Latest / How We 1st Met & Marriage / THE JOURNEY: MY STORY SURVIVING HURRICANE KATRINA
Transcript
- JB: What's up, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Let's Talk About It. Today's episode is a personal one. Usually Johnny and I sit down and we talk about life, love, relationship, marriage, family, and all in between. Twin years ago, on August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made its landfall along the Gulf and changed life forever. Today we're gonna go back to that day. From the night before the storm to surviving the storm to survive, So being transported to LSU and reuniting with the family and eventually making a decision to decide to stay in the D F W area and live. Johnny, are you ready to take us back? Yes, but before we get started, I wanna send a shout out to our sponsor. Welcome back. Now let's talk about it. Johnny, let's start with the night before Hurricane Katrina made landfall. what do you remember the most about that night? That night was one of those nights where it was this is a all a n a regular night. I know all my family and friends was preparing to leave for the hurricane because it's it was a category four or five. But I chose to stay because we had a hurricane I think previous and that wasn't that bad. So At that time I was with the boy's mom and she was eight and a half months pregnant with Jonathan and my mom, I believe, talked her into leaving with her and and the rest of the family. So again, I just stayed and was like, I'm not traveling and going on the road and I'm hearing how long people have been in traffic. So I'm like, I'm not about to do all that, I'm gonna stay. me and money my me and one of my best friends to this day, Kenneth we was sitting on the back of my truck just talking, like, man, all these people leaving for nothing, we ain't doing this and we ain't gonna deal with that traffic. We gonna ride it out. And we sat on my truck maybe for like an hour or two. And next thing you know, he went home and I guess his wife must have told him, Hey, we gotta get out of here. We got a family. So he gave me a call, said Hey Jay I we about to head out to ATL. I said, All right man, you be safe, holler at me when you make it there and I'll see you when you get back. Okay, Okay, so tell us about the moments right before the storm. What were you seeing and hearing? What were you doing? All right, before that, to piggyback on the the night before when I was talking to talk to Kenneth, I was about to take me a sleeping pill 'cause I have I have trouble sleeping. I've been having trouble sleeping damnly all my life. So I was gonna take me a sleeping pill and sucking said, Don't take it. So again I didn't take it. I got a little bit of sleep. So the next morning I woke up because of the heat. I'm the type of person I cannot take heat. So I got up, checked the AC, see what's going on, and then I flicked the light and the power was out. So I happened to walk to the living room and look out the window to see if it was just me or the whole neighborhood and just come find out that it was the whole neighborhood, not just me. So I went back and thinking, hey, the power will be back on in a couple of hours, but we all know what happened after that. That's when the storm pretty much hit. When you saw the rain, wind, water rising, what immediately went through your head? well first like I say it was hot, so I went and set on sat in the living room on the sofa, just thinking the electric's gonna come back on. So I got up there, used the restroom and I flushed the toilet, everything went as usual, but all of a sudden I looked down and my feet started to get wet. And I look and I looked around and the water was my my house was flooded. so the water was like a little bit it was on my feet, a little bit to my ankle. So I got up and left out the restroom and went to look out the window again I saw the rain was coming in and I never saw rain come down so hard and the wind blowing so hard. I've never seen wind blowing like that in all my life. And also the rain was coming down hard. So I hurried up and closed the door. At this time, the wind the water and it got like past my ankle. So I went ahead and sat on my weight bench since it was off the ground. Because again, I'm thinking that maybe the water won't go any higher. So I'm sitting on my weight bench for a little while, a couple of minutes passed by, and the water started getting like almost to my weight bench to on where the seats at. So I I went and at this time I had to think about my next step and pretty much the water was to the seat of my weight bench so I had to go into pretty much this call the survival mode and see what the what what was my next step to survive. So you say you went into survival mode. What was the hardest part of trying? at this time I was like first I didn't want to panic 'cause panic when panic probably would have got me killed or drowned or anything could have happened. So what I did was when the water kept rising at this time it got to my knees. So I jumped off the weight bench and I went into my room and I grabbed I had to decide either I wanted a pair of G Nike shoes or some swim shoes. 