Kiss My Gumbo » evacuation

Gustav Cheers & Jeers

Greta — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:36:02 +0000

This is a participation post – comment away – GO AHEAD – COMMENT!!!

Cheers to Direct TV for carrying WDSU during the evacuation.
Jeers to all the local stations for barely covering St. Tammany.

Cheers to the media for decent coverage.
Jeers to the media for obviously being disappointed Gustav wasn’t worse & for hanging in the French Quarter half the time.

Cheers to the National Guard for doing such a great job.
Jeers to the thugs who shot at them.

Cheers to Ray Nagin for being strict with looters.
Jeers to any low-life scumbag who tried to loot. Hope Angola served you well.

Cheers to the South Shore for their great evacuation plan.
Jeers to St. Tammany for not having an evacuation plan for elderly &/or elderly with pets.

Cheers tor I-55 doing such a great job with contraflow.
Jeers to I-59 for doing a lousy job with contraflow.

Cheers to CLECO for restoring power ASAP.
Jeers to the trees that dare fall on people’s homes.

Cheers to Rouse’s & Winn Dixie for opening up so quickly.
Jeers to my hubby for trying to coax the kids into eating SPAM (what is that stuff anyways?)

Cheers to Bobby Jindal for being a great public communicator.

Safe is Crystal Springs, MS

Greta — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:05:06 +0000

It only took me 4 hours to make a 3 hour ride. I must give all the people involved in the evacuation efforts – big kudos. I took 190 to the I-12. I-12 was smooth sailing and then I hit I-55 due North. The contraflow worked nicely!!! Woot woot for good planning!!! Hunkered down with the kids, the dog and my my gracious hostess Stacy. http://mysoldeirmichael.blogspot.com Hubby and the kitties are on their way!

Be safe everyone!!!

Waiting…

Greta — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:49:22 +0000

*front doors sandbagged
*enough food for a week plus
*outdoor stuff secure
*generator and gas ready to go
*flashlights and batteries
*pile in the middle of the living room ready for evacuation
*chainsaw oil
*pet carriers in car
*map of route drawn out
*beer bought

If it is going to hit anywhere closer to here – we are soooo out of here. As of this moment, we’ll let everyone with mandatory evacuations drive out. Tomorrow 6 AM contraflow starts. The Causeway was not congested at all – so if you can go that way – take it. St. Tammany hasn’t called anything yet. I’ll fill you in as I know anything.

Drive carefully out there everyone. Tons of stressed and tired people on the road!

To leave or not to leave?

Greta — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:29:55 +0000

I don’t usually listen to my hubby, why should I start now? Mr. Engineer and I ass-u-me, “dabbling meteorologist” can be added to his resume now, has a little graph going and he has the storm going far due West. He refuses to leave until Sunday when he knows if we should absolutely have to go. Logical but yet, making me crazy. Our fear in this house is the amount of trees surrounding us. So today, we will secure everything outside and I will head to the Lakefront Gazebo to collect signatures for the recall. Then I will come back and pack up the car and be ready to go either later today or very early tomorrow morning. Everything is almost completely packed and storm-proofed and I have my last minute list.

On the list today…beer and cash!

Military Moving has Helped

Greta — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:43:05 +0000

I have earned some rank for being experienced with military moves. Having a house packed up and ready to go in a couple of week’s time, is not that difficult. It is all temporary stress and nervous energy that keeps you moving to get the job done. Once everything is on the moving truck, many say, “Say good-bye to your stuff.” A quirky saying for something so serious, but I’ve heard it hundreds of times from friends and neighbors throughout our career. But you know, it is true, because all the matters is what you have inside your personal vehicle and possibly the U-Haul behind it. Now, I am not saying that losing everything you own is not devastating and fortunately, that has never happened to us. I actually always looked forward to the moment the moving truck closed it’s doors and pulled away. It seemed my life was suddenly simple and not filled with material things.

As I am packing the necessities for an evacuation, looking around the house, there is not that much that I will feel bad about if I leave it behind. I won’t have a U-Haul, just my vehicle with my 3 kids, 4 cats and Chulo the Stupor Dog. I love pictures and will have those with me, along with some military memorabilia, and some jewelry. Hubby will have his truck filled with his belongings…and we are off. We can’t look back and we can’t worry about the pine tree next door that is leaning over our roof.

My job, is to get the kids and pets to a place that is safe and make sure they will be cared for. I’ve got that covered. As I watch people around me panic, I feel guilty that I am amazingly calm in this current situation.

Stacy, get ready for the Perry family!