This story, headlined "Where adults see darkness, the kids see cool," was originally published Aug. 31, 2005. It is being republished for the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina as part of The Times-Picayune's Pulitzer-winning coverage.

On Aug. 27, my family left our home in New Orleans with a duffel bag full of beach clothes, three sleeping bags, three teddy bears and a basketball.

I always travel with a basketball. It's my security blanket. I never knew how much I'd need one on this trip.

There was a hurricane coming to town and, well... you know the rest of that story. I returned to New Orleans a week later. My family wound up in Maryland, in the town of Somerset, just on the D.C. border, in the house where I grew up.

There has always been much hand-wringing over what you were sup

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