Published: August 31, 2008 12:31 am      

Evacuees stop, stay in Meridian

Quickly turning into the parking lot of Wendy's on 22nd Ave. Saturday afternoon, Theron Ferry and his family exited their vehicle and headed straight for the restaurant.

"I'm sorry if I seem a little rushed; it's the anxiety," said Ferry as he grasped the handle of the carrier that held his sleeping baby. His wife and other two children continued inside the restaurant.

"The last time, we lost our house located in Lakeview (La.) – it had 11 feet of water, " Ferry said, referring to the havoc Hurricane Katrina wreaked on his family's home just three years ago.

"We finished our (new) house one year after Katrina. And now – here we go again."

“Again” as in Hurricane Gustav, the storm which is expected to make landfall somewhere between Morgan City, La., and Mobile, Ala. sometime Monday.

The Ferrys were among countless numbers of Louisiana residents who either stopped in Meridian Saturday to refuel – with gas and food – or to reach what they hoped to be a temporary safe haven at one of several shelters set up throughout the city.

"This time if things turn out like it did with Katrina, we have no interest in going back," said Larry Taylor of New Orleans, who, along with his girlfriend Melvie Hodges and their son, Malik, were among the first evacuees to arrive at a shelter set up at Central United Methodist Church.

"We had just started to rebuild our lives – began to replace some of the things we lost," Taylor said. " ... It's not so much the loss, but how vulnerable we are. It's like we've abandoned our post; what we left behind, anyone can go in and take it."

Gina Rogers of Baton Rouge, La., was headed to Townley Ala., with her two children and another family member when they stopped at a Meridian restaurant for something to eat along the way. Her husband decided to remain at their home and brave the storm should it come.

"The electricity was out so long the last time that we thought now was a good time to go visit family," said Rogers, who showed her pride for her home state by wearing a Louisiana State University T-shirt. While her home was untouched by Hurricane Katrina, Rogers said many of her friends were not as fortunate.

"I have a lot of friends in South Louisiana who had just redone their houses and now they are packing up to leave," she said. "I feel so sorry for them."

Demond Brown knows how Rogers' friends feel. Also from New Orleans, Brown lost 90 percent of his home to Hurricane Katrina.

"We just finished rebuilding the house and have to go through this again," he said as he and his family headed into Wendy's for a bite to eat before continuing to Georgia.

And though somewhat frustrated by the threat of another hurricane, Ferry did express some pride at his preparedness this time.

"We brought some things with us, but I took pictures of everything in our house and have the pictures with me," he said. "We'll replace everything lost with insurance."

Even in his own dark hour, Taylor's thoughts were on the welfare of others.

"I pray for the people (affected by the hurricane)," he said, as he and Hodges rested from their long drive on cots in the shelter's sleeping area – surrounding by more than 100 empty beds.

"I can only imagine what they are going through right now," Taylor said.