The last couple of years have been pretty rough. Between Covid, mask mandates, the summer riots, the election, the January 6th riots (whatever that was), vaccines, Covid AGAIN! Masks AGAIN! The 20 year anniversary of 9/11 and the embarrassment of the way our country handled leaving that 20 year war, the last thing anyone needed was a storm that was “Probably the worst storm to hit the United States…… ever.” As it was described by at least one meteorologist.

However, that’s just what this part of the country got. Actually, once it made landfall here, it caused death and destruction all the way up to the Northeast! It may have been at its worst here, but it wasn’t good anywhere it went.

Personally, our house did get some damage. I would classify it as minor. Some roof shingles were torn off and a turbine vent was ripped off of the roof of our detached garage. It’s been converted to more of an extra room, so it isn’t a garage in the true sense anymore. Some water did come in through the hole left by the missing vent and some mold is starting to appear. Still, this is really very minor in the grand scheme of things.

I had the occasion to take a couple of trips down to an area called Port Fourchon. This is in the same area as Grand Isle where the storm seems to have made landfall. The sights along the way really put my own storm damage into perspective. As the photos will show, Mother Nature is a force that nothing can really stand up to. We have no choice but to clean up after one of her ‘tantrums.’

That work has already begun in earnest as well.

The national media only cares about New Orleans and really just the French Quarter. The worst thing that happened in the city is they lost electricity for about a week. There was no flooding or daring rescues to hold the national interest, so the national media has moved on. There are no more mentions or coverage of this storm from them.

This website is viewed by people all over the country and, in fact, the world. If you’re reading this and are moved by the photos to help, the people in Grand Isle, Port Fourchon, Laplace, Lafitte (just to name a few) really need help. There are very proud people living in all of these areas and they wouldn’t ask for it, but they do need it.

While I’m on the topic of help, FEMA has been a disgrace! People had to evacuate. It may or may not have been ‘mandatory’ according to our local officials, but they really needed to. My family all stayed and we probably shouldn’t have. This was a scary storm and there were times during the storm where I was wishing I’d made a different decision. Before FEMA will even consider helping anyone, you have to contact your insurance company first! If you have insurance, FEMA will deny you. If you don’t have insurance, FEMA will bestow upon you the magical sum of $500. That’s not a type-o… five hundred dollars. What exactly is anyone supposed to do with that? How much is a hotel room per night? How much does eating out cost per day while evacuated? Five hundred dollars wouldn’t last three days! These people are going to be without a home for months!

As I said, I drove through this area twice. I saw a LOT of power crews and trucks. I didn’t see any FEMA, Red Cross or any other organizations that was there to help. Maybe they were there and I just didn’t see them, but I was on the only road in or out, so you think I would have seen them, if they were there.

Anyway, if you would like to help, I’m sure it would be very much appreciated by the people in these areas.

In closing…. Tropical Storm Nicholas has just formed in the gulf as I write this… The season doesn’t end until the end of November, so we have a long way to go!