September 8, 2005

Seeking refuge in Almaden

Displaced New Orleans couple finds safe haven with daughter

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

What would you take with you if you were suddenly forced to flee your home with only what you could carry in your arms—leaving behind a lifetime of memories you may never see again?

Barbara and Buzzy Gaiennie (far left and far right) have found solace in Almaden with their daughter, Dana Arnold (center), her husband Ken (not pictured) and their three children, Kyle (front), Megan (center), and Brendan (not pictured.) Also along for the trip is Winston, a precocious 2-year-old Sheltie. Photo by Kymberli Brady.

When hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf coast on Aug. 29, hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and other coastal areas had already made their selections and sought refuge with family members, churches, and temporary shelters. Many of those who didn’t—or couldn’t—either died or waited as long as two weeks without food or water to be rescued after the floods swallowed up 80 percent of the well-known city when its levies gave way.

Barbara and Buzzy Gaiennie finally decided to evacuate on Sunday, after the National Weather Service issued a bulletin predicting “devastating damage” as a result of the Category 4 hurricane that only hours later would be upgraded to a Category 5.

They managed to corral three generations of family and extended family members to safety. With the exception of one daughter in Almaden, the entire Gaiennie family called New Orleans home—at least until it was all but wiped off the map following the worst natural disaster on U.S. soil.

Armed with only a few pictures of their streets—taken by neighbors who braved the dangerous, soggy, stench–filled paths back to a city now declared toxic, Barbara and Buzzy still don’t know exactly what they will find when they return home to Jena Street. At least it’s still standing, for it’s the only home Barbara has ever known. Her father was born there, as was she. Her children were also born there—three generations of family history line its walls.

Her sister fared rather well too, with only minor damage and a big mess to clean up. However, her two sisters-in-law lived in Waveland, Miss., one house off of the beach. Theirs was one of the hardest hit and they have nothing left to return to. 

“This is a picture of the “home” of my sisters in-laws, Penny Tyler-Kreinberg and Louise Kreinberg. They live in Waveland, Miss., one house off of the beach.  As you can see, they lost everything,” said Dana Arnold.

For now, they have found solace in Almaden with their daughter, Dana Arnold, her husband Ken, communications director for the Sharks and their three children, Brendan, 9, Kyle, 6, and Megan, 4. Aside from a few articles of clothing, all they have with them is the one thing they both agreed was too valuable to leave behind—Winston, a precocious 2-year-old Sheltie.

Barbara then confessed to something else that was too precious to her to leave behind—her LSU season tickets and parking pass. Buzzy chuckled, not at all surprised.

Now that they’ve had time to digest everything, Buzzy says as bad as it was, it wasn’t the perfect storm.
“Had it been to the west,” he said, “it would have been 10 times worse.”

“This one wasn’t even a direct hit,” agreed Barbara. “Had the levies not broke, we’d probably be back home by now.”

They are frank in their views of how the disaster was handled, especially since Buzzy also serves as the executive director of Bridge House, a treatment center for indigent alcoholics and drug addicts.

“Evacuation becomes a big problem because it becomes rather obvious that if I had 130 people or for that matter, even 150, it becomes rather serious over a long period of time with no water and no food,” he explains. “ It’s not a very healthy image and we do have a plan in place that puts those who can with their families. Operating two used car lots and a thrift store enables us to let the others take the used cars to get out of town if necessary.”
Does he think the state of Louisiana was adequately prepared?

“This is a picture of my sister’s home, Michelle Gaiennie-Tyler and Rob Tyler.  They have reports of a hole in their roof, but no other significant damage,” said Dana Arnold.

“Absolutely not—never did,” he exclaimed. “Their whole plan was based on total evacuation. They didn’t have a plan for what to do with the people who were not or could not evacuate. There’s no Plan B. We don’t even have a central command. The parish presidents, the mayor, the governor are in disagreement about what to do. They were in disagreement about the previous storm we had, which was just a tropical storm.”

At the end of the day, both Barbara and Buzzy agree that last month’s brush with Hurricane Cindy and last year’s bout with Ivan seemed to offer an up-close-and-personal look at the “wait-and-see attitude” given to potentially devastating hurricanes. But after living through the legendary Hurricane Camille in 1969 and before that a direct hit by Betsey in 1965, he says he’s learned the hard way to respect every one of them.

“When you’ve lived in a hurricane-prone area and you have been faced with storm after storm after storm that doesn’t hit, the decision to evacuate is not an easy one to make.”