Oh gosh, I hope everything will be okay. That must be so nerve-wracking.

You poor baby.  I'll add my prayers to yours.  I remember being at the doctor's office when Katrina was blowing in there and watching it on TV.  Well... come to that, I had been watching it for days on CNN, and especially since early the morning it hit, and wondering if it was "the big one" that people had been predicting forever was going to come in & kick the snot out of New Orleans.  Of course it's altogether different when you're there.  That must be so stressful, to say the least.  My hopes & prayers & best wishes are with you & yours, Sher.  Hopefully it won't even get close.

That's terrible! I really hope you guys aren't hit! Stay safe.

wondering if it was "the big one" that people had been predicting forever was going to come in & kick the snot out of New Orleans.

see, I knew I wasn't the only one worried about that before it hit - although it appears it never crossed any FEMA employee's mind that there even existed such a storm, at least that is what they said on the news afterwards, huh? (sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread!!)

If it were me, I'd pack it up and leave - I spent too many hours inside watching hurricanes blow and have vowed never to stay for one again. Now I live in AZ where all we get is the aftermath of Pacific storms that come into Baja...

Stay Safe!! We're thinking of you! (quick, fill your car with books! LOL kidding)

I don't want to worry Sherron even more, but yeah, I thought everybody was aware of the potential there if New Orleans were to take a direct hit from a category 5 hurricane.  History Channel did a show with possible major hurricane scenarios there years before Katrina hit, and one of them was failure of the levee system - very similar to how most of the flooding there actually happened, in fact.  I can't imagine that nobody from FEMA ever watches the History Channel:P  I got to spend 8 days in New Orleans in the summer of '98, and I think that trip is probably my most memorable vacation.  We stayed at the Sheraton right across the street from the French Quarter, and I went wandering & sightseeing almost every waking moment I was there.  I had breakfast every morning at Cafe DuMonde - yum:P  The thing I remember most was the heat though.  I thought the Ohio Valley was humid... before I went there...  The worst was ordering room service and the ice always being melted, or getting all primped up & ready to go out, and then I'd step outside the lobby doors and it was like having a big, hot, wet blanket thrown over my head:P  And almost all of the shops in the French Quarter would leave their doors propped open - which I quickly figured out was a ploy to attract business.  You'd walk by & feel that cold air, and have to follow it in:P

Sherron, so sorry you are going through this.

My thoughts are with you.

I've been watching its path on tv at work (I"m a 911 Dispatcher) and I hope it doesn't head your way Sherron!!!   Load up your keeper shelf for sure and get it outta town

Sherri

I'm totally sympathizing with you girl! I live in Houston and was terrifed at the last tropical storm that was supposed to be a biggie...my company refused to shut down and were going to 'watch' the reports so i was up all night calling the number to see what the latest was and it finally turned at the last minute so Ihad to go in to work (hardly even any rain!) and listen to my boss go on and on about how chicken we were, etc. now i'm scared to death teh next time they won't pay any attention to it at all.

and for everyone who thinks it's easy to just evacuate, well, it's not unless you want to risk your job on the chance that it might hit...sounds like a no-brainer but right after Katrina hit Houston was full of people from New Orleans- hey there weren't a whole lot of places to go so who can blame 'em right? well there neeed to be anohter systerm of finding more accommodations because about the same time as someone brilliantly thought' what if there's another and it heads here' Rita came along and was due straight for galveston. i was on night shift and got off that wed morning..woke up at noon and spent almost 7 hours making a 3 1/2 = 4 hour trip to my parents' north of here..my company didn't make the call to shutdown til Thursday afternoon..so they weren't able to prepare their homes or evacuate..traffic was horrible and nwhere to stay. and the worst part of it was, now all the hotels/'motles were full of people from New Orleans AND Houston when it actually hit around Beaumont..a freind of mine fromt here ended up in Tulsa  OK..that; and that's WAY north..she was over 12 hours away from her home just to find a place to stay. oh, and of course personnel at wrok sent out email saying we had to make our own decisions and let supervisor know if we needed to take vacaton time..well my boss yelled at the 2 people who needed to go, said they were chickens, it was 'no big deal' then found out later that he left right around lunchtime and left a single lady in charge who had no one else to help her prepare...i'm still angry at the sob for that. then when I was at my parent's he kept calling asking if I were headed back and I said I'm d ue to work monday and that's when i'll be there..I finallly came back saturday I think because his phone calls weremaking my mother nervous who made me nervous...

but I remember packing up stuff like crazy and I'm not ever right on the coast..I'm in southwest houston. it's hard and I'm scared to death of hurricanes and even more afraid because it causes problems atwork to get off for one. 

My thoughts are with you as well--hope everything turns out okay! It makes me glad I'm not in the hurricane area--I'm originally from the East Coast (Mid-Atlantic region) and while we never had any really bad canes that I can remember, we did anxiously watch the weather! Of course, now I live in torndao alley--go figure! :)

too bad there's not a perfect place to live...the bad things with tornadoes is there's no way to know early enough to be prepared...and the good thing is there' snot time to worry!

Sherron, I really hope you stay safe! I know that the electric companies are already gearing up and on stand-by to come in and help restore power... But hopefully it won't be too bad for anyone on the Gulf coast!

I'll be keeping you in my thoughts..

Ada

Hey Sherron,

My thoughts are with you and fingers and toes are crossed. Stay safe!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  I am still watching the TV.  LOL  We won't know for at least several more days until it gets into the Gulf and have a better idea where it is going.  These things never go where they predict this far out.  I am going to limit my TV time today.  The news is making me even more stressed.  They don't know what is going to happen yet.  The local news is going on and on about the levees and if they will hold.  And can N.O. take another hit.  I wish that my husband's job was not in N.O. 

yeh, the news likes to over-dramatize too..keeps people tuned in and their ratings go up up up.

I'm scared enough in SW Houston.don't think I could stand living in New Orleans year round...too close and too low..also the levvees DID hold for a very long time Sherron...Katrina was the only time they failed, right? and that was a doozy of a hurricane.

Sherron,

You and your family will be in my prayers.  I really dont know how I would've handled your situation if I was in your shoes at this moment.    *BIG HUGS*

Well, we are packing up today.  If Gustav stays on this course it will be worse than Katrina where I live.  Thanks everyone for your prayers.

Sherron

Sherron, take care and thoughts are with you. we're keeping an eye on it where I am too though I'll be staying in place...my stupid job waits til last minute to make a decision whether or not to close. at least I'm not on the east side of town.

Keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers, Sherron.  Thank you for keeping us posted!

Likewise Sherron -- I can't even imagine having to go through it twice -- Definitely will be saying some extra prayers for you and your family - Hoping for a quick downgrade! Trish

Well, I am leaving at 4:00 am.  We are hoping to avoid the traffic.  For Katrina it took us 15 hours to get where we were going and it should have only  taken us 3 hours.  It was a nightmare with four kids and one of them was one years old.  At least he is four now. 

Sherron how are ya'll doing? Are you back home yet? I was thinking 'bout ya'll and hoping it wouldnt' hit NO too badly.

I just got home last night.  We have been without power until yesterday.  We had no damage except for a fence and a very smelly fridge and freezer.  Thank God.  Now all eyes are on Ike.  I don't think we will even unpack. 

I took about fifty books with me.  My husband thought I was nuts especially since he was the one carrying it around.  All books safe and sound.  LOL  :)

whew! that's good! I haven't looked at the others out there but guess I'd better since I"m in Houston..