'Cause I had just came back from a cruise couple of weeks before that, so I threw on my swimming shoes. I figured if I have to swim, it won't be as heavy as putting on tennis shoes. So that's pretty much when I went to surviv survival mode when the water started rising. So the next step I did was put my I put my s my swim shoes on and at this time the water had got to my chest. So I go to the front door and again I'm thinking again I I try not to I try not to I'm I was trying not to panic. Like I said, if I panic, I don't know what'll happen. So my mind went through if I open this door how there's water's coming, there's a chance that I opened the door up more water pressure would come in. So I was like, okay, next thing I do, my plan B was to jump on my my ho my front window, jump my neighbors had a truck. So I jump on their truck and climb up on the roof. So that's what I did. So I jumped out the window, pretty much swimmed a little bit to this truck, and then I got on top of the roof. So once I got on top of the roof, that's when that hurricane that started coming down real hard. So once I climb on the roof and y'all gonna hear me say, Thank God a lot in this story I'm about to finish I'm about to finish telling y'all. So I I yep, I just so happened that when I was on the I clammed on top of the roof, I was on the side of the I was on a the side of the house where the wind was blowing my body forward, like down to the to the top of the to the side of the roof. And they had this little piece of metal or whatever it was just sticking out the roof that I was able to grip onto where it won't be able to the wind won't be able to move me. I grabbed that and I stayed on the I st I think I've I stayed I was on the roof for a long time until it pretty much stopped but raining it's raining coming down on you and wind blowing strong. Yeah, everything. I got a little bit of debris hit me in my back. I had some scratches and everything from stuff blowing around hit me hit me my my back. so I wanna say that but stuff that was wind was blowing debris in my back and when I was on top of the roof it's it's amazing that the stuff that goes through your mind Like the water had risen to the point where it was even with my the roof. And I even saw where my truck, you know, everybody know me I had the little blue Ford Ranger. I saw the front of the bumper on top of the roof. That's how bad that that that wind and that ra strong that water was. So I again I almost panicked because I saw a dumpster come by and I'm like, I can that dumpster floating. I can jump in there and maybe float with it. But the other part of me like, maybe if I jump on that and that thing flip over, and it might take me in the middle of somewhere where I'm stuck in the middle of Lake Puncha train. So I was like, nah, I'm not gonna do that. So I continue to stay on the roof I thought about even jumping to the next roof to get to a higher a higher ground 'cause I had like two houses l two houses over it, it was a two story house. So I even thought about doing that, but again, I'd have bad I spon wind was I'm like, nah, I'm not gonna do it. So I was I c I continued to be on there for maybe a couple of hours. Now while you was up there, did you see any other people? Was any other people out? Nah, it was just me 'cause I remember my neighbour was across the street. He was in his roof and I'm thinking he was he he he he had like this hole that was in his roof. He yelled out, Johnny, what the hell are you doing outside on the roof? Get your ass inside. But this time again, I couldn't get in because the water was too high and I didn't see no other way, so I continued the hell stay in there. So That's pretty much how long I was on there for then this one moment happened where again, I thank God this. At this time I'm on the roof and I just started praying to God, telling him, Hey, you know, if you met if you h if you let if you let me make it through this, I promise to change a lot about my life, like relationship me my dad. Me and my dad at the time we didn't have the strongest relationship, but I was like, I would fix my relationship with him, I would be more involved with my siblings, and just a lot of stuff changed. I said I would change. So I'm praying out loud and again Nothing but God, so thank I'm gonna say thank God for this part. So as I'm praying out loud, at this moment the eye of the hurricane, it was the eye of the hurricane. And my neighbor, he stuck. I didn't know my neighbors was even in there. I kinda thought they was because they was older people. I thought they was I hate to say it like this, but they was drowned or they was dead. But they was happening to be in the attic and God put it where well he first My neighbor stuck his head out on the roof and said, John Egg, get your ass in the hill. Hurry up. Get in here. Hurry up. Get in here. But God put it where that hole that that hole the hurricane blew on the top of the roof was big enough for me to put my body in there and get back into the house. So I got in there, my neighbor was like, Man, what are you doing out there, man? And I said, Man, I thought y'all was y'all was dead, so It was of situations where I was of course shaken. Of course I'm gonna be shaken after everything I was I was I was in. So you swam to his house? No, no, no. you got back into your house. So yeah, he stayed in the back and I was in the front. Okay. that's how I was able to get out of the hurricane 'cause the hurricane and it 'cause once I got in there and that's when it came back and it it was stronger. but the water was received, it didn't go any higher. But yeah, it was me, my neighbor, his wife, his son and his son's wife was all in a attic. Woo, that's a lot. We're gonna stop and take a break right here and we'll be right back. Welcome back to Let's Talk About It. So, you reach your neighbors, you're up in the attic with your neighbors, y'all are dry. Or n well not dry, but there's definitely you're after rain and wind. What are you guys in the attic? What y'all doing? Praying, crying, nervous or Finally being with other people, did that help calm your nerves or? Well, I'm glad you said calm your nerves because when I first got into that it my neighbor he s he was like asked me if I'm okay and everything. You say he was old. About how old? I wanna call him old. older. Older, I'm gonna say that. He was him and his wife, they was at the time in the I believe they they mid sixties. Okay. but he got in there at he told me, asked me if I was a writing everything. he was like Hey Johnny hit this. So of course it was it was it was it's the good stuff. I hit it. couple of times to help me calm my nerves and he was like, Take your time because you was out there for a long time, man. You deserve this. So once my nerves calm down, we