The closer I got to Mobile, the more vehicles I noticed loaded to the max with lumber and water and gas cans. I passed whole convoys of power trucks coming from states who were sending crews to help another crippled region. My heart was in my throat, and tears clouded my vision. I dreaded to think what was ahead of me. We had insurance, we had supplies, we were ALIVE, for heaven's sake, where others were suffering so miserably. My prayers had been answered, and my birds were saved. Both my brother and my niece had lost their homes in and near New Orleans, but we were all alive. There is a saying that what does not kill you makes you stronger. Believe it.

said captgrisgris 2008.01.28 at 12:09:09 PST

And drive it alone is what I did. As I went, gas supply at the pump became critical. Due to the loss of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, the pipeline that delivered gas to the rest of the country was endangered or destroyed in some cases. So, I kept going on adrenalin, through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia,....until finally I crossed over into HOME territory, the state of Alabama the beautiful, and I could stop in the bosom of my home, at a roadside park outside Fort Payne. I was in the company of 18-wheelers, as I slept from 3-6am, and then got back on the road to finish the drive south to the coast.

said captgrisgris 2008.01.28 at 11:58:28 PST

As news came about the extend of damage along the Gulf, I decided to buy lumber, cleaning supplies, water, and so on up north and drive home instead of flying empty handed into a region with limited resources available. All generators had been shipped south, so we could not buy one. Plywood was in short supply as well, even in New Hampshire. The only truck available was a 26' thing that scared my fiance to think of me driving it alone for 1500 miles!

said captgrisgris 2008.01.28 at 11:51:51 PST

As far as I am concerned, the Blessed Virgin saved my parrots when I could not. My gratitude to her is boundless, and I will never forget that she answered my prayers.

said captgrisgris 2008.01.28 at 11:40:38 PST

When my neighbor called again, she said it was such an amazing thing, that outside the house on the front brick patio, my newly painted statue of the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Grace, had not one speck of dirt or debris on her. She was as clean and lovely as she was the day I left. It was behind her, in the hallway with windows overlooking this patio, that the bird cages had been moved for protection. The men who found them said the quilts covering the cages were covered in sticks and dirt from the river waters which surged in. They removed the covers and one of the birds kept telling them, "OH NO OH NO OH NO" over and over again. All five parrots were alive, but debris filled their food and water bowls and covered the bottoms of the cages. They could not roll the cages so they picked them up and tried to find a room in the damaged house safe from raccoons and predators, until I could make it home or find someone who could take them to a secure haven.

said captgrisgris 2008.01.28 at 11:38:23 PST

Late in the day on August 29th, I got a call on my cell phone from a neighbor, who told me our house was destroyed. I was crying as I asked her, "But what about my birds?" It took her a long time to realize I was more concerned about them than about the house. She said they could not get close to the house, what with debris and furniture all over the yard. So it was not until the NEXT day that someone was able to search through the house to find the birds. My heart ached, because I felt they were gone, but all the time I prayed to the Blessed Virgin and had to believe that she protected them.

said captgrisgris 2008.01.28 at 11:30:57 PST

I was 1500 miles away when Katrina became a threat to Mobile. My sitter, it turned out, was afraid of the parrots and was not brave enough to put them in their carriers to take them to safety. Due to a misunderstanding with an employee at my vet, who said they would not come get the birds, they were left in direct peril. I prevailed on the sitter to at least move their cages from the all-glass sunroom into the front hallway, and cover their cages with layers of quilts and blankets. I was sick to heart, as I cried all night, and prayed to the Blessed Virgin to protect them.

said captgrisgris 2008.01.28 at 11:23:06 PST

We bought this house on Dog River in May 2005. It was my dream house, a casual but comfortable house designed by local architect Harry Inge Johnstone. I spent about six weeks repainting and adding new windows in a bedroom, and replaced all the appliances. In July I moved in with new furniture, and my fiance came to spend one weekend in our intended retirement home. The weather was clear in late August when I flew north to be with him for two weeks. I left my parrots and dogs and cats at the house, with a babysitter coming over to care for them daily.

said captgrisgris 2008.01.28 at 11:16:20 PST