Posted on 09/12/2005 3:52:56 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
Eighty-five-year-old Clothilde Mack watched in horror as, inch-by-inch, her world slipped away.
The flood waters had already overtaken her car, her home — and possibly her three beloved cats.
Now, as she stood alone in the attic of her house, the elderly New Orleans woman feared that the water would soon overtake her as well.
(snip)
At one point, the water covered her body up to her neck.
In a journal, the elderly widow wrote, “I have lost everything in the house. I don’t know what damage (there is) on the outside. I am sure I lost my car.”
(snip)
Writing on damp paper, Mrs. Mack found that her journal helped to calm her nerves and helped her to make sense of what was happening.
She wrote of her cats, whom she refers to as her children. She spoke of her insurance policies. She outlined her final wishes in a will.
To her favorite niece and nephew, she left her house.
To anyone who found her journal if she died, she asked that they check her attic for her cats.
On Thursday, Sept. 1., she wrote, “The water is standing still. I don’t know if my cats are still alive.” She carefully wrote the names of each of her cats.
“Mike is a black male. Cindy is gray with plenty (of) white, a female. Jill is gray with a little white, a female. She used to sleep with me every night.”
Jill is named after a character on her favorite daytime soap, “The Young and the Restless.”
For 10 long, sweltering days, Mrs. Mack was trapped in the upper levels of her home. Four of those days, she spent without food or water.
(Excerpt) Read more at greene.xtn.net ...
That's one tough lady.
Yeah, everyone....go to the link. NEAT picture of a miracle..!!!
WONDERFUL story West. Thanks for posting it. Hey Grand's grammy. Hows Brad?????
What did they do to deserve that insult?
She's writing this in the attic of a flooded home that will most likely have to be bulldozed and hauled away at considderable expense.
I wonder if NOLA building codes will be modified to require Attic Exits?
Brad? Why he is The Cutest and Smartest and Most Kind and Wonderfullest Child Ever Born!
Thanks for asking!! ;)
No words, just happy tears.
Aunt in the attic?
Great post, what a tough old lady Mrs. Mack is.
God Bless Miss Clothilde!
God bless her indeed.
Well, if you would have taken that car to say, Baton Rouge...
Why didn't any of those nieces and nephews call their aunt and invite her to evacuate to their homes before the storm? I don't get that part.
Tough lady. But I guess if the water is in the attic, the car might not be doing too well unless she parked it on the roof.
Hey, I just realized there are going to be a LOT of "gently used" cars from down South making their way to the used car lots around the country. Before you buy that beauty, check for a foot of mud inside the doors. Some b4$t4rd tried to sell me a 'flood car' once. They cleaned it up pretty well, but there was dried mud inside the air vents and there were paint blisters (but no rust) on the door seam that squirted out water when you pushed them.
Like the busses, it was probably fine before the storm.
I only mention it because we were told that so many people had no way out because they didn't own cars.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.