just talked about how bad it was. He asked me, how they look out there 'cause they wasn't able to to see what's going on. They just see the water and I told him how bad it was and everything. And at this time we just was everybody was just of course we was all nervous, but we just chilled pretty much, just was like just waiting to see what happened. I know it's not a funny situation. It it's not funny at all, but I'm just wondering how he I'm just wondering how he kept from getting that weed wet. He sang that. Yeah, that was in a sandwich bag. It was sealed, so I thank him for it. Okay. Okay, so I guess my next question will be what did you see when you realized the storm was finally over and what was your biggest concern at that point? Before get to that, it was that night it was I was nervous because again, w if when we was on the roof we had to sleep in the attic of course, but it was like it was like you didn't want to fall off the beams in the in the in the attic. So what I did was even though we had some stuff to lay on, but again, my mind like what if I till this way, what if I go that way? So I happened when we heard that the we heard that the wind I mean the hurricane finally passed, we w I went out there, I went out I went back on top of the roof to see how see what's going on. So again, You see a couple of people outside now checking on everybody. So the water's gone down? No, it didn't go down at all. so when you s say you seen people outside they It was on top of the roof. they was in the attic. Some some people had broke the tile, I mean, on the the ceiling to what they call it, I can't think of it right now. Well you said you seen people outside, I was wondering, you know, had the water gone down? okay. No the the water didn't go down, so some people I guess they had a some kind of way they was able to to put a hole in their in their roof. two so there was a couple of people was outside checking on the weather. But so what I did was I was so nervous about falling in the water, I wound up sleeping on the roof because it was like a regular night. And I would just mix I was of course I prayed that I didn't f roll over into the water again. But again the water was right there still on the roof, where I was level with the roof? Yeah. And to answer the question about my biggest concern at this time, the next morning, I woke up and the sky was beautiful. It was like nothing happened but something did happen. We had a whole city flooded. my biggest concern was how long is this water gonna be up here? Is gonna last? how long are we gonna be out here? At this time we had no food, no water, no anything. So Me, my neighbors, we all like, man, we gotta figure something out. Even you know, we don't know what's going on. I'm sitting on the roof and again, like I said, thank God. Me and my neighbor, we were looking around, talking to other neighbors, and just so happened, right here between our house and the neighbor other neighbor house, a canoe was there. So my neighbor got into the canoe and He went to check around the neighborhood. He went to the the convenience store and and got us some chips, some water, some drinks and everything. So that was our food for the moment. He went into the convenience store. So he took the took the canoe to the convenience store. How'd he get in? What did you ask? Nah, I was just thinking it was I was just I was just thankful to have a meal. I wasn't I don't I wasn't asking questions. So yeah, he he came back and he we all like I said we all ate and everything and put the canoe back to where nobody can see us so nobody won't try to take it again right there on the side of our house. Yeah we after he came back gave us some food and stuff, we was talking and he was like, Hey, he wanted me and his son and his wife to get in the canoe and get some help 'cause this was like a couple of hours later, we didn't see nobody coming to rescue or nobody coming to help. So he said, Hey Johnny, how about you, his son and his wife, y'all go and try to find s some help from the police? buy yours anybody, just get us some help. So me, I'm like, I'm not getting in that bar, I'm not getting down. Wait, before I get this part at this so the next morning, I forgot to say this part. So the next morning the water actually recede. So it was low enough where I was able to see the the top of my neighbor's truck. So it went from being on the rooftop, like the edge of the roof to the neighbor's truck. He had a he had like a F one fifty truck. Okay, that's why I was wondering how he got to the store. Like so it went down. Yeah, it went down. Okay. So me me and him and me, him and his wife, so we I they finally talked me until he like, Hey, you know you want your family to know that you're okay. you got a a child on the way, you want to make sure everybody's know you're okay. You I know they I know they worried about you and your family, so go ahead, go ahead. So I I was like, you know what, you're right. So I we me and the neighbor, we me, the neighbor's son, his wife, we clam on we clammed down, got on top of the truck, and got in canoe. Now, this where it's about to get funny, but it wasn't funny at the time. So we get in a canoe, again, I'm nervous because again, I don't know what's in the water. We we get probably we get in a canoe, and I hate to say this part, but my neighbor, his son and his wife was If y'all watching this, there was some heavy people and I was smaller. I was in the front. So we probably canoeing maybe a good fifteen feet. And all of sudden the canoe flipped over. And again, this I said I wasn't panicking, but this one I panicked. 