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on sunday august 28 2005, 39 year old currise taylor stood in a long line outside the superdome sports staduim in new orleans, louisiana. she pushed a cart containing medicine, disenfectant, a butterball turkey, sandwich bread, and a few changes of clothes.
hipolito valdez, 62, carried a towel, a mobil phone, and a case for his glasses. vernell phillips, 59, had nothing but his watch, his wallet, and the clothes on his back. joey branson, 42, had a freshly baked apple pie and a mystery novel. he told a reporter, "that's all i need. i'm set for the duration."
other people carried blankets, pillows, and hastily packed plastic bags of clothing. they pulled suitcases and coolers. some had folding tables and chairs. the children clutched toys and snacks.
the thousands of people waiting to get into the superdome had been told to pack enough food to last a few days. once they got inside, they might be stuck there for a while. a hurricane was coming.
the 77,000 seat stadium had been designated a hurricane "shelter of last resort" by new orleans officials. while most city residents had fled the fast approaching hurricane katrina, around 20 persent of the population, 100,000 people, were left behind. many of these people were too weak, too poor, or too old to find a way to get out of town. they didn't own cars and couldn't afford bus or train tickets. while the rest of the city's residents jammed the highways, the disadvantaged headed for shelters and hoped for the best.
not all of the people converging on the superdome however. some were tourists who had nowhere else to go. neil coffey, 35, was visiting from britain. he said: "when you are on a holiday you don't really follow these kind of things. we were surprised. we don't get hurricanes like this at home."
other people came to the superdome because they had children or elderly relatives to protect. michael bivens, 53, brought his wife, daughter, and five young granddaughters. he said: "i had to come. not for me. i ride these out all the time. but i knew i couldn't save those children in this one if something happened."
 one hundred nights · Thu Jul 10, 2008 @ 04:46am · 0 Comments |
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