One of a blog’s values is preserving our life and times.  In 2005, before I blogged, I journaled.  Here’s the entry for today, 12 years ago, as we dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Rita in southwest Louisiana

Here’s what I entered in an email today [9/26/05]:

I’ve been thinking about New Zion, too.  The gas-availability situation is probably the most worrisome.  Hwy 190 through Eunice today looked more like I-10 volume–no exaggeration–b/c we’re the nearest west-bound alternative to I-10, I’m sure.  And the gas situation is a big news story.  Maybe one out of five stations in town has gas, and lines are atrocious.  We have off-duty police officers working security and directing traffic in and out of the Shamrock and the RaceTrac on either end of town where people are waiting probably an hour to get to a pump (and no credit cards again).  We even have police security at WalMart and Winn Dixie, where staple supplies are largely exhausted.  Good thing we like non-fat milk and caffeine free diet coke at our house–that’s the only stuff left on the shelves.  Sarah and Ann made that run–the stores were elbow-to-elbow with agonizingly long checkout lines, but we needed re-provision after three days of being holed up at home.

Along those lines, how’s the gas supply situation in the Florida Parishes?  I think things will gradually ease up around here as the week goes on, but it’s still a little unsettling–been this way since before the Hurricane, actually.  I thought about going to Covington to get my saw from Daddy either before Rita or after, but then remembering the New Zion trip would be a good opportunity to accomplish the same thing, I figured I’d wait for that.  But I wonder if the best thing we can do for ourselves and the cause of conservation now is just to stay home?

In addition to those observations, we shared some time with the Guilbeaux’s from Sulphur this afternoon and talked more about these trying days and this era of what I am calling the time of the “Great Gulf Coast Hurricanes.”  From Texas to Florida, we’ve all been touched, and we’ll never be the same.  One graphic yesterday on tv drives the point home:  Out of the top 6 most catastrophic in $$$ hurricanes in history, four of them have occurred in the past 13 months.  Scary times, indeed.  And the season isn’t over?

Found out the shelter at church is re-opening tomorrow.  A handful of our New Orleans evacuees will return along with the prospect of some Rita victims from Cameron.  Lord, help Louisiana!