My husband serves our country in the US Coast Guard and we were being transferred to Houma, La a few months before Katrina hit. Our belongings were being stored on the east side of New Orleans when Katrina hit as we were living in our camper while looking for suitable and affordable housing. Well, the warehouse where they stored our belongings ended up with over 8\' of water so we lost over 70% of our belongings. Now, that was a hard one to swallow but losing one\'s home is a lot worse and I really felt for those who did lose their homes and more so for the families who lost their loved ones which brings me to my next train of thoughts:\r\n\r\nOKAY EVERYONE - I LIVED IN SOUTHERN LOUISIANA FOR 47 YEARS. I MOVED OUT OF STATE DUE TO MY HUSBAND\'S JOB RELOCATION. I BELIEVE THAT NEW ORLEANS SHOULDN\'T BE TRYING TO BUILD ITSELF BACK UP - THAT CITY LIES IN A SOUP BOWL AND IS JUST SITTING LIKE A DEAD DUCK WAITING FOR ANOTHER MAJOR DISASTER - NEW ORLEANS SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BUILT THE WAY IT WAS BUILT IN THE FIRST PLACE - I MEAN, COME ON, HOW MANY YEARS CAN MAN-MADE DAMS AND LEVEE\'S KEEP A HUGE LAKE OF MILLIONS OF TONS OF WATER BACK LIKE LAKE PONCHATRAIN WHEN STRONG HURRICANE WINDS ARE DRIVING IT\'S WATER OVER AND ONTO NEW ORLEANS AND TO TRY TO KEEP THE POWERFUL CURRENTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FROM TAKING IT\'S NATURAL COURSE - SOONER OR LATER THEY WILL FAIL - IT WAS DISASTROUS ENOUGH FOR KATRINA - YET, THEY DIDN\'T LEARN THEIR LESSON - ALL THEY COULD THINK ABOUT WAS GETTING THEIR \'BIG EASY\' BUILT BACK UP AGAIN -THE BAD THING ABOUT GUSTAV ENDING UP NOT BEING ANOTHER BIG ONE IS THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY SINCE THE LEVEE\'S HELD THIS TIME - BUT, WILL THOSE LEVEE\'S HOLD BACK 15\' OR MORE OF POWERFUL FORCEFUL WATER SURGES WHEN THE NEXT BIG ONE HITS AND WILL IT TOTALLY DESTROY THAT SOUP BOWL AREA?! HOW MANY MORE LIVES WILL BE LOST IN THE NEXT BIG ONE? 16,000 OR 160,000 OR OVER A MILLION? 1600 LIVES WERE SADLY LOST IN KATRINA - IF PEOPLE DON\'T TAKE HEED TO FUTURE EVACUATIONS MORE LIVES WILL BE LOST - IS IT HARD MOVING AWAY FROM EVERYTHING YOU\'VE EVER KNOWN AND LOVED? YES, IT IS, BECAUSE I\'M LIVING 33 HRS. AWAY FROM MY HOME WITH ONE STEP-CHILD WHO GOES BACK TO LOUISIANA TO VISIT HER MOM EVERY OTHER HOLIDAY AND FOR 2 MONTHS EVERY SUMMER AND MY HUSBAND WHO BTW IS GONE FOR UP TO 2 MONTHS AT A TIME DUE TO HIS WORK - BUT, FAMILIES FROM NEW ORLEANS CAN MAKE IT A LOT EASIER AS THEY\'LL MORE THAN LIKELY MOVE TOGETHER BECAUSE BELIEVE ME, A HOUSE IS JUST A HOUSE - BUT FAMILY IS A TREASURE TO BE CHERISHED -THERE\'S SUPPORT, LOVE AND SECURITY WHEN FAMILIES STICK TOGETHER AND THEY CAN LIVE IN ANY HOUSE ANYWHERE AS LONG AS THEY ARE TOGETHER. SOUTHERN LOUISIANIANS ARE VERY CLOSE KNITTED TO THEIR IMMEDIATE AND NOT SO IMMEDIATE FAMILIES. 1ST AND 2ND COUSINS ARE MORE LIKE SIBLINGS IN SOUTHERN LOUISIANA AND IN MY OPINION THEY SHOULD LEAVE NEW ORLEANS AND START OVER AGAIN SOMEWHERE ELSE BEFORE THEY LOSE THEMSELVES IN THE NEXT BIG ONE THAT WILL EVENTUALLY HIT NEW ORLEANS AGAIN - WHO KNOWS, IT MIGHT BE \'IKE\' THAT WILL BE THE FINISH OF NEW ORLEANS, IT MAY BE NEXT YEAR\'S HURRICANE, OR THE NEXT OR THE NEXT OR THE NEXT -WHO KNOWS? - BUT, REALLY, ARE YOU NEW ORLEANIANS REALLY WANTING TO TAKE THAT CHANCE?