On the day Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, I was supposed to be filming my 2nd exercise DVD in New Orleans - but the only filming done that day was by BBQ Gloves  the news media, recording the Katrina disaster as it grew ever more ominous and life-threatening. After that, I wrote a script for the next level .　First, I decided to go over the script that I had planned to use for the 2nd DVD, editing it and revising it to be a tighter presentation.Suddenly, from someone down in the dumps, battling depression and a growing sense of futility, I was a house afire once again, with renewed purpose and direction... Two weeks later we started to film, and the level of professionalism these students could deliver was stunning. and after that, I began to pull together thoughts and exercises for an aerobic DVD. But thinking about losing my business felt like exactly that - and I simply wasn't going to have it..

　　The result was so good, in fact, that I become a mentor for the Fontainebleau High School Media Program and they agreed to film all the DVDs I had written. And the healing and growth continue.. but there was no other choice, other than the unacceptable one of seeing my business fall apart, fail and disappear . with no clients coming to the studio, with everyone's spirits at least badly bruised, if not crushed, how was that going to happen? And where would the funds come from to pay for the filming?

　　Never mind. With all the trees down and dangerous, filthy debris everywhere, there was no way to even take a brisk walk to help shake off the blues. The disruption of daily life would end, some day .

　　My son's school reopened, so he was gone all day .

　　I wanted to tell this story to show that while Katrina was a devastating event, with a profound and horrible impact on many lives, it also ignited the spark of all that's best in humankind ... To thank the school, I now give them a percentage of each video sold to help support the media center. people would return to more normal routines . The home front was going to be all right -- but my business wasn't faring as well...

　　But suddenly, my entire world was turned upside down and inside out when the massive storm struck and did its horrible damage...August 2005 had been a great month for me, as I marked 10 years in business.

　　One day I just set aside the mop, the broom, the buckets for debris, the work gloves and the stained, tattered coveralls, and decided that's all the "cleaning up" I was going to do. All any of us could do, day after endless day, was to work at cleaning up the unbelievable mess. But we were filled with fear and anxiety about what was going to happen to our home, and to the homes of our friends . We stayed in Houston for one month, during which time I couldn't even find out about - much less do anything about -- my business, which I feared might "go under" with so many other hopes, dreams and physical properties back home.