A lot of the people here, they're still shook up, |
I remember when you could drive Galveston Island, from end to end, on the natural beach. I don't think there will ever be any hope of doing that again. |
I took nothing from my house, ... I've got my purse, and it had some of my important papers, but when I looked inside, it was all wet. It smells like a hurricane smells. I'm just going to throw it away. |
I've been deathly ill more times than I care to remember. But I'm a fighter. I had to fight. I had two little girls. |
Maybe people didn't see those satellite photos, |
Money was of no value. I had $20 in my pocket. It's just wet and stinky, it's worth nothing. |
She didn't know what the words meant, but she knew they were bad and hurtful. She then said she wanted me to make the HIV go away. She couldn't understand why I couldn't fix it. |
The water was up, there was nothing to do, all nine or 10 of us in there, just wanting [drinking] water. We had a small supply, but we knew it wouldn't last. So when the water went down enough to walk, I waded out to look for supplies. |
We left that place pretty quickly, ... It seemed unsafe to me, like a death trap. |
We looked at her, this hotel clerk, and we said, 'OK, if you want to call the police, call the police. You think they're going to come over here to help you out?' She started putting on her thinking cap real fast and she said 'OK, go on in,' ... She could've got shot like that, trying to keep people out. |
When they ran out of options they tested me for HIV and it came back positive. I was dumbfounded because back then it was known as GRID (gay-related immunodeficiency disease). How could I have a gay disease? |
Women are raised to be the caretakers, so they're less likely to seek out services because it's about taking care of others, not themselves. We need to change that mentality. |
You hear a lot about the robbing and stealing, ... People breaking into gas stations. But, you know, once they broke in, I'd just follow in behind. |