Meeting the Homeowner

In New Orleans, I am working on Irma's house. We have been painting and doing small things around her house in an effort to finish the project up. Today we made a lot of progress in painting the outside of the house and we should complete the house by tomorrow. We also got the chance to talk to Irma today. She told us her story of how she stayed through Hurricane Katrina and was the first one to return and live in her house in her neighborhood. She returned one month after leaving her home upon the completion of the storm and mentioned the National Guard urging her to evacuate, but she stated that she was willing to take the chance of death to stay in her home through the storm. She is a warm, welcoming woman who showed us her home, bought us a King Cake (New Orleans tradition of Mardi Gras season), and made us hot chocolate. I look forward to speaking with her further before leaving. This is the first homeowner I have met in my three trips to New Orleans and I'm glad I got the chance to speak with someone who was directly affected by the storm, but also was helped out by volunteers such as us.