Our electric power was knocked out during Hurricane Katrina before the storm had reached its full potential, causing me to use this oil lamp for light This is the same lamp that was used in this same house until I was in the second grade. I would sit at the dining room table and do my homework by this lamp. Electricity did not arrive in our rural town until then; hard to believe in this cyber age isn't it?
The lamp once again served me well for the 8 days we were without power following the hurricane but this is one of the "good old days" things I would not care to return to.
None of the area had electricity. No gas pumps could work even if there had been any gasoline left in them; it had all been used up by evacuees fleeing the storm.
There were no grocery stores open or drugstores or anything. Everyone had evacuated, plus there was no electricity to run cash registers or even automatic doors. Water was scarce and ice was non-existent. The near 100 degrees temperature combined with the humidity made it seem like one was in a constant sauna. The coolest place in the house was on the wooden floor; even the cats could not find a spot for too long that was not hot. The silence without airconditioner motors, televisions or traffic on the River Road was deafening. Each time I ventured out of our long driveway onto River Road I was stopped by a law enforcement officer checking my identification. On the third day when I ventured the 15 miles upriver to the Nursing Home to check on our relatives I was detained at least 5 times by law enforcement officers checking identifications. I was fortunate to have law enforcement credentials. The entire area was under mandatory evacuation and anyone on the streets was considered a looter.
Air Force One carrying President George W. Bush flew directly over Perilloux Place on Thursday after Katrina and was so low I could see the people in the plane. He only flew over Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama but did not land because security needed for him could be used in hurricane recovery.
The three of us in the house those first six days said very little to one another; I believe we were in shock. The fright we had sustained during the 12 hours of hurricane force winds had done something to our psyche and it would be weeks and months before we felt normal again, if ever.
I could only imagine what the people of southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coat were going through. I found out all too soon when I went looking.