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The Beginning
It started off with packing. What to bring when you don't know where you're going or how long you'll be gone? The answer is everything you think you'll need, of course. I was finished packing maybe 45 minutes to an hour before we left, though I do admit to tucking things in my bag before we left. I wanted to call everyone I knew to make sure they were getting their butts out of town, but unfortunately, I had lost all my friends phone numbers, and I only remembered one. I called my friend's house, but no one picked up. Discouraged, I scoured the house in search of the little notepad where I kept numbers of all my friends, but I was unable to find it. I sat in my room for the rest of the time, wondering how things would be from now on, until about 30 minutes before we left, when I went ahead and got in the van. Thankfully I got in before items started piling in. Before I knew it, I could not see out of the back window, and I was stepping on blankets and pillows. I sat like that until my sister's yell caught my attention. Apparently one of my friends, whom I had lost her number, had called to check on me. Being the sap I am, I was incredibly touched, and missed her already. A bit after that, we were off, to Oberlin, Louisiana. I can't believe we thought we would only be gone for two or three days.
Are We There Yet?
A car ride that would have normally taken an hour or less took six hours on Thursday's traffic. God, the agony of sitting in a stuffed, crowded van with no air condition for 6 hours. That is something I will never forget, it was Dallas all over again. Well, anyway, we finally made it to my great aunts' house LATE in the afternoon, and were just settling in when we turned on the news. According to the recent weather report, that damn hurricane would hit this place too. WTF? Not fair. We went to bed that night, intending to leave the next morning. Instead, we woke up around 3:30 in the morning because my uncle, who had doubled back home, came in, cussing everyone out. That is by far, the rudest awakening I have ever had in my life. Obviously, everyone was up after that. I myself went back to the van and climbed back through all the mess and said my prayers for a long, long time. Afterwards, I popped in a tape and watched that until my mother came in and made me cut it off. This was just the morning to be rude, it seemed. Around six, we finally left for God knows where. We made it to Alexandria around 8, but we didn't leave until 11 or 12. Our group, composed of my two aunts and my uncle, had separated earlier because my uncle stayed behind for my aunts to get ready to leave to come with us. While we waited, a woman approached us and told us of a shelter that might take us in. Once we were all back together, we followed her there. Just when we had arrived and it seemed that we had found our final stop, they told us they couldn't admit us because our grandmother was in a wheelchair and they didn't have the services for that kind of handicap. Upset, we left. Fast forward to that evening, when I woke up, finding us on the college campus of NSU. We had arrived in country country Natchitoches, which is pronounced Nacoditch. Ugh. They sent us from one part of the campus to another, getting our names and giving us a bracelet so they could distinguish us from others. That done, they sent us to the Coliseum, the place we would be for the next three days.
The Norm for an Evacuee
Not like you wouldn't have guessed, but there is jack s**t to do when you're waiting for a hurricane to pass. For the most part, I spent my free time sleeping or reading, seeing as there were just too many people around to draw like I wanted. However, the day that the hurricane hit, I did enjoy a bit of time outside, where all we got was the strong wind. After an hour or so of that mess, my hair looks a mess, and I'm grinning like an idiot. Fun fun. The Sunday after the hurricane, my uncle, who had been hiding instead of telling us where he was so we could come over and stay there, finally appeared, and said his goodbyes. He headed home that day, leaving us sniffling. Meanie. Well, the next day, they tell us we're being moved to another shelter because, and I quote, "They want their court to play women's volleyball." After that mess, we pack up, get in that stuffy a** van again, and drive off to a shelter a mile or less away. What a waste of time. But we get there, and we aren't completely upset. This shelter has less people, and a TV. Ooh. Methinks we'll like this place a whole lot more. And we kinda do. We go shopping, my mother's favorite pastime, as best as we can, since Natchitoches only has a super Wal Mart to its name, and that's about it. We make our little friends among the others in the shelter, though as my aunt put it, there were plenty of 'Jerry Springer people'. One couple stands out in my mind. A man is married to a woman he doesn't love because she has two of his kids, while her sister secretly wants him. If that ain't Jerry Springer material, I don't know what is. Well, the days pass, and we slowly adjust, until Wednesday, when we decid to go home. The excuse behind this is that one of our dogs is sick, and we have to tend to her.
