When Katrina made landfall I was living in Pensacola, Fl. We were especially frantic because hurricane Ivan had just hit Pensacola and most of the city had not rebuilt or even stabilized their homes. My mother\'s house still had a \"blue roof\" (blue tarps on a roof after Ivan while waiting for it to be repaired). I sat at the window and watched as huge gusts of wind blew branches and leaves. As the eye of the storm came through I remember thinking, \"Oh! That wasn\'t too bad.\" You see, growing up in Florida, this was one of many hurricanes I have seen in my life and probably wouldn\'t be the last. The aftermath was worse than any storm I had ever experienced and I immediately volunteered to work with American Red Cross at one of their shelters off HWY 91 in Cantonment, Fl. While working at the shelter, I met a young newlywed couple that fundamentally shaped my view of Katrina\'s affect on New Orleans. I don\'t remember their names but their story goes something like this: \r\nThe woman was 19 and about 4\"9\'-5\"1\' tall. The man was in his late 20\'s. They had just been married and lived in New Orleans (or the surrounding area, I can\'t recall). They did not evacuate and after the storm hit they immediately wanted to get out of the city. Their car was at their home but had very little gas in it. The husband was and ex employee of the DEA and a NRA supporter. While trekking through their neighborhood looking for gas, the husband carried his wife on his shoulders and she carried a small armory. They waded through floodwaters to some cars and began siphoning gas from them. While the husband was getting gas, the wife was to be the lookout. A few cars later (while the husband is siphoning) the wife was approached by 3 men who had no intentions of helping. They attempted to rape the woman. Her husband was forced to shoot at them. He did not know whether he actually shot the men because they fled. The newlyweds were safe and were able to siphon enough gas to almost get them to the shelter I was working at. \r\nI was very touched by their story because it seemed like something out of the Wild West. The wife was pretty quiet and reserved the first couple of days at the shelter. Who could blame her after what she had been through? She was probably experiencing a bit of shock. After a few days she began to talk more. The shelter was alcohol free (obviously) and against Red Cross policies I would take them for drinks after my shifts. I felt they definitely deserved some cocktails! I kept in touch with them for a short while after the shelter closed, but eventually lost touch. I think that the husband may have started working in Mobile at the docks.\r\n