Jacob, Jacquelyn, and I left NOLA on Friday morning. We could have waited longer but my brother and sister-in-law were going to be in St. Louis for the holiday weekend. Leaving Friday gave us extra visit time. Looking at the news now, I'm glad we didn't wait. I wouldn't want the trip to have taken any longer. I knew it was a bad sign when we left. The buses carrying the Orleans Parish Prisoners (along with 20 cop cars escorting them) got on the highway just as we were leaving downtown. If the criminals are leaving, it was a good bet everyone else would be ordered to do so soon. The trip took 12 1/2 hours, the DVD player quit working one hour in, and we weren't able to find any of Jacob's music CD's before we left. This sounds like a horrible road trip. God bless, it wasn't. Jacob entertained himself with toys and his imagination, entertained his sister when she fussed, and was a big help. Now, if he could just hold her so trips to the bathroom would be easier!
Ben had to stand watch at the Federal Building last night. Mostly, this means watching the storm not watching for criminals. I talked to him at 6:30am and he was getting ready to go board a shuttle to the airport. He is flying up to St. Louis and will begin standing watch at 7:30pm tonight. He isn't thrilled about flying but is taking his first ride on a C-130 makes it a little more exciting. I don't know how long he will do this, what exactly he will be doing, or how long we will be here. This storm is so much bigger than Dolly and his team works regardless of where it hits on the Gulf coast. The kids and I won't return home until he does (or we know people are in our neighborhood). I'm not that proficient with a gun and the people that decide to stay behind will either be protecting their belongings or looting the belongings of others. Not a good place to be with 2 kids.
We pray that all of our friends are safe and we will stay in touch.
Does Honor Still Matter?
8 years ago
