Hurricane Katrina 2005 Memories ... missing my brother then and now ... hope for New Orleans and all

As we are currently in the midst of the serious part of hurricane season, I'm drawn back to tough memories of Hurricane Katrina, whose 20th anniversary is Aug. 29.

“Have you heard anything from David or about where he may be?” I, with incognito frantic feelings inside and not wanting to upset my Mommy, asked my her a few times that afternoon on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005 about my brother.

“No,” Mommy said. She went on to note, “I'm sure he evacuated with some others from his apartment complex on Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans East.”

Mom and Dad had come up to Red Stick on the previous Saturday with my Sister, Helen, and her children from the Lakeview area of New Orleans after a very arduous traffic jam of evacuees from the surrounding Crescent City area.

My sister noted that on the almost eight hour-plus ride from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, my frail and elderly daddy couldn't understand why traffic was so slow. He constantly noted, “Why isn't the car in front of us moving?”

We all had hunkered down the day before in our Red Stick home that infamous date of Aug. 29, when Hurricane Katrina came bustling through Louisiana and ferociously dismantling levees in the New Orleans area and bursting into Mississippi.

Dale, my brother-in-law, came up to stay with us after the storm had cleared and thankfully before the levee breaches filled the entire Lakeview area, where he and Helen had lived, as well as most of the Greater New Orleans region.

As time went on and we were all glued to the television and radio. Seeing the awful pics of many parts of our beloved hometown of N'Awlins covered deep in water – with some folks waiting desperately at the Superdome or atop their homes hoping for someone to rescue them – we still didn't know what was the status of David.

We certainly joined others from all churches and faith communities many times in praying for those who had died from the storm and who were dealing with untold miseries with the displacement caused by Katrina, and we made financial and in-kind donations whenever possible.

WWL 870 AM was a real great link to what was going on in The Big Easy, so I was constantly listening to the DJs. At one point, concerned folks were able to call in to the radio shows, such as Bob Delgarno and Garland Robinette, where one could make a shout-out describing missing loved ones to see if anyone may know their where-a-bouts. I did that a few times but didn't get any responses.

Cell phones were still not in full use by everyone including my brother, so that was not possible.

There were times that I just wanted to drive the 75 plus miles from Red Stick to the Big Easy just to do some of my own searching for David and bring basic necessities for him and others that I may see along the way. But that was discouraged and actually noted as breaking the law.

Finally, I somehow got word from the Red Cross or some other agency that David was in Donaldsonville at the Shekinah Glory Church Shelter! It was so great to hear his voice on the phone late in Sept. 2005 and eventually to go and meet with him!

David had apparently not been able to catch the van ride from his apartment complex and stayed there till Sept. 20 (his birthday), when he was able to see National Guardsmen in the area. They opened up the locked in building that he was in!

Thankfully, David had stocked up well on basic necessities, including water, peanut butter, etc. and braved all that time in the high rise building alone without running water or electricity – and in the heat of late August and early September!

What a joy it was when David could join us, especially Mommy and Daddy, in Red Stick with the whole family for a reunion.

I pray for all those who lost loved ones and who were forever displaced from the beloved New Orleans. I constantly meet co-workers, patients, etc., who may have lived in the Crescent City and now have settled elsewhere like Baton Rouge.

We lost both of our parents in 2006; Mommy in June and Daddy in October. While both parents certainly had health issues they had been dealing with, they, like many others, I believe, were very deeply traumatized and affected physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually by the storm.

The city and adjacent communities have certainly made an incredible resurrection from that terrible storm of 2005 as we now reflect on things 20 years later.

Unfortunately, my brother David died last year due to health concerns. But we had been able to get together frequently before his death in Donaldsonville, where he had settled.

I also would like to thank the “Women of the Storm,” especially Anne Milling, whom I knew through at Loyola University. Anne and many untold others certainly helped to advocate for the rebuilding of our beloved 'Yatsville and helping all to deal with such a difficult “human condition."

Top right photo: Msgr. Robert Berggreen eating supper with Horcasitas' parents, Mr. and Mrs. A.N. Horcasitas Jr. in 2005.

Horcasitas, a licensed clinical social worker, is founder/owner of Prayer Care, LLC in Baton Rouge.