Happy New Year to all, and I hope we all really do have a happy and better year than last. It is really strange around here since Katrina. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, very mixed emotions. Sometimes when I'm at home it seems that nothing has changed. But when I look at tv or go somewhere....reality. We went from no places open like McDonalds to "drive thru only" 11am to 3 pm. Then 11am to 5pm, then to 7pm. And now inside is open for several hours a day. Some places like McDonalds, Wendy's, and Burger King have not reopened yet. Grocery stores were a nightmare, staying open for only a few hours each day, with shelves not fully stocked. Now they are better stocked and stay open till 7PM at least. The 24 hour WalMart was only open from 9am to 4pm in the beginning, when it finally reopened. Now they stay open till 9pm!!!!! Never thought that would be such a big deal, but if you worked during the day, shopping was next to impossible. Another 24 hour WalMart in the area still hasn't reopened. If you want to go out to eat at a restaurant (not all are open), be prepared to wait in line. The places like Home Depot don't have hardly any plants. That area is being used for storage. They say that Jefferson Parish has about 83% of it's pre-Katrina population, but traffic is really really bad. There are lots of out of state workers here. Housing is a real problem. People that had to evacuate say they can't come back because they have no job and/or no place to stay. Yet almost every business that is open has "now hiring" signs and are struggling to keep staffed. All the out of state workers are staying somewhere. It is soooooo ironic!!!! I work for the public school system and we have about 80% of the number of it's pre-Katrina students. Some of those numbers are students from the surrounding areas that were devastated. They think that more people and students will be returning this month, but not sure what to expect. They notified us of the "possibility" of a rif, only time will tell. I don't know if you all went through what we are going through, but is is rough. And this area is not the hardest hit area. A lot of places are not just damaged, but totally destroyed or gone completely. Just wiped off the face of this earth, nothing at all left, nothing. On a lighter note, I only lost about 25% of my plants, not bad because I thought I had lost them all. They were inside the house in the dark with no water for almost 3 weeks, before we were allowed to return home. We had only minor damage compared to a lot of others. There are so many "naked spots".....many, many trees lost.

I do hope that 2006 is really a better year for everyone, but you know what "time" is only 6 months away. I don't see how anybody can actually be ready for it.

I want to thank you all again for your concern and offers of assistance.

Happy New Year.....A statement that has a new meaning and is not just a phrase that is usually said.

Phillis

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