Remembering...

There are moments in time that will forever be etched in one’s memory. Events that will that will stay fresh in a person’s psyche. Days that where everyone remembers where they when it happened. Days that are historical yet they share a tragic bond.

August 29th is the day. 2005 was the year.

The day the Gulf Coast was changed by one word…Katrina.

I was heading to New Orleans to but a last second change of plan put us in Laplace, Louisiana, 20 miles outside of the city. We figured that we would ride out the storm there. The Sat dish was beaming the signal through some fierce winds. I had to really watch myself out there. Trying to keep upright while making sure nothing was going to fly out of nowhere and knock upside my noggin. Once the shots were done it was time to carefully navigate area to see who else riding out the storm. A local hotel provided the backdrop. Some residents were scared but they were ready as they could be. Pretty much another day in Louisiana’s Fifth Season, or we thought. After the winds died down we headed into the city, I noticed the water from Lake Ponchatrain was higher than normal. I paid it no mind, just had a storm roll through the area. As we drove down the interstate that’s when it hit me. The interstate was turned into a boat launch. The water was everywhere as far as my eyes and lens could see. Word was coming in that some of the levee systems were failing. Hell’s floodgates had opened and the water emendated the city.

We saw the models. We saw the intensity this monster was bringing. We knew this was going to be the “perfect storm.” What we didn’t know was the lasting impact it would bring. We’ve seen the aftermath. The levees breeched by water, people trapped in their attics and on their rooftops, the Superdome becoming a shelter and prison for those who couldn’t escape, and the convention center turning into a morgue before everyone’s eyes.

Five years later, most of NOLA has returned but there is still ways to go before the Big Easy is back to its true luster. As the region continues on, you can’t help but remember what happened only five years ago.