In his second year teaching at Nicholls and living in Louisiana, English instructor Jay Udall had his first encounter with a hurricane, an experience that has become something of a right of passage for anyone living in the region.
Udall has lived in numerous places in his life, a list that includes Oregon, New Mexico and Virginia, but none put him near something comparable to Hurricane Isaac. At the age of 14, he hiked near an active volcano in Hawaii, though still at a safe distance. While living in Nevada, a short earthquake briefly shook his home.
“Isaac was beyond either experience,” Udall said, describing the storm. “It gave me this raw sense of being in the grips, or in our case, at the edge, of incredible immensity and power.”
After giving some consideration to riding out the storm, the family decided to evacuate to Alexandria, with Udall’s wife being weary of extreme weather conditions after growing up in the tornado country of Nebraska.
During his stay, a group of evacuees arrived by bus from Plaquemines Parish and Laplace at his motel, some with only the clothes they were wearing. Others were even barefoot.
Udall noted the hospitality shown by the staff towards the evacuees.
“The compassion I saw people express toward those who suffered the worst is something I won’t soon forget,” Udall said.
The motel staff wrapped the guests in bed sheets as they washed their only clothes, and Udall saw the lightheartedness that can come through even in the dire times of a storm. “My wife joked with them that they were having an Isaac toga party,” Udall said.
“One man from Plaquemines parish had lost everything and not slept for over 30 hours,” Udall said, telling of the evacuees. “He showed me online pictures of his neighborhood with only the peaks of roofs visible above the water. His family was safe, but he was haunted by not being able to find his dogs.”
As a poet and writer, Udall took the experience as a way of learning about the culture, community and connection those who live in the region have with their home.
Udall spoke with an older man from New Orleans who considered leaving the area after Katrina, but ultimately decided he had to stay, something Udall found interesting.
“From a certain angle, it can seem stubborn and even foolish, this idea that you have to stay in this one particular place that is quite vulnerable, but I think it also reveals a fierce attachment and love of this area, the land, the history, and all it means to people,” Udall said. “It gave me a sense of how deeply people’s identities are intertwined with this place.”
Udall isn’t ready to worry very much about lost class time or other complications caused by Isaac.
“If something like this doesn’t help you put things in perspective, you’re out to lunch,” Udall said.  “As long as the students, staff and faculty are safe and sound, we will find ways to make do and move on.  That is one of the best things about Nicholls. It really is about the people.”