Katrina: Wilbur lost everything

Wilbur is calmly telling me his story of how his wife of 25 years refused to leave as the storm approached the Gulf Coast. Wilbur left because he told me he didn't feel good about this one. As the winds became stronger, his wife tried to leave. She actually burned the tires off the rims of her car (behind Wilbur in the photo) trying to escape the mud in her front yard. With her car stuck in the ruts she had made, she got out and ran back in her house. Her phone still worked and she called Wilbur to tell him how frightened she was. A short time later the line went dead. The house was blown or washed away by the estimated 30 ft. tidal surge with only the pilings left. His wife's body was found in the woods.

The story doesn't end here. Many church groups have come to help Wilbur. The rest of his story can be found here.

(24-70mm lens at 24mm, 1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO100)