Barbara Cook's story

I could tell you a little story about (one of my students), her name is Rose. She came to me in 6th grade...she couldn’t read. (Rose) used to fight all the time, fight, fight, fight. She was in special ed, so we hired some retired teachers to come in and teach the non-readers or the slow readers. I made (the students) understand there would be no behavior problems and they would have to behave in order to take part in it. I put (Rose) in the top class, the top 8th grade class. The teachers said, “what I’m a do with her?” I said, “no baby, she can read now and I need to push her. She need to be where the children are really really movin’.” Well I wanna tell you that Rose is now in her thirties and in college, in Illinois. Okay? So that’s a story to tell. (I want people to know) that everybody (who is) behind is not necessarily (unable to) learn, they (just) haven’t been taught. A lot of good things came out of just goin’ the extra mile to meet the needs of the children. I mean I can’t change everything, but for a few I can. You know I do what I can for who I can, and that’s all I can do. I just been like that, ya know? But it’s really bad in this city for the children...my heart goes out to them.

(After Katrina) my mother wanted to come back.  She was a person who watched the news so I couldn’t keep her from (it).Every time hurricane season would come, the news would start saying she might have to leave--she couldn’t take it. She couldn’t take havin’ to leave again and thinkin’, “it’ll be another two years before I could get home.” (It) would just upset her so bad thinkin’ she would have to leave home and that the water is goin’ to come again. mhm. (But) You know, she hung right on, she hung right on in there better than I thought (laughing). She did, she really did well, mhm.

We saw the water come in. The water didn’t come in during the hurricane, (it) came in the next morning after nine o’clock. We were out on the banister getting ready to come home—and had we left there we woulda been killed because (of) the force of the water, and nobody coulda’ made it through that. (I know of people who lost some loved ones in Katrina), who lost some lots of people. One of the children (I taught) lost his uncle. His uncle was tryna save somebody else, but the water came right in (while) he was on the sofa. Mhm. He was on the sofa and it just came right in, he drowned. Last night I had a friend that called me, my best friend from high school that I’ve been tryna find since Katrina. Her problem (is that) when it rains hard, she has to go to the psychiatrist (because it reminds her of katrina). She was in a hotel and they threw her out and told her that some buses (were) waitin’ for her...they told a lot of lies. After (she) got out the hotel, the hotel shut down, (and) she was left on the street. Nobody never came to get her. She couldn’t deal with it...sleepin’ on the street.

(After Katrina, people went crazy, but), no (I didn’t feel like I was goin’ crazy). This is because I had too many people to take care of. See when you (are) responsible for someone else, you know, you don’t think about yourself. My thing was to be good, I kept my mother goin’ and (I got) my son and grandson back to the house. I had too many people I was responsible for and I wanted to make sure that they were, you know, okay. I just focused on them, so (I) never had time to think about being crazy (laughing). Mhm mhm. (A man told me I was) different (laughing). (He said), “You keep it together.” if I fall apart, all these people fall apart. No I can’t fall apart. No. 

A narrative written and transcribed by Yael, Ami, and Dilara