THIS IS THE BIG ONE ELIZEBETH !!!

Well it looks like life as we know it is about to change. Hurricane Katrina snuck up on us. Friday afternoon she was headed to the Florida panhandle but later in the day the Hurricane Center changed the projected path closer to New Orleans. Right now it is 8am Sunday morning and the projection is that New Orleans is finally going to take the direct hit that all of our parents have said will decimate New Orleans.

I got Kristin and the Kids out of town Saturday afternoon. I stayed behind to get the house in order and to make sure that work was going to be closed on Monday. My plan was to wait until the last minute and then get out of town. NOW is the last minute. I will be leaving shortly. I can't wait to get to Kristin and the Kids. My backup plan, in case I can't go that direction is to head to Birmingham and visit with the Parker family. Good friends are hard to find but once you find them.......you need to keep them. I have been complacent in my role as a friend by not keeping in as close touch with them as I should have. I'll change that. I'm going to work on raising my family and being a good friend to my friends. John and Theresa Ladd are my closest friends in New Orleans. My friends are my second family.

Life as we know it is likely to be changing very soon

Hurricane Katrina is expected to bring sustained winds of 145 - 165 mph for a period of about
7 hours. If that is not enough , the storm surge is going to be the straw that breaks the camels back. The storm surge is the water in the ocean that builds up around the storm and will be pushed into Lake Pontchatrain during the storm. They are expecting a 17 foot storm surge.
Our levies are only 12-13 feet tall. This means that the water level, in Lake Pontchatrain , will be high enough to go over the levies . The water will then find it's level. Once inside the levies, the water is trapped. The levies that were built to keep the water out, will now keep the water in. Because we are below sea level, the water cannot seep out through the ground. The water has to be pumped out. This could take several months. Last year when Hurricane Charlie hit florida, the experts projected at least 10 weeks before people could return to their homes in New Orleans, if we would have taken a direct hit from Charlie. Our house is about 2 blocks from the Southwestern shore of Lake Pontchatrain.

They are saying that this storm will be worse than Hurricane Betsy.

Times like these make you reflect. I am looking ahead. It will probably be a while before I can post an update. But I will post when I get the chance. I am the luckiest man alive. My family waits for me. I will likely have to rebuild all that we have at this point ,but I will have my family.
Kristin, Kindal, Ben, Kiley...Richard, Dena, Julie, Brandon, Kristin's family, all of the Smiths and Ellis's.

We are facing a new adventure, we are going to get something that alot of people dream about...... a brand new start. We will have a chance to reflect and see if our lives are where we want it. It will be trying but we will be able to do it. I've always thought that I was put on this earth to make a difference. Earlier this year I thought that difference may be in fighting Cancer.......I think it is.....but I think I might have overlooked the more obvious answer. I'll make a difference in my Children's lives. I don't think I should be sad....maybe I should be happy and say Thank you to God for all that he has given me.


GOD BLESS UNTIL NEXT TIME.
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