A few moments that changed someone's life.

It happened a while ago this year, when all the hurricanes came toward Gulf of Mexico. The storms were strong and nobody thought it’s going to affect Baton Rouge. Some people really got prepared since they have already experienced Katrina Hurricane. But some of them just got together with their friends and tried to have a good time inside till all the outside stress is gone.

It was Sunday morning and my phone was off. I wasn't able to get calls or messages anyway. Even so I was thinking about my friend Danny, if he is still in town or if he wanted to come over. During the storm some of the trees branches cracked and fell around. My dad got on the roof while the storm settled down and his friends got there right on time, all trying to get some of the top branches that were about to drop down, and crash our house.

The next day it was insane. I wasn't sure if I have to go to school, or work, more than that I wasn't sure if I can get on the road. I got out with my dad and we were cleaning the front and the back yard, and then we were trying to find some store that would be open. The whole city was so impatience, people were all coming and going around, and traffic was awful. It seemed like it was the end of the world. If you would wanted to get gas in that days, lines were so long, that you would have to wait hours in traffic, and in the line. We found some gas stations, but that would mean staying in line for hours. We gave up, and we decided to go and visit Danny, to see if he is “still alive”. We couldn’t get to his house because it was away too much traffic so we went back home.

I finally turned on my cell phone, Monday around 5 pm, after the storm ended completely. I got a lot of messages from my friends that I should have received a couple of days ago. They were all worried. Danny was telling me to make sure that I have enough batteries, water and canned foods. He was trying to give me some tips to be safe, because he knew this is a new experience for me and I might freak out a little bit, (since I'm fresh in this country). I got some other messages from him later on. He was telling me that some trees crushed his house and 3 out of the 4 cars got squashed. I was petrified! I really started freaking out and I was hoping that it's not really so bad! He said some of his friends were with him in the house that day, and their cars got destroyed too. Thanks to God they all survived!

After Sept.1st, I wasn't able to hear anything from him. The service was really bad, we had no electricity, and my cell phone battery was running off. I was not even able to go to his house because it was traffic and fallen trees where everywhere on the streets. I finally heard from him, after 3 days. He was telling me, that his mom and step dad came over from Texas with a generator, and were trying to help him pack up and move. They got a U-Haul so he can take all his stuff to him mom's house. After all this, a lot of people from where we work came by his house to help him around. They all brought chainsaws and tried to get trees out of the way. He said he was more than blessed to have so many people helping him.

The day after, I went by with my friend Mike, to see if it’s really that bad. I was curious and worried. Getting there I saw the left side of the house grind and some cars smashed. While I was walking around staring, he was trying to get some gas out if his sister crushed cars. I asked him if we can help out a little bit in some way. We brought some boxes so he can put his stuff in. He told me that during the storm, he and his friends were all outside watching it. When the trees fell on the roof and on the side were they were sitting, they got lucky that the roof stopped in the cars, not on themselves. They ran inside and some other trees were falling in front and back of his house. He said it was a weird experience.

Life is interesting. All that happened to Danny after the storm definitely changed his life. His manager came over to see him, and got shocked, but he still fired Danny for not being able to call the general manager. He was planning on transferring to the other store in Houston. But it was too late. Now he had to look for a new job, and a new house, basically a new life. I met him a year ago, when I was getting rehired at this restaurant and when he got transferred from New Orleans, over here in Baton Rouge. I got to know him pretty well, because I guess we have a lot of things in common. We use to get together and paint since he is a great artist and my major is art, I could learn from him something new. He always use to give me a lot of advices, not just about painting, but about life in general. I really didn’t meet a lot of people like him in my life, very nice, and very rare.

Now, I know he is okay there. Since he doesn't have a job yet, and he still lives with his mother, he can paint all day. I hope one day he will have his own show, and sell his art. The bad news is that right after he moved to Texas, another hurricane came toward us. I told him that these storms are fallowing him.

Our house was really okay and everything is really alright, comparing to my other Romanian friends that was raining in their apartments and also, their cars got crushed while they were in Romania. But this is another story that I will tell you next time. After all, still thinking that you are a blessed person, after you have to start all over, and still look at the good side, and be optimistic it's a really hard challenge.