This time last week, everything was normal. Then somewhere between Sunday and Monday, everything changed for a lot of people down here in the Southeast, in my home state and several neighboring states. I can't think of a time in my life where I sat down and genuinely thanked God for the simplest things, like something to eat, something to drink, a shower, a bed, even a working toilet. Hurricane Katrina's aftermath looks more like a war zone where a massive bomb exploded. And it's really not that far from home, maybe 6 hours or so by car from my house. I've been to New Orleans so many times, as well as Biloxi and Gulfport, and what I see on CNN is just so sad. Conditions are worsening as there is no power, no water, no food, and a huge percentage of New Orleans is under water contaminated with sewage, chemicals, diseases, and poisonous snakes. They don't know how many dead they will find once they get around to draining Lake Ponchartrain back into Lake Ponchartrain. I can't even begin to imagine, waiting on my rooftop, surrounded by the yucky water, in 90+ temperatures, no food/water/medicine of any kind, for HOURS, maybe DAYS! The New Orleans Superdome was used as a shelter for evacuees that simply didn't have the means to get out of town (approx. 30% of New Orleans residents are poverty level), and parts of the roof blew off, water began leaking in, toilets began overflowing, and the situation there was getting worse, so the National Guard is evacuating them to the Houston Astrodome by the busload. This is being named the worst catastrophic natural disaster ever on U.S. soil, even worse the Hurricane Camille, some...SOME are even saying this is worse than 9/11, as far as loss of life and loss of property is concerned. We won't really know the extent of it for sure for months. The biggest question right now is why it is taking so long to receive aid from the National Guard and the Coast Guard? They took 1,500 police officers away from search & rescue efforts to help control the looting. I am not one for stealing, but I say let the looting go on and rescue those helpless people!! No one knows when everyone will be able to go back home or how long it will take to rebuild that horribly built city.

Katrina had weakened to Tropical Storm status by the time it reached here on Monday night, but there were wind gusts up to 55 mph, or so I heard, and I didn't sleep much that night in fear that the roof might come off or at least the windows blow in. I kid you not, the windows were rattling at times, and things in the backyard were being thrown everywhere. It wasn't so much the speed of the wind, but just the fact that it lasted for so long at that speed. I can't even begin to imagine what it must've been like to take on the brunt of Katrina down on the coast. Entire homes were wiped off their foundations, many of the foundations themselves crumbling. Floating casinos were either lost at sea, or are now sitting on top of the highway. Oil rigs were blown loose in the Gulf of Mexico, which has put an enormous strain on oil refineries and gas production. Many areas down here are completely out of gas, and not sure when they will get another shipment. The places that have gas, you cannot find it under $3 a gallon, except for a rare few. My Dad used his Sam's card today to put gas in my vehicle...they had it for $2.66/gallon as of this afternoon, and you could barely get in there, the lines were so long. They had to have some of their workers literally directing traffic at the pumps, trying to maintain order. Michael's parents finally found gas today down in Meridian, MS, where they had travelled a couple days ago to help Michael's Grandma clean up the hurricane damage at her house. They got down there and there was no gas, so we were all really wondering how they'd ever get home, but they finally found gas somehow somewhere and they're back home now. What's I find funny/interesting is that everyone is NOW saying "What's going to happen if gas reaches $4/gallon?" The answer is pretty obvious...everyone will do the same thing they did when it reached $3/gallon and $2/gallon. They will keep buying gas. It just means less money to spend on other things. This wasteful, wealthy, frivilous country will have to start living like us less-wealthy folks and conserve things. Maybe in a way, that's a good thing.

Just keep those folks in your prayers, and if possible, try to make a donation, even small, to the American Red Cross. We really do have it good. Even if money is tight and we live on a tight budget, we do have something to eat right now and a place to put our heads at night. We all have a little something to spare and share.