The And Gold Tour Bus From Louisiana State University

On Losing Everything This past week I saw that purple and gold tour bus from Louisiana State University in my town, not only surprising me but also forcing me to think back on my childhood in the south. Growing up in southern Louisiana one must be prepared for major storms and flooding at less than a day’s notice. Hurricanes are powerful storms that can ravish towns and can be deadly for people and animals alike. Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast in August of 2005, and I was in the midst of that wreckage. My family and I were living in a small, close-knit community, named St. Amant, about an hour west of New Orleans. On the third day of the hurricane, my family experienced a loss greater than we could have ever imagined. This†¦show more content†¦In no way do I mean to trivialize the severe and deadly effects hurricanes can potentially bring, but not all hurricanes are the same. Most storms that would make it to the area I used to live usually lost strength by the time it got to us. For the weaker storms, the kids would get a mini vacation from school, and the parents got a much-needed break from work. At the time, I thought everyone in Louisiana and especially New Orleans were not ready for what was coming. Louisiana is a laid back state, due to its French roots. The catch-phrase for the state was always â€Å"Laissez Les Bon Temps rouler,† or â€Å"Let the good times roll!† So, it’s easy to see why the media portrayed Louisianan’s as â€Å"not caring† about the tropical storm that was headed our way. We did care, we were just expecting much less than what we received. I think a good way to describe this is that people from California have been through many earthquakes and are prepared for them, but would you stop living your life for a small earthquake that might not happen? Probably not. My family tried to be as prepared as we possibly could, but there is only so much money to go around buying things for situations that might not even happen. My dad purchased our first gasoline generator earlier that year which sadly put a dent into our emergency savings. Nevertheless, we had enough supplies, water, and food to last about a week if necessary. From my memories, about a week