Above is a picture of a flooded Denham Springs Junior High School. Nobody knew that school would be out for so long or that the flood would cause such major damage.
It has been just over a year since the flood that left many without a bed to sleep in, without a place to call their own. Friday, August 12, 2016 is a day many people will never forget. Nearly one third of all homes were lost. Memories stored in old photographs were gone forever. Nostalgia will haunt the dark corners of the minds of young and old alike. Over one hundred and fifty thousand homes were flooded and luckily mine was not one. My grandmother’s house, however, got nearly two feet of water. Not thinking water would get inside until the very last minute, nothing was put up and almost everything was lost.
What I remember most vividly is standing on a chair on the front porch with one of my best friends watching the water slowly rise and eventually enter the house. The next thing I remember is a phone call from the nursing home saying that my grandpa was not well and an ambulance was not able to get there due to rising waters. Exactly one week after the flood, we got news that he had passed. My family was overwhelmed with funeral arrangements and salvaging what we could from the house before everything grew mold. Seeing the house completely empty made me feel equally empty. Five people, two dogs, and one cat moved into my house and a dark rain cloud seemed to hang over everyone. Depression loomed over us for months.
Now, everybody is in a much better state of mind and there are two less people in my house. I still think about last August often and get sad, but I know that it was just another obstacle to overcome. High school started about a month ago and it is amazing to see how far our town has come since that tragic event.