New Orleans man returns to his rural roots

Author: Joshua Carson

Craig Strachan was one of the lucky ones. Heeding the warnings of the local government, he and his girlfriend Valerie Leous collected a few personal belongings - important documents, light clothing, pictures - and evacuated from the city of New Orleans. Within days, everything they had left was washed away.

Strachan, 28, a native of Barre, Vt., had recently moved to New Orleans to be with his girlfriend and start working in sales for a distribution company. The couple settled in an apartment uptown, not far from Tulane University and a few miles away from the Superdome. Leous, 24, had moved south three years earlier after graduating from the University of Vermont and was working as a physical therapist at a local nursing home.

"I wanted a change of scenery and to get out of the northeast," explained Buffalo native Leous during a telephone interview. "I planned on moving back up, but not this soon."

Strachan and Leous heard about the hurricane before it became serious, but initially did not plan on evacuating. Like the storm that passed through a few months prior, they anticipated rain and power loss, but not much else. As conditions worsened and the hurricane strengthened to a Category Five, the couple left for Atlanta one day before the mandatory evacuation ordered by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. By Tuesday, Aug. 30, the flood defenses of the city began to fail and the couple's neighborhood was flooded with five to six feet of water, most likely destroying the possessions they left behind in their first-floor apartment.

"We have neighbors who were just going to wait it out," Leous said. "They didn't have a car and just moved in a week before that. Hopefully they heard about everything. They didn't even have a TV."

As the couple made their way up north by car with only the minimal clothing they initially packed, they were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from strangers throughout the country. On virtually every radio station, announcements requesting donations and aid were broadcast. On the border of New York and Pennsylvania, Strachan was given a free meal, and when his car battery died, the mechanic repaired it for free.

"It is comforting that people so far away are caring about us. They even honk when they see our [Louisiana] license plate."

At this point, Strachan and Leous are getting readjusted to life in Vermont. Both are currently unemployed and living with Strachan's parents in Barre. Having had no time to prepare financially for such a predicament, the couple now plans to find temporary jobs in Vermont and start making money again. At that point they will decide where to call home, and while many aspects of the relocation are uncertain, they know for sure it will not be Louisiana.

"I want to go [back] to have that closure but I am definitely not going to move back and it definitely will never be the same," said Leous.

But Strachan is excited to be back in a rural environment after nine years of being away. As a skier and mountain enthusiast, he has already noticed differences in the short time he has been back. "In New Orleans you see murders on television every night and in Vermont it's more like 'a cow has been born'." While he confesses that the people are amazing, the lifestyle change from living alone to being back with parents is a difficult one for Strachan. "It sucks," he said.

But he and his girlfriend are receiving help. The local American Red Cross in Vermont donated $360 and both have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to qualify for a $2,000 credit. Strachan even received a personal $10 donation from an elderly lady in his town.

On the national level, however, he expressed sentiments consistent with other Americans.

"I'm not too happy with how the government responded. I'm disgusted to be honest with you. It makes me sick. I'm not a big Bush supporter anyway and it was just a mess. If something happens again I don't think we are prepared. I was very disappointed."