[StBernard] News You Can Use - Correction and Article from the "Voice"

[Westley Annis]

Correction: It seems that in the time that has transpired since the 
meeting at which I learned about the FEMA trailer issue for employers 
and today, the Feds have opted to pull the plug on that program. For 
reasons which are (in my humble opinion) unjustified and beyond the 
scope of the E mail, this wonderful program has been suspended. Go figure.

So please accept this correction to today’s earlier E mail. If you’re as 
upset as I am about this, call someone in Washington and give them an 
earful.

Secondly, given that many of you do not receive the St. Bernard Voice, I 
wanted to take this opportunity to share the article I published in it 
today. I hope it hits “home” for you.

I call it “Going Home”. I hope you enjoy it.

If you are reading this, chances are great that you’ve been impacted by 
Katrina. You remember Katrina, that little storm that paid a visit to 
the New Orleans area on August 29, 2005.

Katrina has directly impacted everybody, and I do literally mean 
everybody, in the Greater Gulf Coast region of the United States. Her 
wrath was tremendous. Her bite was ferocious and devastating. We are all 
suffering.

Maybe like me you’re in Baton Rouge. Maybe you’re in Montgomery, 
Alabama, Memphis, Tennessee, or Jackson, Mississippi. Perhaps you’ve 
taken up in Houston, Birmingham, Lake Charles or San Antonio. Who knows 
where you are. One thing for certain, you are not HOME.

Home is where you raised your kids. Home is where you go to church and 
recognize just about everybody there. Home is where you stand in front 
of your house and talk to your neighbors. Home is where you know the 
aisles at the hardware store. Home is where you keep that coffee can of 
nuts and bolts in your garage, for just those times that you need one 
more piece to finish your job.

Home is where even though your mail may be addressed to the house two 
doors down, the mailman knows to bring it to you. Home is where you know 
the shortcuts to avoid the traffic. Home is where you drive down the 
street and remember significant events that transpired at places as you 
pass them.

Home is where you know the sequence of the traffic lights at the busy 
corners. Home is where you send your kids across the street to borrow an 
egg (that you never really replace.) Home is where you go to the 
restaurants and really don’t need a menu.

Home is where you know how to jiggle the handle on the toilet just 
right, to get it to stop running. Home is where you know just how many 
strings of Christmas lights you can plug in before you blow a circuit.

Home is the smell of your home that you miss. Home is the porch light 
that’s been left on for you so many times. Home is where your kitchen 
table was. Home is where that spot is that your dog loved to lay in the 
shade.

Home is where you took your kids’ pictures as they were leaving for the 
dance or prom. Home is where you blew out the candles on you birthday 
cakes. Home is where you cheered for the Saints on a never ending string 
of Sundays.

Home is where you laid your head at night. Home is where you knew the 
rhythm of the ceiling fan over your bed and home is where it helped put 
you to sleep.

Home is where you had some of your best moments. Home is where you had 
some of your worst moments.

In short, your home was your life. Your home was not a structure. Your 
home was an atmosphere, an environment. Your home was a feeling so 
wonderful, you longed to get there after taking a trip. It was more than 
a location. Your home was everything.

I tell you this to have you focus on what HOME really is. It’s not your 
house. It’s your friends, family, neighbors, mailman, and dog. Your home 
is your person.

In times like these, it’s easy to make statements like “I’m never going 
back” or “there’s no reason to return.” Before making those statements, 
think about your past.

Think about the times you had before you were run off by Katrina. Think 
about all the things that made your home your person; the things that 
kept you there, even though you were fed up with the politics, or the 
potholes, or any of the other hundreds of things we all complain about.

Surely you can put up another structure somewhere else, but it won’t be 
home.

Do not succumb to the temptation to just build somewhere based on a 
casual conversation or thought process. No matter what house you build, 
no matter where it is, it won’t be your home.

I’m going back home. Care to join me?

DISCLAIMER: This e mail is intended to help those of us who have been 
impacted by Hurricane Katrina. It may contain information that is 
somewhat legal in nature or affect your taxes.

References to legal or tax considerations are intended only to alert you 
in a general way of those considerations which may effect you. We do not 
engage in the practice of law. All legal considerations must be referred 
to and passed upon by your attorney. All tax considerations should be 
reviewed by your tax preparer.
Paul V. Perez
Certified Financial Planner
Financial Network Investment Corporation, Member SIPC
7642 Old Hammond Highway
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
(504) 494 3144
(225) 248 6635
(225) 208 1885 (fax)