NATCHEZ &045; A party full of laughter, animated discussion and piles of refreshments is probably the last thing you’d expect a group of evacuees and their newfound Natchez friends to be having.

But that’s just what took place Saturday night on Orange Avenue once the group discovered fellow New Orleans evacuee Odette Grosz would be celebrating her birthday that day.

&uot;If you get to be 85 years old, that deserves a party in itself,&uot; said Myra Murray, whose back yard &045; next door to the apartment Grosz and a friend of hers are renting &045; was party central.

&uot;But when you survive something like this (hurricane),&uot; she added, &uot;that’s another reason to celebrate.&uot;

Actually, when Grosz and her neighbor, Helen Caillouet, left her Lake Pontchatrain neighborhood just before Hurricane Katrina hit, they expected to be back home soon.

&uot;New Orleans only got the tail end of Katrina,&uot; said Grosz, who many said seems much younger than 85. &uot;It would have been fine if the (canal) levee hadn’t broken.&uot;

Grosz knows a thing or two about New Orleans and its history with hurricanes &045; and she should, having lived there all but two of her 85 years.

&uot;That was when I worked for the War Department,&uot; Grosz said, referring to the two years she lived in Virginia.

The rest of her life, she lived in various locations in the Crescent City &045; 20 years in the French Quarter in addition to time spent in the Uptown district and, most recently, in the lakeside area.

She can’t count the number of times she has been evacuated from her homes due to hurricanes, but usually it was to another area inside New Orleans.

Some of the older buildings, she explained, have such sturdy, thick brick walls they can withstand most of the storms you can throw at them.

One exception was last year’s Hurricane Ivan, which sent her and Caillouet north as well.

The worst she can remember is Hurricane Betsy, which flooded parts of New Orleans in 1965. Her stories of trying against odds to find family members calls to mind today’s post-Katrina stories.

&uot;My brother was downtown, but we couldn’t find him for five days. My old parents were uptown, and we couldn’t find them, either,&uot; Grosz said. &uot;My fiance’s mother was in a hospital and didn’t know where we were. She thought we were dead.&uot;

Years later, family found and such storms long past, Grosz thought the worst was over.

But Betsy, she said, &uot;was nothing like this storm.&uot;

And yet she and Caillouet have found bright spots after the storm. In Natchez, Caillouet was able to find an apartment for rent from Charles and Rosemary Hall, some friends of a friend.

They have also formed, in just a few days, a group of newfound friends ranging from neighbors to other evacuees. The hospitality, they both said, has been wonderful.

&uot;The people in Natchez have bent over backwards to help us, and I want to thank everyone we’ve met,&uot; Caillouet said.

&uot;Even the lady who delivered flowers the other day said, ‘If there’s anything I can do to help you, just let me know.’&uot;

Then, of course, there were the presents earlier Saturday and the special treat &045; chocolate-on-chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream is her favorite &045; that Grosz enjoyed with her friends Saturday evening as the sun was setting on another day.

Grosz, chatting as she started on her dessert, was philosophical about what she left behind in New Orleans.

&uot;The house is under water, and the car,&uot; Grosz said. &uot;All the old pictures, the jewelry Š I’m leaving it all behind.&uot;

Instead, she plans to move back to Virginia to live with friends.

Looking at the sun sinking lower, she smiled. &uot;I’ll be happy there,&uot; she said.