My tummy's still hurting

Katrina passed through New Orleans early this morning, and thank God, she moved slightly eastward, saving New Orleans from the "worst-possible scenario."

Still, as you can see by some of these photos I plucked off the Web, it's bad. My family is safe, thank God. My phone literally rang off the hook this morning -- I have lots of very good friends who were concerned about me and my family. My parents are in Houston, and my crazy aunt and her family members who stayed in Harahan to ride out the storm -- they're OK, too.

I don't know what our house looks like. I'm worried that it's full of nasty, nutria-infested water. There's no electricity, no water, no sewer system. It sounds like it's going to be a at least a few days before my family can even return home to see the damage.


Here's a photo of my beloved Superdome where the New Orleans Saints play and I spent many, many Sundays cheering, and yes, crying along with all the die-hards. Parts of the roof blew off, and some of it fell in, allowing lots of water to flow in and onto the football field.


Here's another shot that breaks my heart. We drive through this underpass to get into the city. This is probably 10-12 feet under water. And on both sides of this road are very old cemetaries, including the one where my grandmother and grandfather are buried. And yes -- it's an old racetrack, so the ground is solid enough to bury coffins. On the other side of the interstate, there are some of the more famous cemetaries you'd expect to see with above-ground tombs.

My family is following Gov. Blanco's orders and staying away. And you'd want to, too, if this is what they will encounter when they return ...

A public health expert said New Orleans residents who return to their homes would face "a wilderness" without power and drinking water that will be infested with poisonous snakes and fire ants... The water also has dislodged fire ants and thousands of snakes -- including poisonous water moccasins -- from their homes.
-CNN.com

I did hear that the levee near our home did not break, but then I also heard that there's about 4 or 5 feet of water near Williams Boulevard between the airport and the Treasure Chest Casino, which is within just a few miles from our home.

OK, I found a good map on Google to explain how close our house is to Lake Pontchartrain, but I can't seem to save it as an image file. Here's the link -- but first, let me explain what you're going to see. Near the top left, there's a square (made from the boundaries of the streets) that says Chateau Estates and Country Club. There's another square to the right of that. The right side of that "box" is Power Boulevard, and our house is in the area to the right, just a few streets over and about three or four blocks from the levee of Lake Pontchartrain.

map of Metairie, Kenner and New Orleans

I can't concentrate on anything, and I'm just a nervous mess. Not knowing the state of our house and not having a clue what the next few months will be like is making me light-headed. I can't even imagine what my family is going through. I'll let you know when I get more info. Keep praying, so far, it's working.