a smile in a sea of frowns

Rescue workers transport 76-year-old Gerald Martin who was found by members of the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue, California Task Force 3, Friday, in New Orleans.
76-year-old man found after 18 days
Amazed rescuers say he only had some water, no food

NEW ORLEANS - Day after day, for more than two weeks, the 76-year-old man sat trapped and alone in his attic, sipping from a dwindling supply of water until it ran out. No food. No way out of a house ringed by foul floodwaters.
Without ever leaving home, Gerald Martin lived out one of the most remarkable survival stories of Hurricane Katrina. Rescuers who found him Friday, as they searched his neighborhood by boat, were astounded at his good spirits and resiliency after 18 days without food or human contact.
“It’s an incredible story of survival,” said Louie Fernandez, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency search unit that carried out the rescue..............