Thoughts on Katrina

I am stunned by the flooding and devastation in New Orleans. It's the nightmare always feared when any hurricane threatens the city. In 1988, just 2 weeks into my freshman year at Tulane, Florence came through. They locked down the dorms, including my 12-story building, Monroe. We taped all the windows and sat in the hallways, communing and, of course, drinking hurricanes. But it was a minor one as storms go and resulted in little more than strewn debris. This time, the campus is shut down completely, indefinitely. Freshmen who had barely arrived were evacuated on Friday. Students were sent to Texas and Mississippi. I can't even imagine having to flee campus, leaving behind the belongings you had just toted in suitcases and shipped in boxes, not knowing when you can return or what will happen to your semester. It's surreal.