I was working at Krispy Kreme in Metairie when I first heard about Hurricane Katrina coming toward the Gulf Coast. It was a typical Saturday and I really did not think the storm would be a major threat. We had a false alarm from Ivan last year that I really did not think anything of it. Our local owner called the manager on duty and said we would be closing the store early. We gave away all of the leftover doughnuts to the local firefighers and cops. \r\n\r\nI live out in LaPlace, so I had to drive over the spillway to get home. The contraflow was already in effect once I got onto the Interstate. I half-heartedly joke about how I was able to drive on the wrong side of the Interstate. Once I got home my parents informed me that they were not evacuating. The traffic had been so bad during Ivan that I felt this was best. Last year I was working on the West Bank and it took me four hours to get home. I did not want to relive that again. My family prepared for the storm by going to the grocery store to pick up last minute items. \r\n\r\nWhen I woke up Sunday my mother informed me that Katrina was moved up to a Category 5 hurricane. At this point I was getting scared. I really did not know if it was safe for us to stay. But at this point it was too late for us to leave. I remember going through the day worried and unsure if we had made the right decision to stay.\r\n\r\nMy family lost power at our home about three in the morning on Monday. My mother said she could not sleep through the night because of all the noise and she was afraid that the roof would come off of the house. I remember looking out the front door once it was light outside and the rain and wind was violent. We actually watched our neighbor\'s fence fall apart and blow down the street. My father had boarded up the windows of our house. But somehow the board on my sister\'s window came off and was wedged against the front door. I remember being scared that the window would blow in.\r\n\r\nAfter the storm had passed my family was without power for about five days. We would listen to the radio and hear all of the scary stories of people trapped in their roofs pleading for someone to come rescue them. At this point I could no longer listen to it since it made me so sad. I remember hearing that New Orleans was flooded since there was a break in the levee, and I was frightened. It was not until we got our power back and was able to watch television that I had a full grasp of what had happened. It is one thing to hear that news on the radio and try to imagine it. But when you see the pictures in color on the television it is just so heartbreaking. I remember learning about all the looting and feeling so sick. I could not imagine why people would go around stealing luxary goods at a time like that. \r\n\r\nThis storm has definately affected me and I will never be able to forget it. I have family in Buffalo, New York and they were scared for us because of what they saw on the television and news. But they will never really grasp what has happened down here. Till this day I am still sad when I see pictures of my city flooded. There was a story on 60 minutes on Sunday night. The guy actually suggested that the government forget about rebuilding New Orleans. I was upset by this since the city is full of history and culture. It would be a shame not to rebuild. I feel they need to develop a better levee system as well as a better plan to help people evacuate just in case this happens again. I truly hope we never have to relive this, since it was such a terrible event.