And so this time it was one named Ida.
And that ever lively, incredibly unique place known as New Orleans has been battered yet again.
Before Ida there was Katrina. And a year before Katrina there was little known, less remembered Ivan.
But there really was Ivan!
And I can testify to that confidently because I knew Ivan up close and personal.
Ivan was another of those Travel with me but first sign this "Hazzard-waver-declaration" stories.
Fortunately, the Ivan saga does not involve any sort of group travel, at least not on my part.
The year was 2004 and New Orleans was the venue for the annual International Catholic Stewardship Conference, an event that started on Sunday evening, rather informally with a "Taste of New Orleans" event and an opportunity to view and simply the wares of numerous vendors.
The choice of New Orleans was most welcome for me as at that time I had a time share in that great city. That would mean no additional cost for accommodations and, the time share being used for the conference, the maintenance fees could qualify as a professional expense tax deduction.
I and our parish business manager signed on for the conference. It officially began on Monday morning and would end around noon on Thursday. The timing was perfect since I was scheduled to lead a retreat back in Michigan beginning on Friday evening.
To get cheap rates, we flew into New Orleans on Saturday and would return home Thursday afternoon.
That was the plan.
One small adjustment - the time share was undergoing some renovations and so we would be housed, not in the Garden District but rather almost downtown. We would still have a suite but now we would be within walking distance of the conference activities.
We were also directly across the street from the casino!
Now that did not draw my interest but it certainly caught the attention of the business manager. (Should I have had suspicions because of his job and this "attraction"?) Well, let's just say that we went to dinner Saturday after arriving and then I headed back to our suite while he headed , well, across the street.
Sunday morning we were at the cathedral for Mass and afterward, he announced that breakfast, or still better, jazz brunch was on him. His visit the previous evening had been rather profitable.
Sunday evening after the Taste of New Orleans, the previous evening's story unfolded yet again. I headed to the room and he to the - across th street. And frankly, I did not mind the time alone as it provided me an opportunity to review some of the content for the coming weekend's retreat.
Monday arrived and the working session got underway. However, a new item was beginning to capture attention and conversation - Ivan.
It was out there and it was intensifying and it could even be headed right in our direction.
Should we worry?
Seemed not - at least not yet then.
Monday's dinner was another treat since, once again, fortune had been good the evening before across the street!
And Tuesday arrived and with its arrival a new mood was in the air.
This Ivan thing was getting serious. A direct hit was looking more possible. Sesoned dwellers in the city were clearly making their moves and those moves were headed in one general direction.
OUT!
They were clearly running for safety, taking no chances.
Windows were being boarded and shops were being emptied.
When we got to the conference center, we could not help but notice that the scheduled speakers were arriving for their sessions with travel bags and luggage in tow. They were making their presentations and then heading out.
Not looking good at all.
Time to make a move.
Between conference sessions we headed to the phones. Call the airlines. Book a flight out - any flight and as it became clear that we were truly begging, any flight anywhere. Begger's can't be choosy and we could get somewhere and then worry about a connecting flight to Detroit.
But flights were being cancelled as soon as we connected with an agent. Houston? Sure? Two tickets? No problem.
Oops! That flight just got cancelled!
And so the story went.
Train?
Nothing available.
Rent a car?
None available anymore.
Just plan on bunkering down and riding things out and hope for the best.
Oh - and now Ivan is ranking as a category five!
Worst possible scenario!
End of the day Tuesday the announcement was made. The remainder of the Stewardship Conference was officially cancelled.
Go home!
Yea! Right! Good luck with that now.
We headed back to our hotel which, by time of our arrival, was something of a madhouse. All sorts for folk, mostly families with small children, were trying to get in, get rooms. Being suites, that meant every accommodation had at least a small refrigerator and stove and, thus, meal preparations would be possible. The hotel also had begun providing late afternoon finger foods and early morning light breakfasts. And the first four floors were now off lints. No rooms would be offered under the fifth floor just in case the water level . . . well, you can imagine!
We were offered the possibility of moving down to the fifth floor. (We were on eleven.) We took the offer as we both thought of what life might be like if power was lost and elevators were not working and the only way down was the stairway - eleven floors! Not a chance!
Settled in our new accommodations, it was now time for some dinner. And that became a new discovery. In New Orleans - known for its cuisine - restaurants were closed and boarded up. However, some distance away we managed to find a TGIF still open and serving food.
Menu?
No!
We are cooking whatever is left so that it doesn't spoil in the storm. We will serve you dinner - certainly. You will get whatever the chef is able to put together for you.
Dinner had, we headed back to our hotel. No stopover that evening at the casino. It was closed and shuttered.
Ivan was bearing down on New Orleans.
Wednesday arrived and this great, never sleeping city was a ghost town- no traffic anywhere, winds intensifying, silence deafening.
We needed something to eat. The breakfast lite was sufficient but not totally filling. Only where might we find anyone still serving food?
I had an idea. A couple of blocks away was one of those super-fine, super-expensive hotels. They would certain feel obliged to provide food for their clientele. And I was right! Good food! White glove service and folks all round dressed to the nines!
It felt like we were on the Titanic - dining while the waters poured in.
And in a sense that was a correct assessment since, by the time we finished our dinners, the main entrances were now boarded up and impassable. We would have to leave through the service entrance.
The walk back was marked by blistery winds bringing stinging sand and dirt into our faces. Police cars were circling all around, loudspeakers announcing a total, stay in place, curfew. When we got to our hotel, we were immediately informed that, once in our room, we could not leave until an all clear was sounded.
And we were instructed to fill our bathtub!
Just in case the water was shut off!
And so we waited.
And watched the Weather Channel!
Who ever thought of spending an evening in New Orleans watching the Weather Channel?
But we learned something.
A pivotal moment was coming soon - long around 10:45 PM.
At that time, with prevailing weather patterns and water temperatures and who knows what all else, it was possible that Ivan could ever so slightly change course. If that happened, New Orleans would be spared and the storm would move eastward.
And so we waited and watched and maybe even prayed.
And the patterns did their trick! And the storm ever so slightly changed course, slightly but still enough.
We would be spared!
The next day the city was still mostly a ghost town. We were finally able to book flights back home - not until Friday and not both of us on the same flight.I would take the earlier flight, early enough for me to get into a car and head on off to begin that weekend retreat.
We had experienced a city under seige.
The storm had been avoided.
But the next year New Orleans was not so fortunate.
And this year again - not so fortunate
For our sisters and brothers, suffering in whatever way from this vicious act of nature:
let us pray to the Lord!
Meantime,
Keep Praying
. . . and Stay Safe!
Oh! And please get your shot! It's the charitable thing to do.