'Cause again, you don't know what's in the water, don't know how deep it was. So I started swimming like Michael Phelps in the Olympics. I'm trying to hurry up and get back to the roof and get out there water. And all a sudden I hear my neighbor said, Johnny So you done left the wife and the and the son. yeah, it's survival mode. It's everybody for their self. Again, I was trying to panic, but I saw my neigh my my neighbor's like, Johnny, Johnny. And I I'm like, What? He said, Turn around. Stand up. I look back and they're standing up in the wall is to their waist. I stood up in the water to my ways, but I said, No, no. And again, I'm panicking, so I'm still trying to climb up the wall like Spider Man trying to get on top of the roof, cause again I'm don't know what's going on. It didn't hit me until later because you I was like, I can stand up in the water. So again, it's it's funny now with the time. So I was I so we get I I walk back over there to him and we try to get back into the canoe, but at this time we couldn't get back in canoe. So as I'm trying to get My my neighbor again said, Keep going, keep going. Don't don't come back. Don't come back till you get us some help. So we're walking in the water and again remember the water's at our waist. yeah. All three of y'all couldn't get the canoe to turn over. It was heavy? No, it's it's just hard just the it was hard to do it where no canoe turned over, but it's hard to get back into the canoe. because we was already in the water. Yeah. So we we started walking and at this time we're seeing more people come out of their houses. Some was offering food, some was having a party at houses that wasn't even theirs. They were like, We got a lot of food, come get you something to eat. I'm like, I'm living in the neighborhood, I'm like, I never saw you here but I'm good, we just trying to get out of here. So at this time we were walking, I'm almost to my I'm almost out of the water off a chef 'cause I left off a down close to downman and chef. So as I'm walking, again you gonna hear me say, Thank God, I tripped over this wire, some kind of wire I tripped over where it cut my my leg and when I tripped, I didn't know if something bit me. what happened, all I know is I fell forward and I turned around and blood just coming out of my leg. Just coming out. And so my neighbor grabbed me like come on, come on, come on, we're almost out the water. So we I think it was a pole a wire from a pole w again, I don't know where I what I cut what cut me, but my neighbor took the shirt, tied it up to my leg and stopped the pressure and Again, we walked to we got to the convenience store and that's when took some some water from the convenience store and and cleaned it out a little bit. So that's where I went at from after I I got the water and we was able to stand with no water. Okay. So you're at the water. Completely out of the water now. N now what what we doing? We done left we at we done went to the convenience store. Got some stuff, got some water to clean your leg off. Yeah. so I didn't live too far from the fire department. So I'm thinking, I said, Hey, I'm about to go ahead at this time I can barely walk 'cause that's how bad I was cut, so it was a struggle it was a struggle for me walking this whole time. So I I walked back to the fire station which normally is not a long walk but this walk it took me forever. So as we getting as I'm walking to the fire station I see the firemen and the police and everybody from New Orleans, y'all know, or the police I'm in the fire department at on on Dowman, close to I think it was close to the bunny bread. so the police tell us, Turn around, turn around and I'm like I'm injured. I need I need help. He said, Turn around. They just blew the levees. Turn around. They just blew the levees. And I'm looking like, What do you mean? He said, Go that way. So you can still see the water as it getting started. It was coming low. It wasn't it was coming, but it wasn't as coming like it was the night be the day before. So I he told me so I turned around. I think he said yeah, he said, go back that way, they have a bus that's gonna pick y'all up. Somebody's gonna pick y'all up. So I went back to I turned around and I went to the the but it said wait, they said the bus was gonna pick everybody up by the car dealership that's off of Shuffendow. So I turned around, walked to the there walk over there, and I think I sat there, we me and a coup me and a lot of people, we sat there for like two or three hours. And keep in mind I'm in pain, my legs hurting. so at at this time I was like, you know what? Nobody's coming. So I walked over the bridge and Yeah, I walked over the bridge and there was a lot of people was at the Wend Dixie and Foot Locker doing their thing and I had on water shoes so I'm thinking at this time watershoes hurting walking on this concrete so I need some shoes. But just so happened everybody else was was good. I I came out empty handed. No, I'm not snitching. but I had nothing so It was all gone? Everything was gone. Yeah, everything was gone. one thing I was able to give was a fresh t shirt. But so at I I walked back 'cause I remember the police saying that the bus was gonna pick us up. So I walked back over to the car dealership on like I said, on Dominant Chef and I stood there for another hour or two and nobody came. And again so my mind was now there was like bus was gonna take everybody to the Superdome and they say like that's that's where there was they was taking people at or people was going at. So i I wound up walking on Interstate ten. Normally driving is not even a long drive, maybe five or ten minutes to the Superdome I think. it took me maybe three hours to walk from where I was to the Superdome. And that was the long the longest walk I ever had in my damn life. 