One Sad Day
We make it home around 12 noon, and one of our dogs, Zoey, takes her time to greet us at the fence, which is incredibly unusual for her, since she is the spunkiest of the three dogs we own. My sister Amanda is the biggest crybaby of the family, and is immediately sniffing as she takes out the fence to force-feed her. "She's so light! You can see her bones!" is all she cries out, and slightly panicked, she takes her to the neighbor's wide porch and sits her down, while my dad opens a can of soup for her. For a pet that's been around as long as she has, for 7 years, you can imagine how emotional we are. They try to get her to eat for the next 2 and something hours, until she stands up one last time. Then, as I walk out on the pavement, I look to see her drop to the ground, and her head fall limp on the step. My mind is stuck on that scene as I run back in the house and try to ignore everyone else's sobs and go back to picking up in the house, my father and me the only ones with dry eyes. I didn't want to tell anyone that I had a dream that this happened, and that's the God to honest truth. I really did dream we made it home, and while she was glad to see us, I got the feeling it was too late� It's obvious we can't stay home tonight, besides this tragedy, we have no lights. We stay only long enough to finish emptying out the fridge and freezer, since the other freezer is amazingly still frozen, and take a shower in brown water. Double ugh. We headed to Houston that very night, and after unsuccessfully hunting for a hotel with vacancies, we stopped in the parking lot of a 24-hour Whataburger and fell asleep there. Well, at least tried to. Hot, sad, and uncomfortable, I fell asleep around 3. What a sucky day.
Things Get Better� Sort Of
Bright and early, we got to the Greater Houston Disaster Center, and while it is nice and cool in the morning, by the time my parents make it out, it's hot and nasty. Afterwards, we take the rest of the afternoon driving around Houston for a hotel/motel with a vacancy, and late in the afternoon, we finally find one. There is a definite difference between hotels and motels that I don't think I have to tell you about. We finally got a motel room by the freeway, and all six of us crammed into it, someone on the floor at night, usually me, but anyways. My older sister Christian instantly did not like the room, and spent all afternoon on the phone trying to find herself a better room, which she did not, which I think, was good for her, she'd been getting on my nerves anyway. We spent the rest of our time there, occupying ourselves with the only thing to do in Houston: shop. We could've always just stayed in the hotel room, and watch TV, but they weren't a big fan of that idea. The TV was somehow hooked up to a satellite, and of all channels, they had a porn station right next to HBO. 'Nuff said. Well, this continues on, for the most part, until Saturday morning, when my sister tells me one of my other friends has left a message on her phone talking about moving. I seriously hope she is kidding, but immediately finds out she is not. I call my friend to see what's up, and it's true. When the hurricane came, they went to Las Vegas, and her mother has now decided to keep them there. This completely breaks my heart, she and I have been close friends since 8th grade, and I hurry up and hang up on her, because I don't want her to hear me cry. I mope for the rest of the day, even though I am glad to find out that we are going home in the morning, because school starts on Monday. Ugh.
And What a Pretty Morning It Was, Today
We started out early this morning, just as they said, loading stuff back up into the van, which is a rather long and annoying process, since we had a room on the 2nd floor. It isn't all bad though, since a cold front came down and cooled things off for a day or two. We even pulled out a blanket on the ride home, it was so cool. Faster than I knew it, we were home, and this time, the lights were on. Hallelujah! For the rest of the morning and day, we clean up the messes we have and readjust to our lives. I know tomorrow I'll be walking in a daze, my dog gone, one of my best friends I'll never see again. Still, I'm grateful for everything, and I'm gonna think twice about complaining. It's so good to be back home.

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