Meeting Miss Bridget

Thursday, September 15 started out like any other day since Hurricane Katrina hit... drop Cameron off at preschool (he did great again, by the way), make my way to the office, pour a cup of coffee, read emails from my fellow overworked and underpaid colleagues, shed a few tears out of unbridled frustration, collect my wits and move on.

Just to show that He does have mercy, about an hour into my day my phone rang. Lo and behold, it was Ryan Ott, our friend from New Orleans Louisiana. Ryan and I lived together for one half of a year at Whitman College; he was finishing up his remaining credits during the fall of 1995 and I was in the first semester of my senior year. One October weekend, a group of Ryan's friends from high school (Central Oregon, to be exact) came up to hunt and play, and Jeromy was among them. The rest, they say, is history. Ryan can be credited for being the reason that Jeromy and I met. After the fall of 1995, Ryan went on to obtain his Masters in Geology at Baylor University in Waco Texas. There he met the delightful Georgina Cuzzort (a Texan, through and through) and they were married six months prior to our nuptuals. Jeromy was in their wedding; Ryan was in ours. We eventually made our way back to Central Oregon, while Ryan began his career with Chevron-Texaco and is slated to begin a program in Business Administraiton care of his company. He is currently stationed in New Orleans working on a big drilling project. Or, I should say was in New Orleans.

We knew the Otts would have evacuated well in advance of Katrina's approach. With George's family still in Texas and with six-month-old Bridget in most definate need of basic amenities, we called Grandma Ott the day after the storm hit to make sure they got out and were safe and sound. Going about our busy lives, we thought to check in on them when we knew people were returning to the area. When Ryan called on Thursday, I wasn't surprised to learn they had made their way up North. After surveying the damage to their Madisonville, LA home the previous week (lots of tree and wind damage, broken fences, and freezers and refrigerators in much need of replacement) they decided to venture to Central Oregon as part of their Katrina-induced short term vacation and invited us over for a barbequed salmon dinner to catch up.

Miss Bridget is just adorable. Rosy-cheeked and red-haired with her Grandpa Ott's blue eyes, there is no doubt she lives up to her nickname-- "sweet pea." She is so well-mannered and was all smiles the whole time we were there. She really brightened up whenever Cameron's two-year-old path crossed hers and they shared a couple of adorable moments together. It was really a special time to be able to meet her and spend a few hours talking and sharing a couple of mommy-things with George. Dinner was delicious, and after that the Otts' friends the Thackery clan came over to visit, share dessert and watch the video Ryan made the weekend he returned to Secluded Forest Lane in Madisonville to survey his damage. We've decided that they should rename the street "Moderately Secluded Forest Lane," but in all they were very lucky. Up next: Ryan's company is moving its headquarters to Sugarland Texas while it decides what to do with their previous office building (three blocks from the now-famous Superdome, no less). I doubt Ryan and George will ever live in their Madisonville house again; Ryan has already returned to Texas and George is leaving in the morning to drive down there with Bridget and their three dogs. I suspect they're taking everything week by week.

It was a lovely way to end our Thursday and our week: in the presence of good old friends during their time of relative chaos. We'll be helping them in any way we can during the coming weeks and months.