1 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: from con hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 3 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: my experiences in life lessons. This Country Life is presented 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you 6 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: the best outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends, 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some 8 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: stories to share the hurricane. We're deviating from the format 9 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,480 Speaker 1: this week for something that I believe is more important. 10 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: I'm still going to tell you a story, but that 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: story is just about going to take up the whole episode. 12 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: It's something that means a great deal to me and 13 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: something that more or less came full circle after my 14 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: job made me break a promise to myself from nearly 15 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: twenty years ago. Parents talk about some things here that 16 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 1: might have the little ones asking questions. Nothing graphic, y'all 17 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: know me better than that, but it may bring up 18 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: some questions, especially for our listeners that have been affected 19 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: one way or another from Hurricane Helene. But that said, 20 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: let's get to it. When I left New Orleans nineteen 21 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: years ago, I swore i'd never go back. It had 22 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: been my first trip to a place I'd only heard 23 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: about prior to my arrival, and was a destination I'd 24 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: intended on traveling to one day. After all, the food 25 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: New Orleans is famous for is my favorite and in 26 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: many respects very similar to what I've grown up eating myself. 27 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: The folks there always seem to be having a good time, 28 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: and good food and good times are what I've always 29 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: been about, and not necessarily in that order. But this 30 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: was different, and my being there had nothing to do 31 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: with food or fun. Hurricane Katrina had ravaged Louisiana and 32 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: a lot of the Gulf Coast in Mississippi. Was August 33 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: of two thousand and five, and I was the SWAT 34 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: Team commander of the Union County Sheriff's Department in Arkansas. 35 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: Union County borders Louisiana, and we trained with the Union 36 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: Parish Sheriff's Office team should any operations require us to 37 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,519 Speaker 1: cross the state line and vice versa, or to work 38 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: in conjunction with them, Since we shared the small community 39 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: of Junction City, a town that straddled the state line 40 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: of Arkansas and Louisiana. Now only on a couple occasions 41 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: prior to the hurricane. Did we ever see that training 42 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,639 Speaker 1: in preparation put to use. A couple of search warrants 43 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: and low level manhunts of really in significance were what 44 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: the joint operations consisted of until the hurricane. As we 45 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: all set glued to the news. As the impending doom 46 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: and gloom of the hurricane approached landfall, I received a 47 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,679 Speaker 1: call from my share a conversation with something like this 48 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 1: Union Parish has requested us to be ready to assist 49 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: him and the advent the storm stays on the projected levels. 50 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: Of course, get the team advised, ready to deploy should 51 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: that happen, and pack for a week with our team 52 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: and support personnel and boats. We deployed nearly a dozen 53 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: deputies to assist the Louisiana Sheriff's Association Hurricane Task Force 54 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: in Operation Restore Order. We were assigned a designation southeast 55 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: of Baton Rouge that would serve as a rally point 56 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: and staging area where we would be briefed on where 57 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: help was needed, what sets we brought in our overall 58 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: capabilities to support security for search and rescue efforts that 59 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: were still in the initial stages of planning and execution. 60 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: All communication was limited to SAD phones and vehicle to 61 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: vehicle communication on low band radios. Handheld radios were good 62 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: only for short distances, and anything that relied upon the 63 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,720 Speaker 1: relay of a boosted signal from radio towers was useless. 64 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: Either the power of those towers was off or the 65 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: towers themselves were destroyed by the storm. And we arrived 66 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: in Gonzales, Louisiana, to a mass of law enforcement, fire 67 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,039 Speaker 1: and medical services that filled up big fair grounds and 68 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: exhibition center. It was beyond chaotic, lots of well intended 69 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: people kind of standing around, ready to offer aid, with 70 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,920 Speaker 1: little or no clear direction of where to do it. 71 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:04,160 Speaker 1: That would lend itself to describe that there was no organizations, 72 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: but it would be unfair to the preparedness of the 73 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: plan and the people who were in charge of it. 74 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 1: The simple truth was there was no way to have 75 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: been prepared for what was happening. All communication had been 76 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: cut off from South Louisiana to anywhere. Reports were all 77 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: SAT phone dependent, and at that time the technology wasn't 78 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,359 Speaker 1: ten years old yet it was its use or even 79 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 1: the need for it hadn't been a priority to anyone 80 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: in the Sevilian sector. With a little direction from the 81 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: stage in personnel, and gonzales I reached out to our 82 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: sheriff back in Arkansas. He eventually made contact with the 83 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:46,159 Speaker 1: Jefferson Parish sheriff, where the offer of our services he 84 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: gladly accepted. In less than eighteen hours after arriving in Louisiana, 85 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: we had our first clear mission. We were headed to 86 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: New Orleans and would link up with the Jefferson Parish 87 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: Sheriff in the downtown staging area where they had set 88 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: up a command post. The ride from gonzales to New 89 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:07,600 Speaker 1: Orleans would take you less than an hour. Today it 90 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: was considerably longer due to the debris in the road. 91 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: There were dead animals and fish of every kind imaginable 92 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 1: scattered up and down the highway, Mud and marsh, grass, trees, 93 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: parts of buildings, boats of every size, and vehicles littered 94 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: the road and the landscape in every direction. There were 95 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: huge tuna fish laying on the side of the road 96 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: that one of the first highway exits coming into New Orleans. 