9 • Continued from previous page Photo by Frankie Michael When I finished warming the food, I was not sure how to extinguish the coals and I did not want to use water because I did not want smoke in the house because I had tied down the windows. I decided to leave the pot on the veranda so that the rain would put it out. When I turned the knob on the back door, I could not open it. The knob turned but the door was stuck, the door was soaking up the water that fell on it and had swollen within the frame and I was trapped in the house. I was not too concerned about being trapped in the house as I had nowhere to go. Later that afternoon, the property owner came over to check on me. We spoke through the door as he pulled the knob from his side and I pushed from my side, but we could not get the door open; so, we agreed he would continue to check on me to make sure everything was okay. By Sunday morning the rain had stopped, and the sky was clear. From the window, I could see downed powerlines. The property owner showed up with a crowbar to assist with opening the door. I had been without power; the Internet was out and my cell phone battery was close to dying but I knew where I could charge my phone and wash-up... on the UWI Campus. I ventured out towards the campus on Monday morning and ran into an overwhelming amount of traffic. Traffic signals were without power and there were cars everywhere, trying to get to their destinations. I reached the campus approximately three hours later. It was good to see other people and to see that all of us were okay. The experience brought back memories from my childhood from the pouring rain, thunder, lightning, and evening flooding. I discovered that no matter where you live, you cannot escape storms as they are a part of everyday life. I was able to manage the experience by relying on skills I learned during my childhood experiences growing up in Louisiana.
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