The Remains of My Mother's House et al A letter from New Orleans by Mildred Taylor

Last week we went back to New Orleans when the mayor said people could go back to their homes.  He also mentioned that the water was safe to drink and bathe in and that he would prove this by Thursday (last Thursday).  By saying this, it implied that the people living in New Orleans could come back and try to live so that the economy could get back to normal.  Boy ! did that give a false expectation and a false impression of what there was to see.  The word “HORRIBLE” doesn’t even begin to describe it!

  As we made our way to Slidell to help my aunt get situated with her house, we removed all the furniture out of her house so that the guys who do sheetrock work could come in and repair the sheetrock.  You see, to the naked eye, house wasn’t all that bad.  Sure she had to throw the refrigerator out because it was stank !!  Sure there was some mildew on the wall because she had about 2 feet of water that rushed in like white water rafting, but it didn’t settle in her house long.  However, when my husband started moving the nice, big, plush chair, about two gallons of water came out.  There was no mildew on the chair, but sure enough, it was filled with water which would have eventually caused mold and mildew that the naked eye would not have been easy to spot.  The wall where the wall cabinet unit was placed, had mildew on it.  Once we took the mattresses off the bed, sure enough the bed frames were all mildewed.  Even though to the naked eye, my aunt’s house was now dry, there were tiny little micro-organisms that could have wreaked havoc on her health over the course of time.  Fortunately, she had someone rip up the carpet a couple of weeks ago only to find a slew of maggots already settling under the damp carpet.

 That night, we headed from Slidell over the rickety wooden bridge over Lake Ponchartrain.  Before we actually got to the bridge, we saw piles of debris piled up two stories high !!!!  Those were the remains of all the pretty houses and restaurants that had the prime “lake” view.

 Once we got safely across the bridge, we entered New Orleans East via I-10.  Never in my life have I seen it so dark.  When I looked at the left, there was nothing but darkness.  When I looked to the right, there was nothing but darkness.  On a typical night, the interstate is lit up with halogen lights as if it’s day time !!!  But on this eerie night, there was darkness as far as the eyes can see.  There were only a couple of cars traveling on the road going or coming.  Then all of a sudden, you smelled this really foul odor.  We checked to make sure that the windows were up tightly.  They were.  All I can say is that it smelled like death.  It looked like death.  Debris was all over the highway.  A convenience store ice chest was sitting on the interstate.  Several of the exits were blocked off.  Several of the entry ways onto the interstate had boats at the entrance ramp.  Trucks were stalled at the entrance ramps.  It was awful !!!

 As we neared the high rise of the interstate that goes over the Industrial Canal, we thought, OK, now, we’ll see the lights in the city.

WRONG !!!  There was more darkness.  The only light we could see to the right was the light at the steeple of the Baptist Seminary on Gentilly Blvd.  They were using a generator to light the steeple.  But to the left, nothing !!!  Darkness covered everything.  And, it was stinky too !! 

 It wasn’t until we got to Canal St that we saw a few lights towards the French Quarter of course.  But even to the right side of Claiborne Ave, it was dark.  I wondered to myself, why was the Mayor telling people they could come home without telling them the full story !!!!!!  It was unbelievable !!!!!

 We made our way across the river to my cousin’s house in Harvey.  They had wind damage, but no water, so we stayed there that night.  When we got there, I quickly busted open my box of MRE (Meal Ready-to Eat) military meal and had that for dinner.  There were no restaurants opened and barely any convenience stores and gas stations opened.  We went to sleep as best we could, then got up the next morning and met my mother.  She initially evacuated to Opelousas, Louisiana and had been there during the entire ordeal. 

 When she arrived, she practically dropped to her knees when she saw that all the bricks were off the front of her house.  It was a sight to actually see your bedroom from the street !!  After she got through the initial shock, we donned our masks and gloves and boots and went inside.  It was hard getting inside because the locks on the iron gates had all kinds of buildup inside the locks.  But my husband was finally able to get it opened.  When we opened the door, it was a foul smell.  The first step was a slush and a slosh and a skid.  We were walking on debris and sludge.  Everything was all over the place.  Everything was covered with sludge and grass.  Furniture that was supposed to be over here was over there.  The refrigerator was wedged on top of the stove and the kitchen counter.  My grandmother’s headboard was up against the ceiling!  Stuff was EVERYWHERE !!  The freezer was laying on its side in the wash room.  Everything was wet, sludgy, and probably toxic !!

 The pictures described as Mae’s house are of my mother’s house where the bricks in the front of the house were knocked clean off the house.

 The pictures described as Barbara’s house are of my mother’s sister’s house which is next door.

 The pictures described as Dr. Alain’s house are of my mother’s neighbor across the street where the lady’s house occupied six lots.

 In their neighborhood in New Orleans East, there were cars leaning up vertically on two wheels leaning on the sides of houses.

Mr. Alsandor’s house, my mom’s friend, at the end of the block, didn’t have one ceiling left in his house because the water was so high.  The headboard in his bedroom went through the wall !!  All in all, you name it, regardless of how heavy ----- car, boat, truck, house ------ it floated.   We saw one of my classmates who tried to ride it out.  He found himself sitting in his attic window floating down the street.  I mean, his house was literally lifted off its foundation and started floating in the water along with other houses and trees and cars !!!!!!  He was airlifted out !!!

 In conclusion, until the TV cameras start going inside the homes of the houses in New Orleans East, what you’ve seen on TV just doesn’t cut it until you see the real thing.  It will be a long time before that city is vibrant again !!!!

 To all of you on this email distribution list and to others, again, words cannot express how deeply appreciative we are for all the continued support you have shown us in this situation. 

 But through all of this, we trust in God and God is all we need!!

 Love,

Mil

http://www.MildredTaylor.com