Dayne Sherman on Hurricane Katrina

Dayne Sherman, author of Welcome to the Fallen Paradise, is a Louisiana native who evacuated just before Hurricane Katrina hit. Knowing how close this man is to the land and the soil, I’m sure it was a difficult choice to leave but he loaded up the car with family and dogs and headed to the safety of relatives in Arkansas.

A very hip colleague on The Velvet mentioned a piece Dayne wrote about the hurricane, his native soil, and what it would take to rebuild. So I wholeheartedly recommend Coping with Katrina presented here by SoMA Review.

One of my favorite bits of this piece is an amazing scene where Dayne describes stopping on his drive out of Louisiana for lunch. Still slightly unsure if this hurricane is going to be that different from all the others, Dayne’s convoy pulls over for some burgers and corndogs. Standing there waiting for his food, Dayne notices that the stoplights are all just yellow flashing caution lights. Slow down, be careful, but don’t stop. It’s an eerily mundane given tremendous import due to the circumstances.

But I won’t give too much away. Just read it.