[Shotimes] Katrina Report from Houma

[Kevin & Cheryl Airth]

 Back home for about 10 days now. Houma which is 42 miles S.W. of New
Orleans came out pretty well. Mostly shingles missing, sheet metal damage
and knocked down fences. Not much flooding to speak of, which is good! The
cars got beat up if they were not inside. A LOT of debris in the air! We got
about 85 mph winds for 3 or 4 hours. Pretty intense talking to some people
who stayed but nothing like what the poor people in Mississippi/Alabama
got!! We were under military curfew until they got the jackasses in New
Orleans settled down with the military. No looting in our area that was
reported.
 I spent last weekend repairing the roof. Maybe 50-60 shingles were torn off
all the way to the tar paper. It took me 6 HOURS to mow the lawn which is
normally about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The amount of tree debris was/is
astounding! Huge piles all up and down the street waiting to be picked up.
Fence was standing but had holes so have been hammering and sawing to get it
repaired.
 Lost everything in all the freezers and refrigerators. The stores were open
but stock was thin. When fresh meat was finally put out, it was 3 deep at
the meat counter!! You can get mighty tired of MRE's and canned food. Must
say that the current MRE's beat the hell out of the old K and C rations!!
The beef stew is very good! Phones worked pretty well but are still spotty
just because of call volume. Need to redial about 10-20 times to get through
most times. Cell phones were not good. The old land lines seemed to stay up
better and have better voice quality too? Things like mail delivery and UPS
are coming back. Everybody lost their N.O. distribution centers but have now
got things rerouted.
 I must really comment about Wal-Mart. These people are just unbelievable!
They can move far more supplies, faster than ANY government agency could
EVER hope too!!! Massive truck convoys of NOTHING but Wal-Mart trucks. It
looked like Wal-Mart was at war. They even came in to Houma when gas was
over $3/gallon and started selling gas for $2.55/gallon!! With no limits on
how much you could buy.  They did FAR more than any organization to bring
the area back to normal. They also donated a tremendous amount of supplies
and kept prices as close to normal as possible. All the Wal-Mart bashers
need to look at what actually happened before they open their big mouths
again!! Louisiana owes Wal-Mart a HUGE thank you!
 I can only drive to the west. East towards N.O. is still closed with
curfews and what ever.
 Real estate-Funny thing. Areas that did not flood are already experiencing
a big demand from people who plan to stay. I am shocked that this is
happening so fast. In Baton Rouge (the capital) just about all available
houses have been sold or rented. Mayor Ray from N.O. has purchased a house
in Dallas and enrolled his kids in Dallas schools.
 The times they are a changin!!
.
.

Kevin


> speaking of real estate...kevin, how did you guys end up with katrina?
are you back home?  what's the area like?
>
> mark