A Katrina survivor recently sent this e-mail:

When the levees broke I was watching cnn in a motel outside of jacksonville, fl. I was living in biloxi for the past two years and thought n.o. was ok. I was worried about my “home away from home”.Then all hell broke loose when i found out the levees breached. My family all lived in arabi/st.bernard parish. Most evacuated but I wasn’t sure which ones stayed, if any. No connection with anyone for days. The longest 5 days of my life. I even called cnn for days leaving messages for someone to rescue my people in da parish. All they showed was the 9th ward. I didn’t know if anyone was there to help them. Most were ok. My aunt drowned. I’m thankful she was the only one that was there. Then the day Rita hit, my grandmother passed away. She was in southwest la in a shelter. We suspect she quit taking her medication. She couldn’t go through another storm. Now I live in long island, ny (lucky me) and don’t know when I’ll come home. I miss it dearly. There is no soul and no spirit here. N.O. is really a one of a kind place and I’m so proud to have been born and raised there. Now I make sure I cook my gumbo, red beans, crawfish pies (yes you can get frozen cra!wfish up here), and shrimp creole. We are a dying breed and I feel obligated to keep up the tradition for my children who won’t get the pleasure of growing up in n.o. I did have the pleasure of attending the last two mardi gras. This year I won’t be able to because of the date being so early. Its gonna KILL me not to be there. I’ll watch as much as I can on tv. I’ll be back soon before they demolish my childhood home in arabi. Everytime I’ve been there to see my old neighborhood, I make sure I take my Xanax. I’m also on anti-depressants. I’ve taken them for ten years but since Katrina I take ALOT more. So I’m kind of numb when I visit but I walk around with that knot in my stomach every day. I know you all know that feeling too well. God bless everyone and good luck!! I WILL return! No doubt about it! I was born in n.o. and I plan on dying there too. Til then its a waiting game. By LOST IN N.Y.