97 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: It was awful. The sights and the smells were sickening, 98 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,360 Speaker 1: and it was only going to get worse. And once 99 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: we reported to the Sheriff's Department at the command post. 100 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: We were immediately assigned to assist in restoring order to 101 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:56,359 Speaker 1: the areas where lawlessness and looting had become the norm. 102 00:06:57,040 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: Got a little western at times, but things slowed down 103 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: to the point after a day or two that we 104 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: were signed tost secure the landing zone, where search and rescue, 105 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: medical and supply helicopters were on a constant rotation bringing 106 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: in survivors and adding people to the several thousand who 107 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: were already sequestered beneath the overpass where the majority of 108 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 1: my team was stationed. Now, if you saw or remember 109 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: seeing on the news all the footage of the military 110 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: and the Savilian helicopters operating adjacent to an overpass, the 111 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: only place the press was allowed to be, that's where 112 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: we were. There was a hopeless sea of humanity beneath us. 113 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: The trauma and lost these people had just endeared was 114 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: a scene out of nothing I'd ever witnessed or hope 115 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: to see again. There was no bathrooms, no food, and 116 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: nowhere to take them. There were busses supposedly on the way. 117 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: By getting a bus into that area to evacuate them 118 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: was taking a whole lot of time to coordinate. You 119 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: have to remember that all the assets to do in 120 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: an evacuation operation of that magnitude had just been washed 121 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: away by the very thing that had these people standing 122 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: below me. It was going to get a lot worse 123 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: before it got any better. Darkness fell, The influx of 124 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: evacuees began to subside somewhat, but it didn't stop, and 125 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: there was still no way to get them out. The 126 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: limited communication we had with those in charge was extremely vague. 127 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: It wasn't purposefully in that way. There were just no 128 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,079 Speaker 1: clear answers what to do with what some estimates say 129 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: was five thousand recently displaced hurricane survivors. Three people lost 130 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: their lives during the thirty six hours we were stationed 131 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: on that bridge, and this staging area was just one 132 00:08:55,679 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: of many. Eventually, a convoy school buses arrived. People were 133 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:07,119 Speaker 1: methodically loaded on each one to the capacity, and they left. Eventually, 134 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: so did we, and I wouldn't find out until weeks 135 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: later that the majority of them would go to Houston, Texas. 136 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: My team eventually regrouped after a few stress filled hours, 137 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,679 Speaker 1: and some of my men had been assigned to support 138 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: different patrol elements and were scattered all over New Orleans. 139 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: They were professionals, capable of doing any job to ask 140 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: of them, but with no communication with them. My worry 141 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:36,959 Speaker 1: was not that they couldn't accomplish the task at hand. 142 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: It was that I couldn't come to help them if 143 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: they needed it. The department and their families had entrusted 144 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: me to bring them all home safe once our mission 145 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: was completed, and I didn't take that responsibility lightly. Now, 146 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: through the Union Parish Sheriff and our sheriff back in Arkansas, 147 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: we were tasked with supporting the Saint Tammany Parish Sheriff's 148 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: Department in Slydale, Louisiana. We rolled northeast across Lake Ponsey 149 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 1: train and linked up with deputies who arranged for us 150 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: to have the first meal we'd had in about thirty 151 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: six hours. We stayed in the Sheriff's department training facility. 152 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: We all stayed together in one big classroom, sleeping on 153 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 1: army cots and living out of our duffel bags. We 154 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: started immediately after being sworn in. Half of us on 155 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: twelve hour day shifts and the other half on nights. 156 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:33,079 Speaker 1: Each of us were assigned to general patrol as a 157 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:36,840 Speaker 1: ride along to supplement single deputy cars, two officers to 158 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:40,960 Speaker 1: the car. That's one thing for an area to be 159 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: impacted by an unimaginable storm, but to deal with that 160 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: on top of the escalation of looting and violent crimes 161 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: was something I had never witnessed or hoped to see again. 162 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 1: We after called, after call, the majority of them to 163 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:02,680 Speaker 1: night for the most despicable acts of ny humanity. People 164 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: taking advantage of each other during the best of times 165 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:09,079 Speaker 1: is bad enough, but it's magnified when the suffering is 166 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 1: as extreme as losing your home and your way of 167 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: life and your family. I have no idea how many 168 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 1: people we arrested for looting, but it was a lot. 169 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: On the other hand, people we encountered carrying food items 170 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: were allowed to continuer. Grocery store owners had been in 171 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 1: contact with authorities and said the public had free range 172 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: any store and it was first come, first served until 173 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: all the edible food was gone. The storm serge that 174 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 1: hit the slide El Louisiana was estimated to be twenty 175 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: to twenty five feet deep, and the average height of 176 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: a one story building is about fourteen feet. They don't 177 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 1: take a math with is to imagine how bad that was. 178 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 1: The amazing thing I witnessed above everything else were the 179 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: people I was working with. Some deputies Want in particular 180 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,679 Speaker 1: that I was assigned to had lost his home. He'd 181 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: evacuated his family further north in Louisiana to stay with relatives. 