The power dies suddenly in Hattisburg. Everyone runs outside. To watch the storm from the covered porch.
On the radio, the news reports that the eye wall is maybe an hour from Gulfport. Katrina is ready to get the party started on The Gulf Coast. For her, the best is yet to come.
I try to dial my parents again, to warm them. No calls connect. Try my grandparents. No calls connect. Nobody's cell works. Nobody's land line. Nothing.
I can still hear my mother crying. She won't know. I can't get through. To any of them.
Alone, in Judy's bedroom, I whisper my first prayer in a decade, whispering: Please, God. Protect them. Please.
I won't let the children see me cry. I'll dry up. Join them on the porch. And watch the storm engulf us.