Mr. and Mrs. Menendez talked about their community and the experiences that they had living in New Orleans. They talked about the house they had to evacuate that was only two years old. They shared how socially they had a grand time in New Orleans with family and friends, talked about the festivals and balls they attended, and their neighborhood events.

Louis and Vivian evacuated from New Orleans to Houston with a large number of people. They went to the home of their son and daughter-in-law for Hurricane Katrina; they went to Austin for Hurricane Rita and lived in a trailer. They returned to their son’s home after Hurricane Rita, and stayed there for one month before they moved to their present apartment in Pearland, Texas.

They spent most of their time in Houston with family and have made few new friends with all the time it is taking to get back on track. They have had an ordeal just dealing with the insurance companies and their properties in New Orleans and the travel back and forth, frequently. They’re working on their home in New Orleans, but are very much inclined to stay here as they are becoming accustomed already.

They’ve traveled extensively and had souvenirs and videos of their travels around the world. Most of the souvenirs and all of the videos were lost. What they didn’t lose to hurricane damage, they lost to looters.