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Health & Fitness

Many blessings, Many Thanks, Snow Jam 2014

As I reflect on my experience with Snow Jam 2014, I first must give many thanks to Mrs. Ann Spiller who assisted me on Tuesday January 28, 2014. Mrs. Spiller helped me pick up my children from school and could not get back home. As we got closer to Six Flags Drive, traffic was backed up and we decided to stop at the Wingate Hotel( Six Flags area). Because I had sprained my ankle we could not walk to my apartment located on Six Flags Drive. Rooms were booked at the hotel, so the first night we had to sit in the lobby along with 50 other strandees. On Wednesday we were encouraged not to venture out until the roads were clear so we got a room. On Thursday we could finally go home. Two days away from home, some people spent 20 hours trying to get home. I must say at least we were able to get home. Marietta Daily Journal had a quote in their editorial calling the snow jam "Katrina on the Hooch". Well unlike Katrina evacuees, many did not return home in 20 hours, many did not return home in two days, the sad reality is that many Katrina evacuees have yet returned home. Also when New Orleans residents  were told to leave, they were stuck on interstates, and out of city limits. Those who had to stay behind had to stay cooped up in attics or on roof tops to get away from rising water or if they did not get flooded out they had to endure weeks or months of power outages. To get to a house that was not affected by Katrina you had to leave the state Louisiana. So our snow jam that may have lasted two days looks like a cake walk compared to Katrina. When we returned home it was to a warm house. Many thanks and blessings go out to the stores, hotels, gas stations who kept their doors open late so strandees could get warm, get gas and food. Many thanks to the schools who kept our children safe. A big shout out to Lindley Sixth Grade assistant principal Mr. Bailey, he was in communication with everyone from the school. We received up to date robo calls and texts from the school about the children who could not get picked up.  A smile was on my face when we received the call that the children were loading up on the bus preparing to go home on Wednesday. Many thanks to everyone who helped out their neighbors, friends and strangers during the Snow Jam. Yes it may have felt like a scene from the movie  "The Day of tomorrow", yes we returned home, yes when we see another forecast for snow we will stay home, keep our children home. Yes we will know that for two days we will have to stay inside. You see in New Orleans, the stores were closed, schools were closed, hotels were filled up houses were flooded.  Let's count our blessings that that snow jam was not Katrina.

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