Thirty-Four Days of Katrina is my account of before, during and after the storm of the century. I witnessed many different areas of human behavior along with unbelievable destruction. Political blunders and media frenzies were the order of the day. I give a personal touch to stories untold. The following is my introduction for the book. Hurricane Katrina caught everyone off guard. This is as truthful as we can get. We knew it was going to be a powerful storm but the one thing we didn't anticipate was the extremely powerful storm surge that almost completely wiped the Mississippi Gulf Coast off the map. In certain areas it did! We didn't anticipate the damage to the old levee system in New Orleans. We didn't anticipate the need to evacuate thousands of people from these areas until it was too late. Why? Because hurricanes were a fact of life and the destruction from past storms lulled us into a false sense of security. Sure it could be bad but we have ridden these storms out before, this one would be no different. Because of these factors Katrina was a disaster even before landfall. FEMA's primary function and concern is after the disaster, not before. Katrina placed FEMA square in the spotlight of the area and also the nation. Enormous amounts of resources were gathered to aid the victims that also led to possible mismanagement in certain areas. With an effort the size of the relief area there is always the possibility of poor decisions and even misdeeds. I personally did not witness anything FEMA officials or personnel did to be ashamed of or that could be deemed mistrustful, though allegations spread like wildfire fueled by media. I suppose if the truth be known, the aftermath of Katrina was more a media spectacle than what it should have been. We all watched the news. We all heard the stories told by different people. We all have an opinion as to what went wrong and what could have been done differently. After reading this account of the relief effort I will leave it up to the reader to make their own decision and come to their own conclusion.
About the Author: With over thirty-one years behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle my world goes beyond the limitations of a desk, office or business. There was little more to do than witness my surroundings as I traveled our nation's highways. I gained an insight to our world few will appreciate. Many changes occurred during my time, many more will follow. I don't consider myself to be a writer which led to many arguments with my wonderful editor. What I am is a storyteller attempting to follow in the footsteps of great authors. Mark Twain and Louis Lamour are my favorites. Not to be categorized with these wonderful writers I seek connection with readers same as they. You can say I carry forth the torch of adventure and intrigue. A dream of childhood when I read my first library book "Tawny, Desert Dog" (now Desert Dog, revised 1975) by Jim Kjelgaard. Being a child of around age ten, the story left me wanting more. The storytellers of my ancestry played a major role in where I am today. As a child I sat spellbound listening to my elders tell tales of their youth. The exciting experiences they lived growing into adulthood. Once we advance into our own adulthood daily struggles leave us wanting to relive those great accounts. Too quickly one by one the torch of responsibility is passed to the listener. Such is the cycle of life.