August 31st 2017

---

If you haven't been following the story up till now, we left off HERE.
Its hard to tell this story without sounding overly dramatic. To me it's still just as fresh in my mind as it was that day. To you, it's a house somewhere unfamiliar and distant. At this point, I know my home is flooded but since yesterday I have no idea how far the water rose overnight if at all. We plan to go back and check things out so we will know how to proceed.

We left the kiddos at their Mader's (my mother) house. We aren't sure what we will find at the house and wanted to give them more time to process all the madness that's been going on. For now Its just Me, Melissa, My father, and my father-in-law. Upon arriving at the end of the road we could tell that there had to be water in the house but couldn't tell how bad it was. I parked the truck at the end of the road and began my swim to the house. The plan was to grab the canoe and kayak to get whatever else we could salvage from the house before the water rose any further! I could tell the water had risen substantially over night ( 2-3 ft) but wasn't sure if it was in the house. Half swimming half wading up to the house , I was picking up belongings usually relegated to the porch or back yard. A neighbors plastic barrel slowly drifting past me as I push on to get to my house. Shoes left out on the porch the night before were caught up in trees, a wooden night stand that we took from the house a few days ago was floating across the street. I could see bee boxes floating upside down all over the neighborhood. I was disoriented with the sheer amount of very large furniture and miscellaneous flotillas I have to push aside on my way to the back yard. Frightened kitties are scattered all over the structures found throughout the yard. I pluck them up and settle them into the canoe. The night before, I put them in the shed with a bucket of food so they could climb up out of the water if it got too high. I rip them from the canoe and my chest, back into the shed with some food and high perches for them to stay dry! I pushed open the door to see what soggy surprise wait for me inside. I was surprised to only find a few inches of water inside. I need to grab the canoe for the stuff and the kayak so Melissa doesn't have to wade through the muck and junk.

We staged the canoe right on the front porch for easy loading!

I'm not going to say we were even a little bit calm upon seeing the condition of our home. Mouths hanging open, wife whimpering in disbelief, just standing in the doorway not knowing where to start when we are jolted back to our circumstance. "Lets get to work!!" barks my father. I'm usually not that receiving of those sort of orders but its just what we needed! I immediately set my wife to empty the fridge and freezer. We don't want to come home to rotten food in the fridge. The waterline is well below the power outlets so I leave the power on so we can have light to pack up our belongings. Within an hour or so, the water level has risen even further so I wade out to the breaker box and cut the power to the whole house! We were making "okay" progress when some guys from the Cajun Navy pulled up and offered their assistance! I was more than willing to accept the offer as the water was coming up by the minute at this point. Their wide bodied flat bottom aluminum boat would make short work boating all our stuff back to the truck waiting at the end of the road.

Over the course of several hours, the water crept up at least 6 inches. We threw the last few items we could grab and headed out the door. Before I made it to the truck I made one last canoe trek up the road in front of the house. By this time I was done saying "surely it wont get any deeper" so I took one last video of the house. I wasn't sure how long it would be before we could get back, what would be left when we made it back, how high the water would get, or even if we could get out at this point to higher ground. I didn't know it then, but It would be another 5 days before I would be able to get back into my house. It's still surreal for me to see this video. So much water. If I hadn't seen it myself, it would be almost impossible to picture it!

---

The water was rising fast throughout the city. We were hearing from friends and family that were trying to get out before they were trapped. If they get trapped, the only way to get out is to be rescued with only the clothes on their back. We were staying with my parents less than a tenth of a mile away. The water had already flooded their yard days before then drained off rather quickly. Another creek just up the road from them was now over its banks and creeping closer to their road by the minute! If we don't make a decision NOW, we could be stuck at their house.

• Will they then flood?
• Will we be able to get out to get supplies if the power goes out?
• Will the water rise up into their house too?
• Should we stay and risk it or get out as quick as possible.
• Where do we go?
• Where will they go if they decide to leave?
• If we decide to leave, we need a route that my truck can get through without leaving us stranded!

So many unknowns. My head is spinning and my family desperately needs me to make a decision for them! Melissa wants to leave NOW, but I am crippled with indecision and fear! To clear my head I walk down to the end of their street to see if the water is any threat. The traffic is moving very slow to get through the flooded highway less than a block from where we are at. Out of impulse and a need to know if roads were passable, I stepped out into the middle of traffic and waved down the next truck that came passing by. To my surprise it was a friend of mine. He confirmed there were some ways still open and passable for me to get the heck out of dodge. I settle on a plan,

We're leaving in 20 minutes...