182 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,959 Speaker 1: A lot of other deputies did the same, and yet 183 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: there they were at work with no idea what was 184 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: going to happen next with their future. They slept there 185 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: in that big converted classroom with the rest of us, 186 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: the only difference being we had a home to go 187 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: to after this was open and they didn't. There was 188 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: dedicated a group of deputies as I have ever seen. 189 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: A few of them only had the uniforms they were 190 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,079 Speaker 1: wearing and spars they kept at work for clothes. That 191 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: was it. We stayed with them for the better part 192 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:48,840 Speaker 1: of a month before going back home to Arkansas, twelve 193 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: hour shifts with no off days. Night before we left, 194 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,079 Speaker 1: they threw us a party. They scrounged up food from 195 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 1: everywhere and cooked for us. Some of them didn't have homes, 196 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: but they cooked for us in appreciation of our being 197 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: there and helping. I've never forgotten that, and we'll always 198 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: remember how the majority of those people who had little, 199 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:17,720 Speaker 1: if anything to give, gave most of all they had. 200 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 1: Hurricane Katrina took the lives of one thousand, three hundred 201 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: and ninety two people and displaced over a million. Over 202 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:31,680 Speaker 1: a third of those deaths were attributed to drowning, and 203 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,439 Speaker 1: a higher figure would claim the lives through disease. Later 204 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 1: on, one hundred and thirty five people were as missing and 205 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: have never been accounted for. They're just gone. Less than 206 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,360 Speaker 1: a month later, Hurricane Rita claimed the lives of one 207 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty more down there. Now, as bad as 208 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 1: I wanted to go home, I felt guilty for leaving. 209 00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,440 Speaker 1: Order had been restored for the most part. But the 210 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 1: men and women and we were working alongside were still there, 211 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: dealing not only with their jobs as peace officers, but 212 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: the losses they incurred from the storms as well. Now, 213 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: nineteen years later, Hurricane Helene slammed the eastern US, and 214 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: the cost in lives is well over two hundred, with 215 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:22,920 Speaker 1: many still missing and unaccounted for. But we have the 216 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: ability to resolve and the will as Americans to stop 217 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: what we're doing and help our brothers and sisters when 218 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: they're in need, and there has been no greater need 219 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: in recent times than right now. This is another defining 220 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 1: American moment where we as individuals are presented an opportunity 221 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: to set aside any differences and rally together with the 222 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: focus of our free people, to choose to do the 223 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: right thing and help those who need it most. Last 224 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: week had me traveling too, and driving through New Orleans, 225 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: the place I vowed to never see again. Well, I 226 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: often think of those events nineteen years ago. I seldom 227 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: speak about them, and I won't go into much more 228 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: detail than I already have here, but it has been burdensome, 229 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 1: to say the least. Driving through New Orleans on the 230 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 1: way down to Venice last week bothered me more than 231 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: I thought it would. I started recognizing buildings and features 232 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: and seeing the contrast to what it had been to 233 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 1: what it is now. The people there seemed resilient and strong, 234 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: and the further we went toward Venice, the dynamic differences 235 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: were standing. Homes and businesses had returned, and comparative photos 236 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: of then and now wouldn't even be thought of as 237 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: taken in the same place. As we drove back through 238 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: New Orleans on the way home, round Callahan asked me 239 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 1: if coming back had helped me. It definitely had, But 240 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: what helped me the most was seeing and talking with 241 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: the people who mark time and stories by saying that 242 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 1: either happened before or after Katrina, and seeing the pride 243 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 1: that they had in persevering and the memorialization of all 244 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: that was lost. Now. I'm sure that it isn't the 245 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 1: same as before Katrina, but seeing it seemingly thriving from 246 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 1: the way it was when we left is me hope 247 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: that the same could be done with what happened as 248 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: a as a result of Helene. There are many organizations 249 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: collecting money and distributing aid, and I encourage anyone who 250 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: has the means to donate what you can. Five or 251 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: ten dollars may not sound like a whole lot, but 252 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: a whole bunch of them will add up pretty quick. 253 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: As for me, I'm donating through the Gary Sonice Foundation 254 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 1: Hurricane Relief Emergency Fund. Now, if you can't trust Lieutenant 255 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: Dan to get the money where it's supposed to go, 256 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: you can't trust anyone. Rie was going to post a 257 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: link in the show description directly to that fund. If 258 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:04,399 Speaker 1: you're interested in checking it out. Keep those folks in 259 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 1: your prayers. They need them, They need them all Until 260 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: next week. This is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all be careful.