Dinah, yeah the anxiety kills me. The sadness that comes from it. The entire community is gone. My church, school, favorite place i ate, grocery store. They've all been demolished. And a whole lot more, even some still sitting in ruins.

I know the storm took its toll on everyone. Especially the elderly and the kids. I knew 7 who passed in the storm and 14-15 (cant remember) who passed soon after. Alot were elderly. After going to the first dozen funerals i had to stop. I couldnt do it anymore. I know another storm would surely kill many more. And after last year with gustav and that other storm. Everyone evacuated and the worst we had was no electric and everything closed down for about a week. I hear so many people saying they arent evacuating again. Thats what happened with Katrina, why so many stayed. The belief system wasnt there. I know if one does come i'm not evacuating. I survive it, i'll move. I dont' survive, well.

If your mom needs help let me know, i'll do what i can. I dont have transportation. But i have a phone.

I can never thank the volunteers enough. Everyone who helped in the recovery. Whatever they did. So much came in after the storm. I remember going to the makeshift donation tent and the clothes they had there. There werent any tables to put them on so they were laid out in boxes on a blue tarp (love those blue tarps). I sat on the ground and searched for clothes that would fit my family. I found this awesome wool sweater. I loved it. I still have it. But i accidentally washed it one day and it shrunk a few sizes. But it has meaning and i dont' want to get rid of it.

The volunteers who come down to help gut to rebuilding are great. They are so polite and hardworking. They ask so many questions about what happened, whats happening. I never personally had volunteers help me, but i've been at houses of my family and friends gutting myself and they were next door or down the street doing the same thing. So i've met many. And the Ameri Corp group i got to be friends with a few of them. My neighbor spent alot of time at Camp Hope and would invite all the volunteers there to his house for bbq's for the different holdiays. Walking next door and chating with them was a different world i never thought i'd be in. I remember when this one group from Ameri Corp was on there last week here. They stopped by my trailer to tell me see ya later. They gave me one of their bandanas that had their symbol on it and a little toy rubbery snake one of them caught in a parade they went too. Those two things meant the world to me. I still have the snake, but i misplaced the bandana and still miss it to this day.

I'm almost positive Our Lady of Holy Cross is in Marrero or maybe Gretna. I know when you get off the Paris Rd. ferry on the westbank you take the river road up about a mile then take a left and go straight. You pass that huge golf course on the left and its about 15-20 minutes to get there. And Our Lady is on the right. Right next to where that Old Folks Home use to be. Algiers is directly across the river from the Quarter. Right under the bridge. You take the Canal St. ferry across to Algiers Point.