'Cause I had to walk, stop, walk, then water got high, so I had to figure out a way to get over it. walking in the middle of the the media. So finally, after all this time walking, the crazy part is is so many police pass me up and they act they they see me like, Hey, what's wrong? And I'm like, My leg they're like, okay. somebody's gonna come pick you up. And I took a break on the interstate like everybody else was doing, waiting on somebody to come get us. Nobody came, so I was like, Man, let me go continue to walk the superdome. So fast forward I made it to the superdome. And once I made it wait, fast forward I made it to the Superdome and that's when I wound up seeing a whole lot more people. Everybody was at the Superdome just waiting on the next step. So I walked I mean, I made it then I see a couple of friends out there and everybody. So I was good to see people that I knew. Okay, so tell us how you eventually end up at L S U. all right. Before how I got to LSU, once I made it to the Superdome, I was finally able to get some medical treatment because it was an ambulance was out there. He was helping other people. So I walked up to him and I said, Hey, I'm hurt. And he was like, Yeah, everybody's saying they're hurt. You gotta wait your turn. I said, No, I'm really hurt. So he said, Let me take a look at you. He saw my leg and he saw how after I wrapped it, he after I unwrapped it, he saw how the meat was showing and how bad it was. He was like, no. He said, Go get in the front of the ambulance. He said, this is real serious. Go go go send the front. We'll be leaving in about ten minutes. So no no, for wait, wait, before we for we that for before I left, he he asked me, he said, I can do two things for you. He said I can bring you into the superdome where everybody else is at, or I can bring you to LSU in Baton Rouge so you can do either one of those options. So at first I'm like, if I go to Baton Rudge, I don't have no way of getting back. I go in the Superdome. But then I was like, my dad and my family's only like a hour or two from Baton Rudge. So I said, I'll take that trip to Baton Rudge. So that's how I got to to Baton Rudge. What do you remember about the ride going to Baton Ruiz? Well, for me, that was the fast I never made it to Bat to Baton Rouge that fast. That ambulance got us there real fast. I think normally it takes like a hour or less. I think we made it there maybe forty five minutes. no no more than forty to forty five minutes. He was pushing it. Was there was there, a lot of cars on the road? No, it was no cars at all. Nothing but couple of police cars and that was that's all you saw. But it was nobody on the road. But yeah, so that's that's how I eventually got to Bad Rules but it just was I was relieved because leading up to to leading up to getting to the ambulance, that's why I keep saying earlier, you're gonna hear me say, Thank God. My faith is is crazy. If it wasn't for this cut I I received getting out of that water, I would have never left that early. I would have to stay through if everybody who saw the the Hurricane Katrina documents was going on the Superdome, how them people had no bathrooms, I mean the trailer was overflowing bodies. I would have to stay through all of that stuff. If it wasn't for this cut that I res that it happened. Again, I never questioned the man above, but when I finally made it to L S U I was like, thank you. I I didn't understand why I I went through this, but thank you. So once I made it to LSU, they he brought me to get treatment, they cleaned it out, gave me some antibiotics, gave me I forgot how many stitches had, but they stitched up my leg and again I was barely able to walk. That's how sp bad it was. So I was had a a nice limp for a while. So They gave us they let you go shower and everything, gave us some fresh clothes and also we had a chance to use the phone calls. But, you know, cell phone days you really don't remember phone numbers. So I I had I finished showering everything and they fed us some food. I went to use the phone and just so happened that I remember my sister number who lived in Plano, Texas, out here in in in D F W and 'cause her number just reminded me of a New Orleans number for some reason. So I I I called so many people. When I finally called her I heard my nephew I heard my nephew voice and I was like, Thank you, Jesus, thank you, thank you. So that's when that's how I got in contact with my with my family. How long were you in L L S U? I was at LSU maybe it was a couple of hours because once you showered and they fed you, they'll try to put everybody on buses and send you to different cities and different states. So at this time, again, I had already got in contact with my no, first I didn't I I didn't want to get on the bus 'cause I didn't know what it was gonna bring me. I heard Houston, I heard Memphis, I heard some people somebody said Yeah. Busting people from LSU. Yeah, because they had more people coming back. They would bring up they would bring people to LSU then they would ship them out some some people. So I didn't want to get on a bus that I didn't know where I was going. Right. So that's when I contacted my family and my my sister got in contact with my dad and my dad was like, Hey, I'll be there in hour to hour and a half to t two hours. just hang out tight. And we'll be there. So I just left out of the L S U stadium and I hung out in the front until my dad showed up. So that's I was probably at LSU a couple of hours. Okay. So you went to your dad? yeah, f wh while I when I'm born it was it wasn't my dad stayed in New Orleans, but was with my my my uncles in in other family in the country. So him so he finally came and picked me up. When they finally when they finally picked me up, I was I was excited 'cause the number I told you I was on top of the roof and I was praying to God the to if I if I make it out of here's what I was gonna do. So when I first him it was him, my uncle and my sister Tina and I forgot where I was. And the first thing I did, of course I hugged everybody, but Tina came up to me, she hugged me and she said, how's your head? And I said, What you mean? Nothing wrong with head And she reached back and bat the hell out of me in the back of my head and she said, Don't you ever do that again You had us so worried, for this and that and my head still hurt to this day. That's probably why I I still can't sleep. But that's my little baby sister, she know I don't I don't I don't play behind her, but yeah, she