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Finding new home, family in midst of hurricane losses

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lisa Kostellic
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AETCNS) --  There's no denying the progress Keesler has made to return to some kind of normalcy since Hurricane Katrina.

Still, I find myself torn between mourning the losses of so many others and mourning my own losses. The generous spirit in me wants to break out the checkbook every time I hear something on the radio about donations to "this Katrina fund" or "that Katrina fund." I have to remind myself that I am a victim, too. I'm starting over, too.

Losing almost everything really isn't such a bad thing for my husband and me. It means we get to buy new and better stuff. Of course, it's still just stuff, but this time it's insured stuff, and I can say with certainty we're lucky and thankful that our losses were few in comparison to so many others.

I was even more fortunate to be almost 1,000 miles away in training when Katrina came ashore. There was limited information on the state of the coast, and not knowing was a burden. However, like others in training with me, I knew graduating was a priority because Katrina didn't destroy the Air Force.

However, Keesler isn't just my duty station -- Biloxi has been my home since 1980. I went to kindergarten at Keesler, elementary school at Popps Ferry, middle school at Fernwood, and proudly wore my red and white when I received my high school diploma in 1996. I'm a Biloxian.

I returned to duty Oct. 17 and for a while still hadn't ventured south of Keesler. I was afraid seeing the devastation would finally force me to accept that my memories, along with so many others' memories, were washed away.

My curiosity couldn't be contained long. After talking to so many about what they lost and where they lived, I realized my childhood home had been in harm's way. I had to know. I had to see it. So I drove down Cedar Lake Road, past the new Biloxi High, right onto Brasher Road, left onto Mulberry Drive ... and now I know.

Now I know what so many others have felt since the day after the storm. The image of my childhood home is burned in my mind, and it's not just the gutted house with a dirty, empty pool I see, but my entire neighborhood. My neighbors' homes are in the same state, and all that's left of the home of my best friend from kindergarten is a slab. The streets where my brother and I used to ride our bikes until dusk are nearly deserted.

Although there's a weight on my heart only time will be able to lift, I've come to a new realization. Not only do I get to establish a new home, I can see now I have a new family. I've been on active duty for only nine months, and I realize how truly lucky I am.

The Air Force is not just my employer -- it's my family. I was already proud to wear the Air Force uniform, but now I am proud to call the Air Force my family, and anywhere there's family, there's home.