Katrina Update # 88

August 29, 2015; 2:00 PM

Ten Years Later

My last update was 7 years ago. Let's start with where we left off: Gustav. We ended up evacuating, but it was really more out of an abundance of caution. It didn't take near as long to evacuate as it had for Katrina, and we went with several people to Fernanda Mera-Weekly's mother-in-law's house in Dothan, AL. I didn't write much about Gustav because it was really more of a forced vacation. Leslie Weekly was an amazing host and we had plenty of cooks with us to make some of the most amazing food she had ever had as a small amount of repayment for her hospitality. We returned to New Orleans after 5 days, to a home without electricity, but otherwise undamaged.

New Orleans post-Gustav was a much different place than the post-Katrina New Orleans. The city was back on its feet, if not 100% healthy. Today, there's good news and bad news regarding New Orleans. Before Katrina there were between 1600 and 1700 police officers in New Orleans and today they struggle to maintain a force of 1200, although Mayor Landrieu promises 1600 by 2018. It remains New Orleans #1 problem as violent crimes and murders continue to be on the rise. And, of course, there was the BP oil spill and Hurricane Issac in 2012, that happened 7 years to the day of Katrina (more about that later).

But there is also good news. Before Katrina, there were between 800 and 900 restaurants open in New Orleans. Today, according to Tom Fitzmorris there are 1408 restaurants open (and Trip Advisor lists even more than that). In 2010, the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl and it even looks like our NBA team, the Pelicans, might be contenders for an NBA championship in the next couple of years.

Since my last update, Cary and Andrea got married, and then got divorced a few years later. Adam and Megan split up and a couple years later Adam started seeing his now-wife Kasey Turgeau. Two years ago, we were blessed with our first grandchild, Benjamin Adam Rogers. Janis and I left MacSpeech and I continued working with clients in New Orleans while Janis took a job at the West Bank Levee Board (so she gets to know about incoming storms before most people in New Orleans). MacSpeech was bought out by Nuance, Inc. and with the proceeds from the sale of my stock we were able to purchase Buffa's Bar & Restaurant in December of 2010.

Cary still works at Coop's Place, but also helps manage Buffa's, especially late at night on weekends. He has a new girlfriend, Christie, who we have all welcomed into our family. Jarret moved in with us shortly before we bought Buffa's and just moved out again last month. He spends a lot of time managing the kitchen at Buffa's. Adam is the General Manager and I help with accounting and marketing. Janis chips in, too, by making cheesecakes we sell for dessert on the weekends.