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September 19, 2005

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Erin

Jonah:

Here is just one story from our 6-days post Katrina stay at the Esplanade at City Park Apts. It's probably the most gut-wrenching of them all.


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JACK

I had just cleaned up and put on my famous purple Dr. Martens and come back down to the lobby as the last of the oldsters got out of the building and airlifted to a (presumably) safer place. I remember feeling good about how many we were able to get out of there and the fact that my boots were still dry.

Then I head Trixie call out, "Erin, they need your help with that guy."

So, back I went into the knee-high lobby water to help get 85 year old "Jack" into a chair and calmed down after he fell. He was on his way to the canoe to take him to the van that was ferrying evacuees down to NOMA's grassy field for helicopter pickup.

We got him calmed down enough to catch his breath and take a sip of water. After a few minutes he insisted he was OK to walk to the boat. Got in the boat and over to the Esplanade bridge without further event. He got a couple of steps toward the van when he fell again.

This time it would not end well.

We got him to the curb and I kept telling hime "It's OK".

Then, he just gave up. I could see the life drain from his milky eyes as he slumped forward. He was not surprised.

The National Guardsman who was there to make sure we kept things moving said we would have to leave the body where it lay. I knew we had more people to get out of the building and did not want them to have to see it so I insisted that we bring him over to a grassy area at entrance of City Park.

I stood by him while someone ran back to the building to get a make-shift shroud. I covered him as best I could and placed a folded American Flag on his chest. The few people who knew him came over and said a silent prayer and then went back to the building. There was nothing else to do.

A couple of days later when we made our "escape" I was very disturbed to see that someone had removed the green shroud and opened to flag to lay it over Jack's body. The Army Reservist at the pickup site said that a Newsweek photographer had taken a picture of "that body with the American Flag." I was shocked to think that someone would disturb a body just to "get the shot." I can only hope that the picture made it to print and had a strong emotional impact on may thousands of people to mobilize more relief efforts.


POST SCRIPT:

Watching the news that night of the horrible conditions at the Causeway and Convention Ctr pickup sites, I couldn't shake the feeling that everybody we sent out that day had been "conned" into leaving. They were better off at the building than waiting four+ hours in the heat.

Jonah

Erin, that's a crazy story. It sounds like you may need some serious r&r after your ordeal. I hope the Florida/Tennessee game gave you some solace. It's a real shame what our gov't allowed to happen in our city.

Erin

Yes. SHAME is the word. When you realize that Jack had to wait until Friday afternoon to try to cross that bridge you begin to know that it was all too little, too late for too many others who stayed behind and were unable to fend for themselves.

Yes. I have been merrily enjoying the (hopeful) rebirth of the Gators. Too bad it took becoming homeless to get me to Gainesville to see some games. (I have " a guy" that will wave me past the gate. I don't have a seat, but, I'm still in the house.) I am already making plans to be living in New Orleans when UF visits LSU in mid October.

stephen g rhodes

New Years

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