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My first cohesive memory--when I was not yet five--is a pretty dramatic one. Hurricane Audrey hit southwest Louisiana so early in the season that most people were completely unprepared. Weather forecasting wasn't as reliable in June of 1957 anyway, and most of the old-timers were used to riding storms out. Not anymore. After Audrey, and until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, if anyone mentioned "The Storm" in SW Louisiana, everyone knew they referred to Audrey. Many towns along the coast were completely wiped out and widespread flooding extended more than 30 miles north to Lake Charles and beyond. Only the courthouse was left standing in Cameron. Oddly enough, most people built back again...and then again. Coastal people are a stubborn bunch.
Until Katrina, Audrey was the deadliest hurricane to hit Louisiana as well, with nearly 500 dead. My family and I, who holed up inside our house, with taped and plywood-covered windows, were lucky. Many locals took to the road (including Tim's family), and some got stranded on the way north. Sometime during the day on June 27, we lost electricity and set up camp in our living room with our Coleman stove and lantern and ate Vienna sausages on paper plates. We had a gas refrigerator, so we were at least able to keep our food cold, and we had a gas stove, water heater, and clothes dryer. We didn't have air conditioning in our home in 1957 anyway, so we didn't lose that comfort. Dad read to us from A Child's Garden of Verses and we traded stories, read, or drew pictures throughout the day, while Audrey howled outside and storm surge pummeled the coast. We had no idea about the losses to our south, and I was excited by the unexpected close confinement and flickering candlelight in our snug living room. I felt completely protected by my father, older sister, and brother during this ferocious storm--I was never afraid. Our house sustained little damage and it did not flood. I realize now that my fond memories of Audrey were because of my ignorance of its cost to the people who lost lives and property. The ramping up of hurricane intensities in recent years due to climate change are terrifying for me now. Family who still live in Lake Charles have suffered many more hurricane events since Audrey and storm numbers are increasing. It's well past time to take action to address climate change. It will take a certain national will, a worldwide determination to overcome that is lacking. Even if we had the will, I'm not sure we could agree on the way. In the meantime, I can't help a guilty, naïve heart-thumping thrill when a storm (even a quiet ice storm) kicks up outside, as long as I'm safe and warm inside. Each one calls to mind one of my fondest memories of a time when I felt completely loved and protected by my family in the midst of turmoil. --Jan
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January 2022
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