Katrina Memories
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
I thought I’d get a jump on the 5 year Katrina anniversary and take a look at some of the images I shot around then. There aren’t many. That was intentional. I generally like to take photos of things that will make people happy when they see the images and remember what it was like then. Katrina is not something to remember fondly. But maybe it is an opportunity to remember that my family was pretty lucky considering all that went on. Ryan and I were living in Houma at the time and didn’t get any damage, but we were lucky to be close by to help deliver supplies, cash, gas and food to my family.
My parent’s house in Mandeville, Louisiana. 7 trees fell on it! My dad, brother and grandmother rode out the storm together. When the trees fell, they were able to save things from the water. It still feels weird driving through their neighborhood and feeling like there is too much sky.
Mom always wanted a sky light in the bathroom, right?
Dad taking a break in the attic. Being handy and strong, he did a lot of the rebuilding on his own.
My Nonna. She was there -physically at least- during the storm and the aftermath. Double whammy for my parents taking care of her and dealing with the storm damage and general chaos in the months that followed. They had to put her in a nursing home because the room that had just been added on to the house for her was too damaged. She died about 4 months later. Better that she never got to see her beloved New Orleans in the state it was, it would have broken her heart. New Orleans just isn’t the same city to me now that she’s gone.
Yacht Club
Something you don’t normally see over a suburban neighborhood: Black Hawk helicopters refueling. There was a war zone just 24 miles away…
Along the Mandeville Lakefront area.
I remember seeing lone stoops along the Mississippi Gulf Coast when I was a kid, years after Camille. Never expected to see some in Mandeville. But it should have been a warning. Last time I checked, this lot was still empty and the steps were gone.
What building?
Rip’s Restaurant on the Lakefront, literally ripped apart by Katrina.
The new and much improved Rip’s.
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