Katrina evacuees enjoy a day at the racetrack for Trib
By Gene Maddaus , Staff Writer
IRWINDALE When the floodwaters came, Terry Roggow climbed onto the roof of the trailer where he had chosen to ride out Hurricane Katrina. He had no food. All he had to drink was two gallons of vodka.
"It's hard to have that for breakfast,' said the 53-year-old iron worker. "That's all I lived on for three days.'
Eventually, a canoe came by, and he was rescued. Through a random sequence of further charities, he found himself at the Irwindale Speedway on Saturday night, enjoying his first taste of NASCAR, in person.
"I always watch it on TV,' he said, after meeting a few drivers during a pre-race autograph session. "I ain't never been this close.'
Roggow was among about 75 evacuees who were given free tickets to the races on Saturday night. Most of them had never been to a race before. But for many, who have landed by pure chance in the alien landscape of Southern California, stock-car racing offered a little taste of home.
"It's a night to get their mind off the chaos,' said Wendi Westbrook, an announcer at the speedway. "We want to give 'em a little Southern hospitality, which is alive and well here in Southern California.'
The evacuees are staying at the Dream Center, an Echo Park shelter affiliated with the Assemblies of God and the Church of the Foursquare Gospel. About 200 evacuees are sheltered there now, and officials there plan to bring in another 150.
Along with searching for jobs and homes in Los Angeles, they have seen celebrities and gone to Dodger games. On Friday, the evacuees met California first lady Maria Shriver. On Saturday, at the track, Sandra Bullock showed up.
"I kissed Sandra Bullock!' said Thomas "T-Bone' Quinn. "I got her that close and I wasn't gonna let her get away. I kissed her and I got it on film!'
Bullock hugged evacuees and whispered words of encouragement.
"She's pretty as hell,' said Bennie Baxter, an electrician who spent four hours in his attic before rising water forced him to punch a hole in the roof. He spent another 15 hours on the roof, and then waded five miles to the airport.
"I thought I'd be trapped in the attic,' he said, showing the cuts on his knuckles. "I figured I'll never make it out of here alive.'
The racing started, and the evacuees took their places in the bleachers. They were welcomed over the public-address system. A racing fan walked up and handed an evacuee a wad of bills and hugged him.
Ricky Breaux, a 45-year-old former pipe welder, said he swam away from the Superdome after conditions there became unbearable, dog-paddling and dragging a knapsack. In the sack were some clothes and a few bars of soap his livelihood.
For the past few years, he has made soap carvings for tourists on Canal Street and split his time between shelters, hospitals and homelessness. He said he planned to stay in Los Angeles at least until crawfish season, when he will have to find his way back home.
For now, he is enjoying the kindness of strangers. He wore a donated T-shirt, and praised the volunteers at the Dream Center. When two cars crashed and spun out, a twinkle came to his eye.
"This is awesome, man!' he said. "I wish I had a car!'
Pasadena Star News
IRWINDALE When the floodwaters came, Terry Roggow climbed onto the roof of the trailer where he had chosen to ride out Hurricane Katrina. He had no food. All he had to drink was two gallons of vodka.
"It's hard to have that for breakfast,' said the 53-year-old iron worker. "That's all I lived on for three days.'
Eventually, a canoe came by, and he was rescued. Through a random sequence of further charities, he found himself at the Irwindale Speedway on Saturday night, enjoying his first taste of NASCAR, in person.
"I always watch it on TV,' he said, after meeting a few drivers during a pre-race autograph session. "I ain't never been this close.'
Roggow was among about 75 evacuees who were given free tickets to the races on Saturday night. Most of them had never been to a race before. But for many, who have landed by pure chance in the alien landscape of Southern California, stock-car racing offered a little taste of home.
"It's a night to get their mind off the chaos,' said Wendi Westbrook, an announcer at the speedway. "We want to give 'em a little Southern hospitality, which is alive and well here in Southern California.'
The evacuees are staying at the Dream Center, an Echo Park shelter affiliated with the Assemblies of God and the Church of the Foursquare Gospel. About 200 evacuees are sheltered there now, and officials there plan to bring in another 150.
Along with searching for jobs and homes in Los Angeles, they have seen celebrities and gone to Dodger games. On Friday, the evacuees met California first lady Maria Shriver. On Saturday, at the track, Sandra Bullock showed up.
"I kissed Sandra Bullock!' said Thomas "T-Bone' Quinn. "I got her that close and I wasn't gonna let her get away. I kissed her and I got it on film!'
Bullock hugged evacuees and whispered words of encouragement.
"She's pretty as hell,' said Bennie Baxter, an electrician who spent four hours in his attic before rising water forced him to punch a hole in the roof. He spent another 15 hours on the roof, and then waded five miles to the airport.
"I thought I'd be trapped in the attic,' he said, showing the cuts on his knuckles. "I figured I'll never make it out of here alive.'
The racing started, and the evacuees took their places in the bleachers. They were welcomed over the public-address system. A racing fan walked up and handed an evacuee a wad of bills and hugged him.
Ricky Breaux, a 45-year-old former pipe welder, said he swam away from the Superdome after conditions there became unbearable, dog-paddling and dragging a knapsack. In the sack were some clothes and a few bars of soap his livelihood.
For the past few years, he has made soap carvings for tourists on Canal Street and split his time between shelters, hospitals and homelessness. He said he planned to stay in Los Angeles at least until crawfish season, when he will have to find his way back home.
For now, he is enjoying the kindness of strangers. He wore a donated T-shirt, and praised the volunteers at the Dream Center. When two cars crashed and spun out, a twinkle came to his eye.
"This is awesome, man!' he said. "I wish I had a car!'
Pasadena Star News
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