Part Fifty-Four

(Continued from Part Fifty-Three. It is August 27th, two days before Katrina. Peggy and Raoul have just evacuated New Orleans with the Lambert family. )

They couldn't make it all the way to Georgia in one go: there were simply too many miles to cover. The evacuation route out of New Orleans took them west on I-10 and north on I-55 toward Jackson, Mississippi. There were state police on the roads, keeping the flow of traffic moving away from the city on all lanes.

Some time late in the evening Raoul guided the car into a rest stop. It looked like a gypsy camp. Pickup trucks, station wagons, vans and vehicles of all kinds lined the roadway and were piled high with belongings. Peggy saw Louisiana plates everywhere. Families were spread out on the grass, napping on blankets or sitting in folding chairs drinking beer. One couple had taken down their rocking chairs and were sitting contentedly as though they had not left their living room.

The Lambert convoy followed Raoul through the crowded parking lot to a bit of open space on the far side. Rita and Fran pried themselves from the cramped back seat and stretched and yawned. Children took the dogs for a walk while most of the adults limped to the bathrooms.

Jeanette pulled out a cooler and passed around fruit and water and cookies. Hulie made peanut butter sandwiches for the children.

"Do you think we should try to drive all the way?" asked Raoul.

"I'm getting tired," said Jeanette.

"Columbus, Georgia, is a long way from here," said Annie.

"We should at least make it to I-20 and then see how far east we can go. I don't think we'll find a hotel any closer," said Hulie.

After the break they piled back in their cars. Peggy offered to drive but Raoul said he was fine. Then Peggy insisted on switching places with Fran so that Fran could stretch her legs. Soon, when they were back on the road, Peggy fell asleep and had a dream. In the dream she was married to Raoul and living on Bainbridge Island. Their children had all moved to Seattle to be near them: Marjorie and her husband and new baby; Taylor, Jr.; and Deidre. The latter two were engaged to be married. Then a powerful earthquake hit the region and they all evacuated together to the coast. Peggy didn't mind because it felt so nice to have family around her. They rented a cabin until they could return to their homes, but then discovered they liked it so much they didn't want to return.

The convoy stopped in Meridian, Mississippi, and Peggy woke up. The group separated and went toward different hotels. There were few rooms available. Raoul visited two places and came back shaking his head. "They only have smoking rooms."

"Refugees can't be too choosy," said Fran with sleepy eyes.

Finally, though, he found a nonsmoking room and was very satisfied with himself. "Not only that, I paid less than what the other places were charging."

After a night's sleep that seemed to pass in a flash the convoy got on the road once more and continued east. When they passed through Oxford, Miss., Fran said, "Let's stop and see John Grisham; maybe I can get my book signed."

By afternoon they were in the military town of Columbus, Georgia, which is adjacent to Fort Benning. From the highway it appeared to be a collection of strip malls and chain restaurants. But as they turned and drove closer to the Chattahoochee River the landscape gave way to large old Victorian homes, some in disrepair, some carefully restored.

"This was once the grand part of town," said Rita. "Now it's making a come back after years of decline. Frank and I got a good deal on a really large place that needed a little work."

"Is your husband in the Army, too?" asked Peggy.

"Yes. We met at West Point," she said.

"How romantic," said Fran.

"Does he know that more than twenty people are about to descend on his house?" said Peggy.

"I sent him an email, but it doesn't matter because he's out of the country at the moment."

"No place dangerous I hope," said Peggy.

"Baghdad."

"Ugh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Comes with the territory," she said.

The convoy came to a halt in front of a large blue Victorian with a tidy yard and tall trees. Inside, the ceilings were high and the walls had been painted bold colors. The hardwood floors were dark with age. It seemed that the first thing everyone wanted to do was turn on the television to get an update on the hurricane. What they saw were long lines, gas stations without gasoline, and a storm that looked as menacing as ever. The large, perfectly formed eye in the center of Katrina gave Peggy chills. It was a Category 5 hurricane and was predicted to be deadly.

Hulie said, "Well I think the best thing we can do is be glad we got out."

"Amen," said Rita.

"And the second best thing would be to take that crawfish meat from Mom's freezer and make a crawfish pie," he said.

"And I'll make red beans," said Jeanette. "I know a recipe that doesn't require soaking."

By Sunday evening they were eating crawfish pie and red-beans-and-rice from paper plates and watching the hurricane news. The city of New Orleans had declared mandatory evacuations but it appeared many residents couldn't, or wouldn't, leave. The mayor opened up the Superdome as a refuge of last resort.

