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Saturday August 27 We awoke after less than two hours sleep; when I booked the tickets, I did not check the flight times, and we were on the seven o’clock flight back to Dallas. We checked out, walking past the dregs of those still having a great night out, which did not make us feel any more awake. We climbed into a taxi, though not dead it was about to breath its last any minute. We watched the driver fasten the trunk with a bungee cord. When I checked in, I was selected to have special security checks; such a shame that I had no carry on luggage to check, and the security guard looked at me and asked, is that it? And then waved me through where I could meet up with Jason and Cheryl again.

We had a long wait before boarding; and once aboard the plane broke. The computer would not boot, and so all the displays in the cockpit were blank. After an hour of waiting, we got off, and most of the other passengers queued to get on other flights. We three got something to eat, whilst the queue died down. In time, they fixed the problem, and then we had to wait for the others to queue up again to recheck-in and get back on our flight. And once aboard they had to be directed to their new seats, not the old ones with their friends. I think that we alone were relaxed about the whole thing. To make up to us, the flight had free video, which unfortunately was bloody Monster-in-Law again. And it was not better the second time around. Thankfully, I slept most of the way back, and was feeling a little better once we touched down.

We had missed our connection, but were told we were booked on a half five flight. Looking at the departure board, I noticed that an earlier flight had not yet left; and suggested we walk to that gate. It was a good job I did; as it turned out we were booked on that flight; in the end, it left over an hour late in which we had time to grab drinks of water.

Once back in Arkansas, we were running very late; and still we had not eaten. We went into Fayetteville to a place we knew. The food tasted wonderful, as did the beer. On the drive back to Altus, we were so tired, I really don’t know how Cheryl managed to keep awake; once back, we picked up the girls from Cheryl’s Mom’s, and headed back to the house. Back inside, the case was left unpacked, as we all crashed out.

Sunday August 28

Got woken up at ten; with the news that Mum was on the phone. After ten hours sleep I felt better. Cheryl made breakfast; and that was really all we achieved that morning. The news broadcasts are dominated by Hurricane Katrina, which is threatening the gulf coast of Louisiana and Mississippi; it is due to make landfall at some point tomorrow. Arkansas is expected to miss it, which is good news. New Orleans is only 400 miles away; to think that we are so close to the hurricane is a weird feeling.

Jason and I called in to the store to get burgers as we were to have a cookout that afternoon.

In the end, as it so damned humid, Jason cooked outside, and brought the cooked food inside, which meant he got hot, and we didn’t.

Monday August 29

We all still felt really tired, but Jason had to go back to work; Cheryl still had a day off. So we spent the day watching the weather channel; film reports of anchors standing ankle deep in water telling us it was windy. Just before it hit lad it was downgraded to a cat 4 and later a cat 3; and by dusk it was just a tropical storm halfway up the Mississippi/ Louisiana border. Looking out we can see the edge of the hurricane way above us; at this distance from the centre there is no wind or rain; but we were that close. What the storm has done is take all the moisture out of the air; so it is noticeably cooler now.

Tuesday August 30

We woke up this morning to the news that New Orleans is flooded. At some point last night the levees failed, sending Lake Pontchartrain into the city. The pumps that keep the city dry have also failed; so parts of the city are now more than 20 feet under water. Further along the coast towns like Biloxi and Mobil have been hit hard. The news channels report that looting is widespread in the Big Easy, and the water levels are rising. Pictures of one of the levees show a 300 feet hole with water still pouring through.

I say at home to do some writing, while the others go to work. After I finish, apart from the storm coverage, there is noting on TV. Their house, being in the woods is way too far to walk into town.

Wednesday August 31

I went out with Jason on his gas route today; as expected it was much cooler this morning, in the 70’s; so cool in fact, we put the heater on in the truck. We went past huge houses, mansions really, each one with huge lawns, apparently each one trying to be bigger than their neighbour. We had some kind of fried Mexican food for lunch; what was impressive was the huge list of ingredients which they contained: apparently keeping the American petro-chemical industry going.

Meanwhile, in New Orleans, the full scale of what has happened is emerging. Hundreds of thousands of people did not leave the city, and now they have to be rescued and then fed and watered. What is clear to me is that in the days before we left for Vegas, the weather channel was already warning that Katrina had the potential to be a huge storm; that was more than 5 days before it hit the Gulf coast. Some parts of the Florida Panhandle are clearing up for the third time in recent years; what clearer notice do these people need to tell them that they live in a dangerous place. The news channels are blaming the poor for not getting out of the city; and they are now looting stores and empty homes.

Thursday September 1

Main item on the news channels is that looters have now armed themselves with guns stolen from stores; and are now taking pot shots at rescue workers and helicopters. Mike Brown, the head of FEMA was on TV this morning saying he was only told of the people at the Superdome yesterday morning; and yet it had been on the TV news. During the aftermath of the Tsunami last year, aid was on the ground within 24 hours, and yet here in America, three days after the storm hit, there is still no food or water.

People are still stuck on the roofs of their houses, waiting for rescue by helicopter or boat. There is no food or water at the Superdome or the Convention centre, where the refugees were told to go. And the reason why so many people stayed behind is becoming clear; they are so poor they have no transport of their own; and no busses were laid on to get them out.

I went out with Jason on his route again; he has almost caught up with the backlog the Vegas trip caused.

Rumours of possible fuel shortages have been heard. I don’t think that they really understand what that could mean. When we return home, Jason discovers that we have been blessed with the patter of tiny feet; one of the feral cats has had kittens; the kittens are so small that their eyes have yet to open.

Friday September 2

Local news this morning says that gas prices are going up again today, and a friend of Jason’s’ says that gas in Memphis have hit $3.60 a gallon. But that was yesterday, and gas stations are all out today. The President said in an interview this morning that he is ‘disappointed’ with the response to the disaster. Fox news blames the city and state officials for what happened. The New Orleans mayor says that officials are more concerned with stopping looters than helping the sick and dying.