"My name is Judy Migliore. Here is the story of how my husband Santo and I came to reside in Windsong.
We are from a community east of New Orleans, L.A called Violet St. Bernard. Our jobs, our homes, our lives were all gone in a matter of a few hours; on Monday August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina destroyed it all.
The week of August 22, 2005 began as a hectic one due to my daughter Heidi (who now also lives in Windsong with her family) going into surgery. I was at the hospital with Heidi watching the news about this Hurricane Katrina, maybe coming on shore near us. No one knew for sure, we were being told to be on guard in case. On Saturday night Heidi’s Doctor discharged her and told her to go home and possibly prepare for the storm.
My other daughter called on Sunday August 28, 2005 at 5 am and said it was not looking bad for St. Bernard or New Orleans; the storm had not changed directions as early forecast predicted. She said that they were going to leave and go further west of New Orleans to stay with family. She would be taking Heidi’s two children so I would only need to worry about Heidi; who was not able to travel due to her surgery. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, “THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM!” Then weather patterns changed and our lives took a turn. Sunday night came and so did the horror. At around 9:30 pm we lost power. The last news we heard on TV was for anyone left in Violet to seek shelter. I waited all night in our bathroom praying the rosary asking our Lord to please protect and keep us safe. Let us see our families once again.
Daylight came the next morning and I knew it was going to be getting better. Things always get better in the daytime, or at least this is what I thought. As we came out from the bathroom we were looking out of the back of the house and it still looked pretty rough. I was able to lie down on my sofa for about twenty minutes when I heard Santo, my husband, shouting; “get to the attic the water is here”. I could not understand what water? We were trying to get to the attic stairs in the garage but the force of the water was pushing us like we were toys. Santo managed to grab a basket that I had prepared with food and supplies. He immediately started trying to cut a hole in the roof due to the water rising to the roof of the attic. Eight feet of water filled our homes in just of a matter of 20 minutes. After a few hours of chopping we were able to cut a hole in the roof and have some amount of fresh air. All day long on that Monday we just waited for someone to come and help us. Finally the coast guard flew over our house and rescued us from the roof top of our home. We were taken to a neighbor’s two story house to spend the night. The conditions were very unpleasant; due to the smell from rotting food and the hot temperatures.
On Tuesday we were able to live our neighborhood and go stay with a friend. Luckily I had packed a purse with our ID’s, insurance cards, money, and cell phones. I managed to get a call to Jon, Heidi’s husband to let him know what was happening, so I knew someone would be looking for us. The wait seemed like an eternity, but what we did not realize was that all of New Orleans was flooded.
The next day we eventually found our way to a barge on the Mississippi River. Here with about 1000 other people we were sent up the river to a ferry landing. We were hopeful that buses would come to take us to a more safe area. This is how we learned that Hurricane Katrina had come in as a Cat 4 storm. The barge we were on was hot and there was no food or water. After a wait of maybe 5 to 6 hours the buses came for us. The bus took us west of New Orleans to Lafayette, LA. I had been trying to call my family on my cell phone for three days but I was unable to get a signal. Finally Thursday September 1, 2005 my cell phone worked and I was able to speak to my daughter. I told them where we were and where to meet us. At 5 am September 1 we were reunited!
Heidi and her family left on Sunday September 4 to go stay with her husband’s parents in Social Circle. Santo and I eventually made our way to Georgia to visit for Thanksgiving. During our visit Heidi took us to her new home in Windsong. Santo and I liked the area and we especially loved all the trees, the hilly roads, and the birds singing. We went home talked about maybe making a big change in our life by relocating here to Social Circle. We came very close to death. We figured God spared us so we needed to take him up on his offering. After several months of talking back and forth with Presidio Homes we did it and went to closing on May 15, 2006.
I drove to our new community on the 1st of June and Santo came a day later. We hope to have a quiet life here. No hurricanes, no flood water, just peaceful times; as we listen to the sounds of the birds and our grandchildren.
Many thanks to you at Presidio Homes for making it happen for us. God Bless each and every one of you.
Sincerely,
Judy and Santo Migliore"
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Equal Housing Opportunity |