Visiting Saint Bernard Parish

Sept. 19th 2005

Today was a day that we will never forget. Today we went to St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans East, two areas that have been underwater for the past 2 ½ weeks. We woke up early so that we could meet motivational speaker Tony Robbins and Senator John at the airport before our journey began. Tony wanted to meet with the Senator and with us to get caught up on the events over the past few weeks.

Words cannot explain what we saw. It looked like the set of a disaster movie, a sci-fi film where no one was on the streets, all the vegetation was dead, cars over turned. This was a ghost town where the only movement came from the emergency crews working the area. We met with one of the few doctors who came back to help and learned that they only had two hospital beds in the entire parish, two beds for 5000 workers. Oh, and that was in the Exxon plant building. You see, there are no hospitals here, no police stations, no fire stations, no grocery stores, no homes. Everything here was underwater and is full of the black sludge like mud and mold left behind after the water receded. They are not likely to be salvaged. Only to be torn down and replaced by new construction.

As we drove around we saw a building on fire, military trucks, people trying to save whatever they could from what was left of their home, and unfortunately cadaver dog units from Los Angeles. Now the rescue efforts have ceased and the recovery efforts have begun. Some areas are still not accessible due to downed trees and collapsed buildings and the sight of a barge no longer in the canal but in the middle of a neighborhood is breathtaking.

We have friends that used to live and work here and have now lost everything. It is heartbreaking to drive through this area knowing that there is little you or anyone else can do. Our only hope is that one day this will be the town it once was, filled with thriving businesses and families living their happy lives. This may take years, but we know the people here will come back and make it the close knit community it once was.