slapped the she slapped the hell out of me in the back of my head, told me, Don't do that again, so my dad wound up taking me to get a good breakfast. at the Waffle House. That's how I got hooked on Waffle House and we wound up going to the country. And That's where I met up with my rest of my family from New Orleans off the parkway and all my cousins and everybody was up there. I mean we gotta tell the story of how you made it from your dad 'cause you're still in Louisiana. How did you make it from Louisiana to Texas? that's coming. okay. Everything I got leading up to me coming out here. So once we made it to the country with my family, I talked to my mom and of course you know my mom she's a praying woman, everybody's praying and of course Nobody was able to speak to me 'cause they last time they heard from me was when I called them 'cause the morning of the hurricane. I was on the phone with them and telling my mom, Hey, the the hurricane is coming, the hurricane is coming, the wind is blowing. I forgot to say that part at the beginning. So I'm on the phone panicking. I guess you can say I panicked in. And she's Johnny, she's I the phone was going in and out so I can barely hear her. So the last thing I thank God I was able to see my mom. But the last thing she heard from me was me panicking in the in Verizon at the time Verizon phones cut off. So she didn't know my family know if I survived or not. So nobody knew what was going on with me until I made that phone call from LSU to my sister and them and that's country. So once we made it out there, we stayed overnight and my mom and them, I believe I'm trying to remember what it was. I think it was in family y'all can tell me if I'm wrong. I I think my mom and I was in Port Arthur. Mm. her the boy's mom, my sisters and them, everybody, and my brother, everybody was with my mom in Port Arthur. I think that's what was. So my dad wound up driving they wound up driving me halfway or they drove me to where they was something they did. Yeah, I think they they wound up driving me halfway to meet them so I was able to be with everybody. So once we met up, we decided to go by my sister's house who l again who lived in Plano in Texas after the let me see. So after we met up, where my sister was and the rest of my family was. Some of my family members had already been out there. So like I said, my nephew had answered the phone when I called. So we drove to Houston, then we drove to D FW and next thing you know we made it out here and we get there to a house of maybe twenty one of us in a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment. So that's how I remited with my with all my family. guys, we're gonna take a commercial break and when we come back we're gonna be talking about life after Katrina. Why Johnny decided to stay in D F W and whether he ever wishes he had gone back home, we'll be right back. we'd like to welcome everyone back. Thank we'd like to thank you also for everybody who's been listening to the story. But make sure everybody subscribe to the channel and also share it and make sure you hit that like button because all that counts and help us out. So thank you. Yeah, thank you guys. Okay, so Like I was saying, surviving was w was one thing, building a new life is another. Now we're in D F W and you're with your s your family. Twenty of y'all in the one bedroom apartment. How long did y'all stay in the apartment? And then what was the process from leaving the apartment? Like where did you go from there? I know they was placing people in hotels and All those things. But again, it was twenty of us in twenty of us in a one bedroom apartment and also keep in mind you had a pregnant woman, which was the boy's mom, so it was it was rough. and I know y you have twenty you have twenty people in there with twenty different personalities, so it sometimes some stuff got heated. We had some disagreements and so my sister Punk and Isaiah was like I know deep down they was like, We gotta get them the hell out of here. So they went and found out that FEMA was giving everybody hotel rooms. So they made sure they wouldn't got they got that information. Azale probably couldn't even work. He was at work. He probably couldn't wait to get off a Pumpkin eight FEMA's giving out a f hotel. So we wound up everybody wound up getting their own hotel room. So we probably left in hotel room until we was able to until FEMA started giving out apartments. So we that's how we wound up getting apartment but yeah it we I think we might be s we probably stay in a hotel for maybe I want to say almost a month. How long did y'all stay at your sister? From let me see 'cause Jonathan was born while we was in hotel so he was born September sixth September sixteenth. So I think we stay maybe we stay with Ponkin maybe f four day five days, a week. I'm gonna say maybe week. Okay. If that. So yeah. Once the once that week happened, that's we wind up going to a hotel. so tell me FEMA gave vouchers for hotels. what was the process to get out of the hotel and get in get into the apartment? that in that time there I think every apartment in D F W just wanna collect that money. They knew it was for sure money. So it wasn't we We had to go down to the reunion center before they tore down in in Dallas and we just they had a s they had a team had a a camp set up for everybody to come there and I guess to see w what our plans was to either try to figure out we're going back to New Orleans or stay out here or just they were just trying to get us some help. Mm-hmm. So that's pretty much what we did. we went down there and go spill out some paperwork. And they say they're gonna get in contact with us and next thing you know, we wound up getting a a apartment. No, actually yes, we died. Yeah, they wind up putting us in a nice apartment in Richardson, Richardson, Texas. So we stayed there for maybe a good six months. And FEMA's paying the rent. Yeah, Fe FEMA paying for everything. So And so while y'all was at