.  Then, he looks at yet another beer in his hand and said he knew he should not drink with his diabetes.  No joke?!  Oh God!  What a trip!  What a day!  I'm sore and beat up!  I tried to watch a movie and fell fast asleep :-(

10/17/05: I messed around on the computer from 2 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. and slept till 10:30 when my friend in OK called.  Then we headed out to LC to get my check and go to the bank.  We went by Big Lots where I found a large round folding chair like a smaller one I have in the den, two small tables, and a nice metal futon--a futon I discovered later on was missing the screws and bolts to put the darn thing together :-(  I'm beyond furious cause that means I have to go back to LC tomorrow.  I hate going to LC to begin with, and after today, OHMYGOD, the traffic was unreal.  It was like driving in New Orleans or Houston during rush hour.  I've never seen it like that before.  Radona had another ultrasound today, and seeing Brayden's little face so clear was a trip!  What a pretty baby!  We think Brayden looks a lot like Taylor :-)  At 27 weeks, he weighs 2 pounds and 6 ounces.  We also saw his little legs crossed over each other at the ankles---he was just kicked back and relaxing in there :-)  How cute!  We did more shopping at Dollar General and came here where we got the old couch out.  I wrote out bills much to my dismay--a whole month's worth!  Ugh!  I was getting pretty miserable with this abscess in my left cheek, so I sat holding ice over my face for a long time and ended up falling asleep.

10/18/05: When I woke at 1, my abscess "popped," and it was pretty GROSS, but it sure felt better.  I still have a knot there, but.....nothing like before where I could barely open my mouth.  We're watching "Wilma" now to see what she does when she enters the Gulf.  I've heard talk that she is taking the same path as Rita did.  NO WAY!  A cold front is headed this way by the weekend, though, and there is hope that it will push her away from us.  Oh, got a call yesterday from the retirement plan company, and they got the legible fax and will process my check.  Also, a rep from FEMA called to make an appointment for this afternoon to assess damages and stuff.  I went back to sleep at 6 and woke at 10.  Then we headed back to LC so I could get the box of screws and bolts for the futon and go back to the bank to make another deposit.  If I thought yesterday was bad, well, I hadn't seen crap. The traffic was UNREAL.  We decided to go to K-Mart--I can't tell you the last time I went to our K-Mart since it closed a few years ago.  It took forever to get off McNeese to Ryan and then to Sale.  We found lots of stuff for Brayden on sale from bottles to a complete Winnie The Pooh outfit to receiving blankets, got the girls more uniform bottoms on clearance, got sheet sets for the girls, Radona, and me, and I got the girls a wooden bunk bed and mattresses.  James met us there and put the bed and mattresses in his truck.  They went on their way, and we headed out.  OMG!  Lake Street was closed, so I had to continue down Sale to Nelson, and it was UNREAL!  Once I finally got on Nelson, it was bumper-to-bumper all the way to the I-210 ramp.  I should have gone back to Ryan, but the traffic there was totally unbelievable.  I swear, there must be a hundred thousand new drivers in the area now.  I've just never seen the traffic as bad as this before.  Once we got on I-210, it was smooth sailing all the way to our exit.  Even the traffic in Sulphur is now heavier than normal.  Geez!  If I'm forced to go to LC again, I'll be so ticked off.  We stopped at Taco Bell for dinner and came home to clean more.  The rep for FEMA came by to assess the house and get receipts.  What a nice man!  I noticed a part of my house pulled apart during the storm, so that was damage I didn't know about till today.  He ordered a "blue roof" just in case we end up having leaks.  I should hear from FEMA in a week or so with restitution for damages and reimbursement for the generator and shop vac.  The damage is minor--maybe a roof, paint job, and a storm door.  We were very lucky!  I talked to Cindy and Dale a bit while outside earlier, and we talked about the upcoming post-Rita BBQ.  We'll do that in a few weeks, and that will be fun!  Later, I just did some sitting on the swing and thinking.  I'm so depressed and out of it.  Don't know why.  Could be a delayed reaction to all of this mess--hitting me all at once--or that I'm too damned tired to be anything else or that I'm just lonesome for the rest of my family or it's all hormonal.  I just don't know.  When I came in, I tried to finish this movie, and guess what? I fell asleep on it again.  I give up!  *lol*

10/19/05: Well, here I am again, finding myself napping and up after 1.  I've been using this time to "exercise my finger" and see how much I can type before I get too much pain--all in preparation for returning back to work on Saturday morning.  I need that finger to be okay by then so things can get back to norm, and I can work without problems.  The first time typing was scary and painful.  The next time was a bit easier and so on.  I still have to watch how I move my finger, but I'm able to type a good bit and pretty fast before resting.  I'm hoping it will be fully functional by Saturday morning.  That knuckle really took a beating and is still so damned sore :-(  James and Radona put the bunk beds together, and they are really nice!  I hope they stay that way.  Soon, this diary will come to an end, and won't that be nice?!  *lol*  I don't plan on doing jack the next few days either--just sit around and rest.  Around 4 a.m., I heard this horrible boom down the hall...Amity fell out of the top bunk and got a really nasty bruise on her leg.  I ran in there and they are all laughing at her.  I told her she did the same exact thing Radona did many years ago when I got her and Daryth bunk beds---she slept on the wrong end of the bed and went down.  I swear!  Going to bed now....be back later.

I didn't do much today but clean more.  JR put the new futon together, and the den is coming together real nicely.  I'll be so glad to see this house clean and STAY that way!  I just finished watching the Astros win the National Championship, and I'm besides myself!  OHMYGOD!  It's hard to believe!  I've been a fan since I was a kid and even went to quite a few games in Houston in the past.  Go 'stros!!!!  It's a breath of fresh air to see this, and it gives me hope that one of these days the Saints will be in the Super Bowl :-)  I'll be watching the series with such interest and will fall over if the 'stros can pull this off against the White Sox.  It's also so refreshing to see the Yankees are OUT!  (Sorry, Ann!)

JR called his uncle earlier, and we had a nice talk.  He will be home tomorrow, and I can't wait to see him.  It has been too long!  We talked about going out next Friday night to celebrate JR's birthday, and we are going to have a blast!!!!  I know it won't be with SRMP, but we will still have a good time.  I'm excited about seeing Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys for the first time anyway.  I have all of their CDs, too.

I haven't seen my neighbor to the east in over a week now, and I miss him.  I had gotten really used to him coming over every day to every other day, and now nothing :-(  Two of my kids have seen him, though, and he asked how I was doing.  I don't know what is up with that!

Something strange--of all things, the batteries in my radio lasted this entire time, and I'm still using them!  They are Rayovac, by the way!  I still can't believe it!  :-)

I'll be going back to normal routine here Saturday morning with weekend call, so I'm going to end this diary now and say that my experience with Rita and her aftermath is pretty much over now.

I was reading my reflections after Katrina hit, and there are always famous last words....I wrote:  "I've already lived through a few major hurricanes and/or hurricane threats, but the big one is yet to come. I fear it will one day, and I will be here waiting it out, no doubt :-("  Honestly, I never expected it to be so soon after I wrote that, but it was......

The end......

PHOTOS