Outer Journey 01/07/18

Today we visited the Presbytere  museum.  The Presbytere is an architecturally important building in the French Quarter that stands facing Jackson Square, adjacent to the St. Louis Cathedral.  Inside you can walk through the Living with Hurricanes:  Katrina and Beyond exhibit.  When you walk into the building there is an overwhelming feeling that comes over your body.  There are so many emotions that are left in that entrance.  There are bottles hanging from the ceiling.  The clear bottles represent the people who passed away due to the hurricane.  The blue hand bottles represent those who died waiting to be rescued on the roof tops.  Instant sorrows are felt.  The feeling of helplessness rushes over me.  I had not realized what a huge impact the hurricane had on this city.

Glass bottles representing those who died

As you walk along the tour you can feel the spirit of the people as they fought through the aftermath of the hurricane.  There were so many stories not only from the people who survived the hurricane but those he helped and volunteered.  No one could talk about the events without choking on their words.  All you could do was sit there and listen to this people and feel your heartache.  I just did not realize the impact that the hurricane had on these people.  I felt so helpless and guilty for not doing anything.  There was a pair of pants that was showcased.  As I stood there looking at them I was saddened. 

In my head I could hear the screams of people needing help, and the fear that help was not coming.  On the pants the man had written his name, blood type, social security number, telephone number, and his wife’s name in case he died. 

 

As you walk further along in the tour there is a section that was cut out of a wall where a man wrote on it like it was a diary.  He talks about living his moments riding out the hurricane.  Talked about how he was feeling each day and not knowing what to expect for the next day.  

 

There were displays that showcased how bad the water was and how bad items were ruined.  Mold was growing wildly throughout their houses.  People lost their homes, homes floated away.  I just cannot fathom the amount of devastation these people faced.  

A child's teddy bear that's covered in mold due to Katrina

Aftermath of Katrina on a child's wardrobe

Katrina left the homes full of water that caused them to mold

What got me the most was seeing the garage door that had been spray painted on.  They spray painted on them to mark whether there were survivors, and their animals were accounted for too. 

This tour was a real eye opening.  It showed me how a city of people could come together during the most devastating time and try to help one another when there was no one else to help.  It was a gut wrenching experience.  It had me wondering what plan of action I would have had in order in order to be able to survive.  I just don't know how people were able to hang on for as long has they did.  Taking the tour made me appreciate my day a little bit more and more thankful for not having to worrying about hurricanes.