I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005

As they drive out of the Lower Nine, the family passes the bakery where Barry’s mother worked before she had Barry. Her dream is to “one day” open up a bakery of her own, a phrase she uses so frequently that it has become a motto in their family representing their hopes for the future. They drive a bit longer before stopping outside of Lightning’s, the club where Roddy’s band plays on Thursday nights. Roddy’s friend, Dave, owns the club, and Roddy wants to ensure that Dave also plans to leave.

Dave comes out and greets the family warmly but states that he does not plan to leave the club, telling Roddy that he wants to keep it open so that people have a place to go. He tells the Tuckers that if they change their mind about leaving, they should not go to the Superdome but come back to the club, as Dave has a generator and “a million” hot dogs. As they drive away, Barry asks his father if it is a bad idea for Dave to stay and Roddy tells him that this neighborhood does not usually flood, as it is a little higher than the rest of the city.

As they make their way toward Interstate 10, their car eventually slows to a stop as traffic comes to a standstill. Roddy turns on the radio and they learn that traffic has built up for hundreds of miles as everyone tries to flee the city at once. As they settle in to wait, Roddy turns off the air conditioning to save gas. Hours pass as they wait in the oppressive heat, and Barry worries that they might be still stuck on the highway when the storm hits.

Suddenly, he feels warm liquid spill onto his lap and realizes that Cleo has thrown up. She begins crying as she continues to vomit, their parents springing into action to try and soothe her and clean up the mess. His mother feels Cleo’s forehead and discovers that she has a fever, and clearly, they cannot continue out of the city with Cleo this ill. Soon, Roddy pulls the car out of the line of traffic, and they head back toward home.

Cleo continues to be sick throughout the day, and even Barry cannot help her calm down. Their parents discuss going to the Superdome but ultimately decide against it after hearing the TV newscaster report that there are already 10,000 people at the stadium with even more lined up outside waiting to get in. The news also reports that there are no pets allowed, a food and water shortage, and the temperature will become unbearable if the power goes out.

By 6 pm, the wind picks up, but Barry is surprised by the quiet of their now-deserted block, which is usually rife with noise. At 10 pm, the storm begins in earnest. While their mother and Cleo sleep in their parents’ room, Roddy and Barry watch the baseball playoffs on television, listening to the howling wind outside.

Barry snuggles in closer to his father, who remains calm. Barry remembers the flight they took to New York City, where Roddy sometimes teaches classes about jazz music. The flight experienced major turbulence after flying into a thunderstorm, and while Barry was scared, he recalls how calm his father remained the entire flight, which helped Barry’s own nerves. When Barry asked Roddy how he stayed so calm, he responded that he was singing the song “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino, a musician and famous resident of the Lower Nine, over and over in his head during the storm.

Barry asks Roddy if he is singing “Blueberry Hill” right now and Roddy laughs, pulling Barry close and telling him that he is listening to the wind. Roddy turns off the television and pulls out his trumpet, playing softly along with the wind, turning the scary storm into a song. Barry begins feeling safe once more even as the storm surges outside and falls asleep.

A noise wakes Barry, and he realizes that it is morning. He strains to understand what the noise that awoke him was, thinking that it does not sound like wind. He looks around the empty living room, wondering where his family is, but as he hears his father’s approaching footsteps the front door flies open, and a surge of water streams into the house. Barry begins to scream.

Roddy runs down the stairs, yelling Barry’s name and lifting his son by the arm to bring him upstairs. Items begin floating around the room as the house continues to flood, the water levels rising quickly. Mom and Cleo emerge from the bedroom and when Mom sees the flood, she says, “The levee, Roddy” (43), and Barry understands the levee has broken, flooding the Lower Nine with water from the Industrial Canal. Barry begins to panic, and Roddy tells them that they have to go up into the attic to escape the flood. Cleo begins to resist, crying that she does not want to go to the attic, and Barry calms her by telling her that Akivo might be up there.

The family sits upstairs under the low ceiling, and Barry tries not to think about the irreparable damage happening beneath them, especially the loss of his Akivo drawing. Ever since Barry began imagining and creating Akivo, he felt braver and more powerful. Now, with the drawing lost, Barry feels the “bright and powerful feeling drained away” (47). Barry huddles in closer to his family and Roddy tells them that they are going to stay together, which will help them survive. Roddy tells them that they cannot stay in the attic and need to escape to the roof, and he produces an axe when Barry cries that there is no way out. Roddy tells them that Grandpa hid an axe in the attic after the last big storm, knowing that another one would come someday. While Barry huddles with his mother and Cleo, Roddy begins hacking away at the ceiling.