What a difference a day makes.
This time Monday night, everyone in the Kanter home had a nervous, sick-to-their-stomach feeling. They were having Hurricane Katrina flashbacks:
"A lot of people went through horrendous times," recalls Mandeville resident Hal Becker.
They were mentally preparing for the worst:
"As long as we have each other and Meeko {their dog} of course, we'll be fine," says Becker.
It took Hal and wife Linda more than 11 hours to get to Hoover - where they're now staying with their old New Orleans friends David and Sheree Kanter.
The Kanter's evacuated here after Hurricane Katrina, and ended up staying. Tonight they have a full house.
"You think we got electricity over there?" Ed Clancy asks a friend who's still in his Kenner, Louisiana neighborhood.
It took Ed, his daughter Alex and their three cats 13 hours to get here from New Orleans.
"It was stressful, not enough room in the car" says Alex.
Meaning there was plenty of time for soul searching. Ed Clancy worries even though Gustav was gentle compared to what was originally predicted, he may still have scared people away---for good.
"I was thinking it was a lose/lose in terms of people coming back" worries Ed Clancy.
For the Clancy's, the Becker's and thousands of other Greater New Orleans Area residents, the question now is whether this emotional roller coaster is something they're willing to ride every few years. It's an issue that will be sorted out over time, but Clancy's gut feeling:
"The song is true, 'Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?'" he says.
Is that even when their streets and spirits are flooded, residents of the Crescent City will eventually rise above and come home.
"Absolutely, absolutely it will survive as a city" pledges Clancy.
The Becker's and Clancy's want to pass along a big thank you to everyone here in Birmingham for their hospitality. They say everyone here has made them feel so welcome and at home in what has been again a tremendous time of need.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement