Should I Stay or Should I Go '08

Three years ago, I posted an entry on my blog wondering if I should evacuate New Orleans. I left the morning of the 28th, and when I finally got to a working computer a week later, I discovered dozens of messages left for me from friends and strangers, all saying, "Go!"

Tomorrow marks the anniversary, three years in recovery. And once again, we are facing evacuation. This time, I planned ahead, booking a room to the west, and another to the north. Unfortunately I only booked the rooms for Sunday and Monday, hoping that I'd be back for Tuesday, which is once again my birthday. Now it looks like the storm is coming Tuesday, and there isn't a room to be had in any of the surrounding states.

And, I don't want to leave. I can't helping thinking that the very simple act of driving out of town will inspire a sort of time warp that will bring me back through all the events of that last storm and its aftermath. I'd just rather not.

So I'm left with a lot of what ifs. What if the storm doesn't come? What if my house gets looted? What if it floods again? What if Brando and Zephyr aren't as good as Sula climbing the ladder into the attic? What if the power goes out and I loose all that food? What if the food goes so bad that I loose my refrigerator? What if we leave town and can't find a place to stay? What if we stay and the house blows down?

So, I've been playing it safe, buying a cooler, making extra ice, storing water, filling the gas tank. Even if we come through this okay, it'll cost hundreds of dollars. What I'm hoping for, is no storm at all, and a quite Labor Day weekend with all the events canceled.