Longklaw.com

I have never been really close to my father. We rarely speak and at this point the thought of him rarely even comes up. I can’t say that I even know of very many people on his side of the family. I never had much exposure to them once I became old enough to actually remember things. The thought of them don’t often cross my mind either.

I am embarrassed to say that in the past 8 days the thought never popped into my head that my father had a sister that lived in New Orleans. Last night I found out that she was a victim of Hurricane Katrina. I don’t have any details at the moment.

I never really knew my Aunt Rose. My mom had told me before that at one point we would drive to New Orleans almost every weekend to visit Rose. Those family trips down there ended when my parents divorced shortly before my third birthday. I’m pretty sure that was the last that Rose and I came in contact with each other.

When I was about to start my co-op in New Orleans, my mom told me that I should get in touch with Rose if I ever needed anything. I never had any major problems and never went to see my aunt. In the 15 months that I lived in New Orleans, I was so close but never took the opportunity to go meet her again. It was one of those things that I kept saying that I would do but never took the time to actually do.

My mom says that Rose was a very nice woman who never did or said anything bad to anybody. Even though I never really knew her, I feel saddened right now and I could tell over the phone that my mom felt the same way. I’m sure I’ll be learning more about her in the coming days.