Katrina 5 years later

The question was asked to me, How did Katrina change me. This was my replay.

"I came to Louisiana to start a new life just 30 days before "she" hit. I was in a motel room west of the city and looking for an apartment. The storm was bad but our motel suffered no real damage that I could see.

The aftermath was the worst thing I have ever endured. I listened to people on the radio begging anyone to help other people stuck in their attics or stranded on roofs who were dying of dehydration. Everyone in the motel I was in was left crying and trying to find lost loved ones for weeks. Then weeks turned to months. I saw violence from people who were supposed to be helping. I saw people taking advantage of the stranded and helpless. I saw the worst in people that I never knew could happen.

I saw some good though. Local stores donating food that would have otherwise rotted. Motel owners doing everything they could to accommodate anyone looking for a place to rest a weary head.

How it all affected me is rather odd. High winds panic me. I now have several different friends in several different states that I can use for evacuation destinations. I dont trust any insurance company. But I have also made a more positive turn in behavior too. I try to understand people instead of blowing them off. I take the non-expressway roads to where I want to go hoping I will see something I can cherish. I take better care of the people I love and make sure they know I love them no matter what. I have learned that things can be replaced and not to sweat the small stuff. My heart is still breaking for those who lost and are still in turmoil over the trauma and drama the storm caused. May I never forget it either. I never want to be numb or indifferent to it. I want to remember what it is like to see a mothers face the day she found her child searching the shelters out of state, using my laptop . Her gratitude was over whelming. I never want to forget letting the children, who were staying at the motel, help me put up Christmas lights, and I was gently reminded about Kwanzaa and then Hanukkah and Yule. By the time my window was decorated it was so beautiful I cried. It made me realize "this is how its supposed to be".

I suppose I can say it changed me for the better."

epiphany

I was just sitting here looking at things I have collected over time. Little things that seem to have noting in common with each other. An arrowhead I found while gardening in Alabama, a basket made of birch, a little plaque that says "I am not African because I was born in Africa, I am African because Africa was born in me", a brass replica of a Viking ship, candles, an acorn, a poetry book and so many other little things like that.

I began to wonder why I have them, other than the simple reason I love them. What could they all mean? How do all these things speak as a whole conversation in a single topic other than "Val loves us". Munching on my bowl of barley cereal it came to me.
They all speak of things past. The beloved sense of old being made new in my life. They all connect to a time when nature was or is God and of wonder and growth. They speak of life and death and life again. They sound of poetry and meaning in all that is basic instinct and tribal. Not one piece says "I am modern and cold"

Could this be the story of me and my path? A loving connection to all that is old all that is of earth, of sky, of water and fire? What a cycle to learn rom only to find its been in my soul from the beginning.

for Isaac Bonewits R.I.P.

Blessed was your life on earth
Many of us felt your insights worth
Forgetting never the works you've done
With the Oaks you are now as one

Journey well teacher and friend
To you a message Id like to send
For all of those on the other side
Teach from beyond and do not hide

Roar like a lion for all to hear
Let us know that you are near
For when you do some will learn
What it means to adjourn.

WOW

I joined a new group hoping to learn more about what it is I do and why its happening to me of all people. I have been blessed with somewhat of a kindred.

how do I tell someone that every word they put on screen resonates with me to the core. I feel like a star struck fool and yet thirst for more every day.

In the past I have been bitter, a bit cynical, and down right frustrated with complicated definitions of what it is that I do and who I am. Now I just want more. More art, More poetry, More spells, More song, more everything.

There is such a freedom with this feeling. All I can say is thank you to the one I feel connected to and star struck by and I will remain constant with my learning.

I promise.