To Stay....or to Run???
© Kay King

I've always said I prefer hurricanes to tornados or earthquakes -- because at least you know the hurricane is coming.    What I didn't think of was that when you see a disaster headed straight at you....your stomach re-locates itself in the general direction of your throat for days.

With Hurricane Katrina continuing to grow in the Gulf, the "I'm staying home" on Friday, became "I'll wait and see" on Saturday....and on Sunday morning was "I'm out of here".

I had tried to get organized in case I had to evacuate...but my brain wasn't working efficiently and I couldn't even remember what I should take with me.  Instead, I spent hours sitting in front of the TV, watching the weather channel -- fascinated by the huge mass of Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico.

I woke early on Sunday and went again to the Weather Channel - no good news there. A few minutes later I learned that my area was under mandatory evacuation.  THAT cleared my mind  and I quickly packed clothes and everything else I would need for a few days away from home.  A quick trip to the local service station to buy ice for a cooler -- hoping to save at least some of the more expensive food from my freezer.

I had set 12 Noon as the deadline to "get out of Dodge". and head for my younger son's home in Atlanta.  All morning I bustled about, keeping the TV tuned to the Weather Channel and watching as Katrina approached.

Feeling that I had finally gotten my act together, at 11:30 I went outside to load the SUV for the trip.  Little dog on front passenger seat....computer on the floor in front.  Big dog in the back of the SUV (in times of stress, they don't always get along well).  OK, so far....so good.  Two cat carriers in the back seat with folded dog kennel/crate and dog ramp wedged between the front and back seats across the car.  Small suitcase of clothing/personal items in between the cat carriers.

I look down -- still sitting on the driveway is the second (larger) suitcase...and the cooler  full of ice and food.  So much for planning.  I took a few things from the suitcase and put them in back with Wrex, the big pooch....put the food back into the freezer (just hoping).... and pulled out at 12.05.

Driving East to Mobile, Alabama...traffic was bumper to bumper headed East...moving at a crawl.  On our left, in clear view, were the westbound lanes of I-10.  They were totally empty and, with proper planning, could have been used to ease the bottleneck.

What is usually a six hour drive to Atlanta, it took almost 10 hours the day before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.  Had I followed the advice being given by local Emergency Management personnel to "go North first...then go East or West to your destination"....the trip might have taken 15-20 hours.  Traffic headed
north was backed up mile after mile...and just sitting there.

The author, Kay King, lives on the Coast of Mississippi, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina.  For more information about the disaster and the steps being taken toward recovery, please visit  

http://www.1disaster-recovery.com   .