the apartment, are y'all calling New Orleans family that's in New Orleans to see if everything was now they wasn't letting nobody in New Orleans for a couple of for almost a I think it took us like almost a month for them to start letting everybody back in. So this time we again yeah, 'cause Jon Jonathan was born, we wound up driving back to New Orleans to look at our house and the house was of course I didn't bring my baby in the house. He he stayed in the car. But The city was, of course, devastated. And they one thing I'm gonna say, like they was putting a I'm I'm pretty sure my New Orleans people know this. I think kept saying they put the X on the houses to say that nobody was in there. Something I always wonder is they put a X on my house and said nobody was in there, but remember when I sold you I jumped out the window, my my door, my the bars on my door, my front door was still locked and my door was locked. The back door's locked, so I wonder how they knew no they just put a X on the house and what and said nobody was there. They just yelled in there and said ain't nobody in there, but they never they never checked that inside house 'cause I had to kick the dough in 'cause I lost my keys during my sub me doing trying to get out of out of the hurricane situation. So we went in there and we tried to see what we can save. Everything was gone from yeah, it was nothing we can take. The whole house had mold meal all that stuff around the house. So we was pretty much once we walked in and walked right back out, we was So once we got there, we went in there for maybe two minutes. Was like, let's get out of here we don't we didn't want nobody getting sick. And also again, we have a a new a newborn. We didn't want to bring that back to him. So we just wound up seeing what we can get. Went from my house to my little sister house to see what she can get and we just wound up coming back to Texas right after that so we can back to our place out here. We had a hair and get in and out of New Orleans. So is that what helped make your mind up to stay? No, well actually I I I came out here in Texas beginning of January of two thousand five. I I came out here first again in my previous marriage, I came out here to try to find to s I came out here to to establish a place for us to live at. I had I I came to get a job, try to find an apartment and then I was gonna bring everybody out here. But I was out here for maybe four months and I c I couldn't find a full time job for nothing. I kept getting temp service work but the temp jobs wasn't paying anything. I'd wanted and it was if they only would keep it for so many days. So it kinda was was depressing at the time. I come out here to try to make a better life for my family to move out of New Orleans and I couldn't find anything. So finally, I was like, you know what? I'm coming home. I'm wasting time because the money I'm making, even though she was still working, but again, the number she was she was pregnant, so I was barely making it I was barely making enough money to pay for my apartment out here, have food, and also s make sure I help out at home. So I wound up going back home in May. Matter of fact for my birthday. And as soon as I make it home, I got two job offers. Yeah, what I wanted. And it was like one guy actually one guy called me on the road. I was maybe two hours from the house, in New Orleans when I left left from from D F W. He was like, Hey, I got a job for you I said, Man, I just left I just left. I'm back in New Orleans. He said, Can you turn around? I said, Hell no. I'm done. So I came home and I'm back out. So I I hate to say that It was a blessing for me 'cause a lot of people went through lot of stuff during Hurricane Katrina. I know people lost their life, but it kinda was a blessing for me where I was able to move my entire family out here this time and it wasn't as hard as it was. It was hard the the s the route I went through to get here, but it wasn't as hard as when I was out here the first time in May. Yeah, yeah. answer your other question, what made me stay out here too, also like I said, I came out here before and yeah, a lot of people I I used to hear a lot of people always say, Man, if I can get a chance to leave out of New Orleans, I'm gone, I'm gone. I was that person. I wasn't coming back. to this day I think I've been home maybe twenty one years coming up twenty one years I've probably been home five times. so once I came out here So once I wa once I was once I came out here, I seen the the lifestyle and also Also I saw that it was a better it was it was a better opportunity f better opportunity for me to raise my family. It was jobs out here this time because it w it was jobs out here and schools was a whole lot better than what we had back home. So I was able to get all my boys into school and again, lifestyle was just was was a lot better for me. It was what I wanted. And I I So So that's pretty much of why I decided to come out here. It's just because it was for me better paying jobs and a chance for me to a better lifestyle for my kids, my family. That's what got me to stay in D F W. Yeah. All right. So do you ever wonder what your life would be at like today if you had went back and and just continued to live in New Orleans? Yeah, I think about it all the time and it's not good thoughts for me. I I've I'd have went back there again, I don't know if I'll be in the s if I'll be in the same situation I'm in right now where I'm in a great situation. it can get better, yes, but I'm in a great situation where I was able to raise all five of my boys and they're h they're they're doing all everybody's doing good, so I'm not saying they couldn't get that life in New Orleans, but I to me they're in a whole better situation than me if I would have stayed there. Again, no offense to anybody who's still down there, but for me, my kids are in a whole better situation in life if we would have stayed home. So again, I don't don't take offense to