John Stocks: Report from Evangeline

From John Stocks, whose efforts to help his family and friends in the Gulf have been reported in earlier posts here, here, here, here, and here.

South to Evangeline-It tried to wash you away

It has been two days since my last report.

Aaron Neville sings a song about the historic flood of New Orleans. It has become the theme song for this tragedy.

South out of Jackson across the Louisiana border. Lovebugs cloud the windshield. Wind damage from the storm is everywhere. A steady flow of trucks hauling generators, piping, welding equipment, water, fuel, and all types of heavy equipment. Now FEMA trucks are hauling fifth wheels and camper trailers for temporary housing.

Adam [John's brother] calls on the road and tells me to head to his in-laws in Zachary, north of Baton Rouge. We will head to Slidell the next day.

EAST FELICIANA PARISH

West to Clinton, Louisiana, a trip back in time to the deep south. The stately courthouse reminds me of the movie, The Diary of Miss Jane Pittman. The little towns are crowded with evacuees from New Orleans. No television crews here. The story of the impact on rural communities will largely go untold.

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH

Slight damage in Zachary compared to points east. Arrive at Adam's in-laws. Warm welcome. Father retired teacher. Mother still works in law enforcement. Lots of teachers in this family. A sister-in-law stops by to visit. She teaches at Zachary High School across the street. 100 evacuee students from New Orleans enrolled in this rural high school. The teachers and education support professionals in these schools are seeing the human impact first hand. A story not likely to be told unless we tell it.

Roll my sleeping bag out after dinner and crash. Tomorrow we head to Slidell, ground zero.

ST TAMMANY PARISH.

SLIDELL-Ground Zero

The children stay back with their grandparents. Two hours in heavy traffic across I-12 to Slidell. I-10 is closed so all the west-east traffic is going north of Lake Ponchatrain.The devastation multiples as we head east. Military helicopters constantly overhead headed to New Orleans.

We arrive in the city where the eye of the storm passed over. Shops are destroyed. Electricity coming back slowly. The people we encounter are stunned. You can see the pain from the trauma in their eyes. Dazed and despairing, they await to hear about colleagues,friends and family. They gather their faculties to deal with their homes and businesses. Slidell got the brunt of the eye wall winds and a flood surge from Lake Ponchatrain.

We pull into Adam's sub division. The insides of homes are piled on the lawns. A few portable generators whine in the distance. It is time to unload the trailer and get to work.

Pulling sheetrock all day is a miserable job in 95 degree heat with high humidity. Need to get the house dried out before the mold and mildew take over and ruin it.

Adam and Becky are resourceful and determined. They are arranging for insurance adjusters, roofers, contractors, etc. Becky arranges for FEMA to tarp the roof. Got to be done before the next rain.

Neighbors lend each other equipment. Warn each other of the price gougers and con-artists.. People commiserate together.

We sweep up the debris, set up the blower fans and fire up the generator to run all night. We finish the day at 8:30 pm. Load up and drive the two hours back to Zachary. Shower off the dust and grime, lay down and crash. Tomorrow we are back at it.

The generator, fans and dehumidifier will probably prevent any mold problem. Pray we don't get another storm. It's the beginning of the hurricane season.

John Stocks