Friday marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina tore across the Gulf Coast, leaving a path of destruction and claiming 1,400 lives, most in New Orleans. Among the survivors was Reuben Carey, who has since rebuilt his life more than 600 miles away in Oklahoma City.
Carey, a New Orleans native, now owns Ruth’s Creole Kitchen, a restaurant he opened to honor both his Cajun roots and his mother, who taught him how to cook. But the journey from survival to success wasn’t easy.
“We underestimated it,” Carey said. “It was just survival mode.”…