that, y'all. It is what it is. And I'm making I'm I got a a a great job. It took me some time to get here, but I got a job where, you know, it's it's it's good. That's all I'ma say. So again, I don't know if I would have been got the opportunity. So yeah, I think about I think about it sometimes So answer that question, yeah, I think about it 'cause I think about it, but that's that's all I do is think about it. That's pretty much So do you have any regrets though about not going back? I somewhat but I kinda like what I said another and then last question it's better for me but I do have a few regrets and that's family wise. I still have family down there. I regret not seeing everybody like I normally would see everybody if I was staying down there. So yeah, that's probably what the only re that's the only regrets I have. Just missing family and friends, that I would see on a regular, like I said, that's pretty much it. So what do you miss most about New I miss my family and friends, and also the food. That's a lot of faces out here that authentic but it's nothing like being home. Some you know, you you you you you had the food at home when you came out there. So it's nothing like New Orleans food. So that's that's pretty much what I miss is the food, family and friends. I don't that's pretty much it. Looking back twenty one years later, what did Katrina teach you about life? that's easy. Appreciate your loved ones. 'Cause again, we it was a lot of people lost. They said twelve twelve hundred people, but it was a lot more than that that it was a lot more than twelve hundred people that didn't survive Hurricane Katrina. So I would say just man, appreciate life. We all know life is short. we see that with COVID situation. But that's that's that's that's something preach because it like I told you earlier, I was able to when I was on the roof praying to God, I told him, Hey, if I make it out here, I would fix my relationship with my dad, which I've done is we we have a we in whole is is i we we made some pro we made a a lot of progress. so our relationship is a whole lot better. could it be better? Yes, but another story. family, sisters and brothers, same thing. so it it just taught me to appreciate everybody around me, my family and everything. don't just just don't take life for granted. 'Cause it's it's not promised. So if you could go back twenty to two thousand five and talk to Johnny that was going through Katrina, what would you tell her? that's easy. Get the hell out of that house. Leave when they say evacuate. Get on that road and get out of here, 'cause I said from now on, if they say tropical storm, I'm out of New Orleans. I'm not standing. I'm getting the hell out of there. So that's what I would have told two thousand twenty f two thousand five, Johnny man. Hey Get out of there. if not, you're gonna go through a you're gonna go through a situation, so I would say get outta there. Get the hell out of there. Okay, so for someone who's watching this who has surviv who survived Katrina or any kind of major disaster and feel like their life will never be the same, what would you tell them? I would tell them don't give up because again, yeah, you lose everything, but that's just material stuff. You you y you still have your life. I've did fire water restoration for twelve years since I've been out here before I got this job I had. And I see so many people that lose houses from fire or little water damage. And of course when it happens you sad and you like the end of the world, but you're still living. So that's why I used to always tell people, hey, that's just material stuff. You survived it. Nobody got hurt. Your family's good. So just go through insurance. If you had them disasters, but that's another thing. But yeah, I was just telling to just have your faith. Keep keep grinding. Don't give up on life because things will get better. Again, it's kind of shaky at the beginning. But once you get your foot on the f on the ground, Hey, nothing nothing but nothing but good things happen. Well long as you have faith and believe in the man above. That's what I would tell keep going. just Yeah. Well thank you for sharing your story with us, Johnny, and taking us back to August twenty ninth, two thousand five. So again, thank you for sharing my help me share my story. I know we I I couldn't figure a better person to do this with was you. I know a lot of people that similar stories to what I've been through. I was talking to one of my good friends, Eric, a couple of weeks ago and he was telling me his story for the first time. I'm like, wow, we both have similar stories. So I know there's a lot of people in New Orleans who went through Hurricane Katrina, even people in Mississippi who you know, we we everybody talk Katrina, but a lot of people don't talk about Mississippi. That's our next door neighbors. So, a lot of people got stories and they survived Hurricane Katrina and they're still here to tell your story like I am. 'Cause if you heard my story, it's a couple of times where if I'd have made the one wrong decision, I won't be here to tell my story. so again And I'm blessed to be here and again always hear me say thank the Lord. Thank the man above. Thank the Lord for getting me through that situation and able to come to come out of that situation and still be here to tell my story. So again, we'd like to thank everybody who has set through the story and watched this for us. And believe me, we appreciate y'all for all the support that we have been getting from everybody. So with that being said, don't forget to like, comment, and share and subscribe. just like Tanya said, make sure y'all hit the like button, subscribe, share it, and leave some comments about your situation down low. Again, if you like to be on the show and tell your story, Feel free to inbox me or Tanya, and we'll be happy to get you on here. So again, we'd like to thank everybody for joining us on this episode. Until next time, let's talk about it.