I am Grateful for Hurricane Katrina

Twenty years later, I am grateful for Hurricane Katrina.

I can hear my dad now, God rest his soul, saying, “Son, why would anyone be grateful for Katrina?”

The truth is, August 29, 2005, was a terrible day.

I remember waking up at a quarter past 6:00 AM and hearing my mother crying on the phone while screaming, “Get out of the house!” My mom and I had evacuated to Mobile, Alabama, while my dad, who had not joined us, was standing in our house in Ocean Springs with water surrounding it.

The phone lost connection, the front door literally exploded, windows shattered, and nine feet of water poured into my childhood home. Not even Hurricane Camille had done that.

For more than 24 hours, we did not know whether my dad was dead or alive. I am so grateful that when we returned to the house on August 30th, he was lying down in a patch of grass where he had cleared debris, wearing his high school Converse, eating from a jar of olives. Battered but not beaten, he had survived. Behind him, our house was gutted from one end to the other. For those of us on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, there is only life before and after Hurricane Katrina. As I reflect on that day and life afterward, I am deeply grateful for the lessons it taught me as a young man: the importance of people over possessions, perseverance, and how fortunate I am to live in a place like Mississippi. After we found dad, we headed just down the street to the historical Gulf Hills Resort, which was previously run by my grandfather. What was once a vacation spot for Al Capone and Elvis Presley now served as a refugee camp. I am grateful for my parents, siblings, friends, and the community we formed at Gulf Hills during that time. Everyone contributed what they could: some offered clothes and water, and even restaurants cleared their fridges to feed us during the first few days after the storm. Life hits hard when you lose everything you own within hours. Because of Hurricane Katrina, I learned that possessions mean so little, they don’t hold the value we give them, and they are far less important than life, family, and community.

I was 15, and we had lost everything. Over the course of two years, I lived on sidewalks, golf greens, in cars, hotel rooms, office spaces, rental homes, and FEMA trailers. Like so many Mississippians, my parents used Camille as a benchmark, and because water had never reached the house before, they did not have flood insurance.

We were in a tough spot to say the least, but my parents made the best of it, and I am so grateful for their grit and perseverance. Because of them, I never went hungry and always felt safe. By the time I was a senior in high school, we were back in the house, which was empty except for window air conditioning units. My dad had rebuilt about 80% of the home himself. It was awesome. I learned that I could achieve anything through hard work, determination, and individual initiative. As much as we learned to rely on ourselves, we also saw the incredible generosity of others.

Every day, different non-profits delivered meals to our front yard. My older brother would tell me, “You are going to eat all of that.” Even at our worst, we were still eating, and he was teaching me gratitude and perspective because other people were going without.

Acts of kindness by friends and neighbors became a regular occurrence. One day, a man who sold ketchup for a living brought us a box of ketchup. Of course, we couldn’t do much with ketchup at the time, but he was a Mississippian doing what he could to help others. In doing so, this man taught me that demonstrating kindness and simply doing your very best are things worth striving for each day, and I am grateful for both his example and generosity. The kindness I witnessed and the lessons I learned after this devastating storm marked the start of my realization that I am fortunate to live in the Magnolia State. Hurricane Katrina decimated Mississippi, and while the state often does not get the recognition it deserves, Mississippians responded as best they could for a disaster nobody could have been prepared for. I recently visited with a successful businessman in Batesville, and I asked him, “What makes your business so successful?” He responded, “I hire Mississippians.” I think that sums it up. My family lost everything, but we never went without. I attribute that to Mississippians, our leaders in government, local and state emergency management agencies, schools, non-profits, and neighbors. Mississippians value life, family, and community—they are hardworking and capable of anything. They are generous in spirit and mightier than the category 5 surge itself. I am lucky to live here. Hurricane Katrina opened my eyes to this truth. So yes, I do not want to rewind the clock or go back, and I can do without the devastation, but I am grateful for the lessons Hurricane Katrina taught me.