September 06, 2005
Baton Rouge traffic has just gotten totally out of control. You know how I feel about the hurricane victims- the same as you. We all feel terrible for them and we're doing everything we can to help them. This is not a bash on these folks. But our traffic has gotten really, really bad. I spent an extra TWO HOURS in traffic today. With three kids in the car. With the price of gas and an already very busy schedule, this alarms me! We didn't move to a huge city because we wanted to avoid this type of life, and now there is nothing I can do about it. The town of Baton Rouge has changed in the last ten days, some good ways, some bad, but definitely it's not ever going to be the same again. We suddenly have twice the number of people in the city, and only half the needed roads, stores, police force, EVERYTHING. It's going to take a long time to comfortably accomodate all the people who stay permanently in BR.
Please, don't yell at me. I am not being ungrateful, I realize that this is inconsequential compared to the Big Picture. But this affects me, too, and I am frustrated. I suppose it's something that I have to adjust to, that we all have to adjust to. Sometimes I wonder if life will ever be normal around here again. I have avoided the news just to have a break from the tragedy of it all, but that is difficult because it's everywhere you look. I am reminded at every turn that Louisiana has suffered a crippling blow. It's depressing.
Well, that's it. Enough whining. I needed to vent, and now I have, and I feel better. Patrick is fixing up his bike to ride to school, and we are walking to the stores nearest us when we need to. Trips into town have been severely cut back, and I guess we'll wander out only when it's absolutely necessary. We all have to make changes.
Hopefully, some of them will be for the better.
Take a deep breath. You have your family. You have your home. Your husband is still on track to finish school in less than a year. Your family's plans have not been altered by this hurricane.
Yes, you are waiting in longer traffic lines. Yes, it is harder to get around town. Yes, Baton Rouge has doubled in size; and the infrastructure is not capable of handling the capacity.
All those things are frustrating, and your feelings are normal. However, in less than a year, you will be settling into life in a new place. The future you and Patrick envisioned for yourselves and your family will be reality.
Posted by: Joey at September 6, 2005 10:48 PMShannon,
I hear you, and it's difficult not to complain out loud. I find that when I stop and think about it, about just how good it is for us(we still have our homes, our cars, our roads, our stores), I breathe deeply and find an alternate route. This morning, on the way into town at 6:30am, traffic was already backing up to I-10. I heard on the radio that at 8:00 it was backed up past I-10 and not moving. Yes, it's difficult, but how much more difficult would it be to have lost our homes?
Bring on the traffic.
Oooo, that's scary.
We tried to take some evacuees in our state and they even opened a couple old schools and started setting them up and now today they're saying, "No, they're not coming after all, it's too far away from their home." Strange.
