I'd lived in the heart of New Orleans2 my whole life. My family had been in the city for generations. That's why, even with the hurricane coming, my grandmother, Annie, 65, and my great-grandmother3, Liddie, 89, weren't leaving. We'd been through plenty of storms around there, so they didn't think Katrina would be any different.
I figured it'd be a little rain, maybe some wind. But the day before the storm hit on August 30, my brother Darren, 17, told me it was going to be a category4 five hurricane, which made me nervous. I wanted us to rent a big car and go somewhere safe. But we didn't have money to rent a car, much less stay in a hotel. I lived with my grandmother and five of my seven siblings5. My dad, Darren, a construction worker, and my two other siblings lived right across the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish, La., about a 20-minute drive from me6. (My mom died about four years ago.) He wanted us to come to his place because he'd heard the storm wasn't going to be that bad over there. Reluctantly7, we left my grandparents behind, though my oldest brother, Willie, 24, stayed with them and some of our other relatives.
A Long, Scary Night
As soon as the storm started, I knew it was going to be bad. Almost right away, the power went out, the windows broke, and the wind and rain pounded8 our building. My family and I were all huddled together9 in my sisters' room when suddenly our apartment started shaking! I thought the wind was going to blow our house down with us in it. The roof collapsed10 in my dad's bedroom, and water started leaking11 in elsewhere. I started praying right then and there, asking God to save us. I was up that whole night listening to the sounds of things breaking and the wind howling12. I really thought we were going to die.
Miraculously13, we didn't. The next afternoon, when the storm had let up14, I went outside to see the damage. I had to be careful because the wind was still strong and branches and trash were flying through the air. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was just destruction everywhere. There was water up to my calves, and people were frantically trying to pull debris out of the gutters so the water could go down15. They were mostly unsuccessful. Trees were ripped out by their roots; houses and chimneys were smashed all around me16. Because our apartment was in the middle of the complex17, the walls were still standing. But the ones on the end were completely gone, right down to the foundations.
At first we weren't sure what to do. I had my car with me, but the water was almost up to the door, so we couldn't leave. My dad kept saying that we'd be OK and help would be here soon. How could it not, with so much devastation18 all around us? Unfortunately, we didn't have much food or water with us. We were so hungry that we took meat out of our freezer19 and threw it on our grill20 with some wood we'd found on the ground. I don't even know if it was fully cooked, but I ate it anyway.
Our cell phones were dead, so we had no way of getting in touch with our family back in New Orleans. The radio in my car still worked, which was how we heard that the levees21 had broken and the water was rising in New Orleans. How could my great-grandmother and grandmother swim through all the water? I was pretty sure they were dead, though I was trying not to think that way.
We stayed at my dad's house for about three days, waiting for someone to come help us. A police officer told us about a grocery store around the corner where we could get some food, but by the time we got there, all that was left were potato chips, soda and some chocolate cupcakes. It was really obvious that help wasn't coming. I had heard on the radio that people were going to shelters in the town of Gonzales, La., about five hours away, so we decided to go too. The water had gone down, so I was able to drive, but my gas tank22 was almost empty. Luckily, we found a gas station nearby, but the line was so long that I had to keep turning the car off so that I'd be able to make it to the pump. After waiting for I don't know how many hours, I drove us to Gonzales, even though I had just gotten my license, like, a week earlier. That was a little scary23. Sadly, when we got to a shelter there, it was full. A man gave us directions to a shelter in Baton Rouge24, approximately25 75 miles away, that was taking people in.
I can still remember how good it felt to finally drink a bottle of water after days without. The shelter had food, and we were able to use the hotel across the street to take baths. I was so grateful. But at the same time, I knew I couldn't stay there. It was hot and crowded, and so many people were crying over their missing or dead family members. A TV was on, and it seemed like every time the camera focused on a person suffering in New Orleans, it was somebody I knew. I couldn't watch after a while. It was just too depressing.
I don't know how long we were at the shelter. We hadn't brought anything with us except the clothes on our backs. I didn't have any books with me, so I just talked to people and listened to their stories. At night I couldn't sleep. I would lie awake thinking about my family in New Orleans, wondering if they were OK. Wondering if I was going to die there in Baton Rouge.
A Glimmer Of Hope26
A few days later, we heard from my grandmother! Everyone was all right, but what they'd gone through was so much worse than what I'd experienced. Our housing project was destroyed, but Willie and my uncle managed to get out and find rowboats, which they used to bring people to the interstate27, where they could wait on higher ground for help. My family slept on the highway for two days before someone rescued them! My great-grandmother got really sick and almost died. I can't even think about what happened to them without crying.
A lot has been said about how the government has been handling this tragedy28. Having gone through it, I feel they totally betrayed us. I didn't know it was a crime to be poor in this country. But I guess it is. And the penalty29 can be death. Because that's who's dying: poor people. Even though I'm angry, I'm also grateful that my family and I are alive. A lot of others weren't so lucky.
1. hurricane n. 飓风
2. New Orleans 新奥尔良（美国港口城市）
3. great-grandmother n. 曾祖母
4. category n. 种，类
5. sibling n. 兄弟，姐妹，同胞
6. 本句意为：我父亲达伦是名建筑工人。他跟我的两个兄妹住在密西西比河岸边的路易斯安娜州杰斐逊教区，到我这里开车需要20分钟。
7. reluctantly adv. 不情愿地
8. pound v. 重重敲打
9. huddle together 挤作一团
10. collapse v. 倒塌
11. leak v. 泄漏
12. 本句意为：听着屋外的破裂声和风的嘶吼，我彻夜未眠。
13. miraculously adv. 奇迹般地，不可思议地
14. let up 停止
15. 本句意为：积水没过我小腿，人们拼命把碎片残骸从排水沟里捞出来，好让积水下去。 calf n. 小腿 frantically adv. 不顾一切地 debris n. 碎片，残骸 gutter n. 排水沟
16. 本句意为：树被连根拔起，我周围到处都是倒塌的房屋和烟囱。
17. complex n. 一系列的房屋
18. devastation n. 毁坏
19. freezer n. 冰柜，冰箱
20. grill n. 烤架
21. levee n. 大堤
22. gas tank 油箱
23. scary adj. 惊慌的
24. Baton Rouge 巴吞鲁日，美国路易斯安那州首府
25. approximately adv. 大约
26. a glimmer of hope 一线希望
27. interstate n. 州际公路
28. tragedy n. 灾难；悲剧
29. penalty n. 处罚
29. The Big Easy 逍遥乡，新奥尔良的昵称
30. stretch n. 段
31. the Gulf of Mexico 墨西哥湾
32. seaport n. 港口城市
33. up and down 来来往往
34. Louisiana Territory路易斯安那地区
35. immigrant n. 移民
36. Jazz Fest 爵士音乐节
37. Mardi Gras 四旬斋前的最后一天，是个传统的庆祝节日。
38. enchant v. 使…陶醉
39. Old World charm 旧大陆（欧洲）的魅力。相对于New World新大陆（美洲、澳大利亚与新西兰等国家），新奥尔良（曾是法国殖民地）的欧式风格保存较好。