"What I don't get," said Peggy, "is that if they are ordering evacuations, why don't they just get a bunch of buses and drive everybody out? I'll bet there are school buses that aren't being used."

"I'm sure many people think it will just blow over," said Jeanette.

The storm made landfall early Monday morning on the coast of Louisiana, submerging the fishing towns of Buras, Empire and Venice.

When the family woke up and saw the news Hulie shook his head sadly, "Dad took me fishing out of Empire when I was a kid. We went trawling for shrimp in the Gulf, and then we fished for flounder in the channels on the way back in. He was so proud of catching a flounder. I can picture the moment like it was yesterday."

The storm passed on the east side of New Orleans, straddling the Louisiana-Mississippi state line. It's enormous size covered a large stretch of Gulf shoreline all the way to Alabama.

By Monday afternoon it became apparent that the hurricane obliterated the towns of Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian and Waveland in Mississippi, and did serious damage to Gulfport and Biloxi. In Alabama it caused extensive damage to vacation spots like Dauphin Island and brought flooding as far as Mobile.

Jeanette's jaw dropped in disbelief as she watched the reports. "Mom and Dad spent their honeymoon in Gulfport."

"My favorite casino is gone," said Hulie.

"I know a lot of people who retired to Bay St. Louis," said Shirley with dismay, as they watched aerial footage of the Mississippi coast showing neighborhoods where nothing was left but concrete slabs on which houses had stood.

But, for the most part, the Lamberts breathed a sigh of relief: it seemed the worst of the storm had bypassed New Orleans. They saw videos of floodwaters, but there was not the widespread destruction that they had feared.

"I'd say we'll be out of power for a couple of weeks," said Hulie. "We can handle that."

"I just hope there's no water in my house," said Jeanette. "The last thing I want to do right now is go furniture shopping. I've got to get my kids ready for school."

But the real tragedy was only just beginning. The levees that surround the below-sea-level city broke in three places and New Orleans began to fill with water. The true horror of it unfolded gradually on Monday night and Tuesday. Entire neighborhoods were becoming submerged.

Hulie's face was a picture of disbelief. "It's just what they always said would happen."

The Ninth Ward, Lakeview, Mid-City, East New Orleans, parts of Uptown and many other areas were being reclaimed by the waters of Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi River. Under normal conditions, water flowed between the river and the lake in canals; it was these canal levees that broke.

At one point, Jeanette and her family sat numb and shocked at what they saw: a video of their neighborhood in Lakeview showing just the rooftops of houses peaking above the water. Peggy felt goose bumps at the sight of it. Rita rushed to Jeanette's side and sat with her.

Eventually, there were flights over many areas of the city plus satellite photographs posted on web sites. Agnes's house apparently took in water; Hulie and Annie were unsure about their neighborhoods, but in any case it was clear that they would not be returning home anytime soon. New Orleans had become a city unfit for human inhabitants. What's more, the horror and scope of the catastrophe increased by the hour as the thousands of people who stayed in the city were becoming desperate.

Meanwhile, Raoul changed the flight reservations for himself, Peggy and Fran. No one would be returning to New Orleans to have a funeral any time soon.

On Wednesday afternoon, August 31st, Peggy departed Atlanta with Raoul and Fran for the return trip to Seattle and Bainbridge Island. During the long flight she tried to piece together what she had witnessed in the week since they left. She couldn't think about it in any intellectual way. She could only feel a reaction. And her reaction was one of gratitude. She was suddenly grateful for the things she had: a home, a job, her children, Raoul. Yes, Raoul. She was grateful for Raoul. She had to dab at her eyes with a tissue. It all seemed so fragile and temporary. So fleeting.

They dropped Fran off, dazed and tired, and rode the ferry back to Bainbridge Island.

Peggy said, "I have a request."

Raoul looked at her. She could tell he was just as troubled and bewildered as she.

"Can I come stay at your house for a few days?" she asked him.

She was also thankful for the simple answer that he gave. He didn't analyze it, or try to read her mind, or figure anything out.

He said, "Yes. I would like that very much."

They paused at her house in the darkness only long enough for Peggy to grab a change of clothes while Raoul kept the motor running. Every minute was precious, she felt.


This concludes the Hurricane Katrina episode. Thank you for your patience while these postings have been irregular. Time has been kind of suspended lately, but we will be back in the present day on Tuesday when we rejoin Peggy and Raoul in their normal routine on the ferry.