Fairhope Woman Remembers New Orleans Nightmare
Aug 24, 2006 06:33 PM
By Jeff Barker
FAIRHOPE - "All of these pictures were taken after Katrina," said Angela Knight. The collection of family photos, hanging on the wall in Fairhope, started over for the Knight family a year ago. That's when she, her fiance, children, and extended family were all living in the New Orleans area. Then Katrina trapped Knight on the third story of the only place above water in her neighborhood - an apartment building. She watched her two cars disappear.
After a couple of days helicopters kept flying overhead, so she got out her video camera. "That's what made us so angry. The helicopters came and took pictures and wouldn't help. This was the fourth day."
That's when word began to spread that there was salvation at the Superdome, with plenty of food and comfort.
"People were able to start some of the boats. That's how we got some people out," she said. Knight didn't have a boat. "What did you do with the refrigerator, again?" asked FOX-10 News reporter Jeff Barker. "We took the doors off the refrigerator and flipped it over the third floor. We put the kids in," she said. They floated a half a mile to the interstate.
"Did you realize the magnitude of what was going on?" asked Barker. "I thought we would be back home in a couple of days," she said.
They slept on the unforgiving slab of Interstate ten, and then began a long hike. "We walked 26 miles. Started that morning and made it that evening," said Knight.
Nine hours later, Knight and her family made it to the Superdome. But it would not turn out to be salvation. It was a miserable three days in the hot dark stench of the dome, which led to a two day bus ride to Texas. "My son said we're going to die, going to die. I said no, it's okay to cry. Next month we're going to be laughing about this," she said.
It wasn't a month, but the laughter finally came. "My co-workers are pretty funny," said Knight. She works at Thomas Hospital in Fairhope and loves to call Alabama home. When she and her fiance, Chantez Jones arrived in Baldwin County, they had nothing. "Just the curtains and the clothes we have," she said.
Everything was given to them by the community - from the dishes Knight uses to cook Cajun food, to the furniture in the house, and the car in the driveway. It's a fresh start courtesy of her new friends in her new hometown. "I will never forget, but I will move on. I have moved on," said Knight.
http://www.fox10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5323475 The Video link is in red where it say video included.
