Well,
I'm alive.
I suppose that's the best news of the day. For most anyway.
I wish I could easily and quickly sum up the images, feelings and life changes that have occured over the last two weeks, but it's simply impossible to do with limited space and time. I'm sure I can get some points across, but as soon as I post the message, I'll think of fifteen more vital things that I should have shared.
First let me address something that has really pissed me off more than anything that has happened due to this storm. "Someone" whose name I do not deem worthy to mention, commented in the other thread that Red posted that I somehow "needed" this more than even I knew. I'm not sure what was intended by that statement, but I can clearly say that I didn't "need it." Today alone I found out that three friends of mine died. I didn't "need" that. I have always been worried that the causes of the less forutnate were ignored,mainly children, and in spite of the goodness I see each day, I am still witnessing terrible greedy acts that make me want to vomit. This event has truely brought out the best and the worst in people, but I didn't need it. The extremes of society are no better than the daily actions....they are just easier to report.
To ASSUME that you know anything about what another person needs in life based on a few posts on a tickling bulletin board borders on the insane. A ridiculous comment like that is uncalled for and and reeks of a petty jab when someone is down. I may not agree with someone's political views, but I don't see how a personal statement was allowed to be posted saying that I somehow NEEDED to lose home, health and lives of my family in New Orleans and three dear friends. Shame on him and anyone who thinks that sort of behavior should be condoned. Now....to my reason for posting....The storm came, and I reacted like I have for every crisis I've been a part of....I've rolled up my sleeves and started working.
The basics:
The storm was horrifying. I went to bed and the storm was a 2. I woke
and it was a 5. I was prepared with supplies to ride out the sotrm but I was not prepared to evacuate. During the hours of approach I questioned myself repeatedly about leaving, but the fact of the matter was clear. There would later be cars that were victim to hurricane force winds while sitting on the interstate in the evacuation route. I felt my chances were better in a house than a car. We made a safe room in the center of the house with flashlights, first aid kit, etc and hunkered down for the storm. The power went out at 5 am. I was asleep, but woke quickly to the sound of the fire alarms beeping as the battery power kicked in and slowly died. It was pitch black and the wind was literally howling. I was in a panic as it took me a couple of minutes to remember that I was in the hurricane. The sounds of trees smacking against the outside of the house was one I remembered well from previous canes, but is not one that engenders hope and cozy feelings. We made a quick tour of the house to check windows and the garage door which, much to our dismay,
was already buckling under winds. We braced the door by screwing it
into the foundation of the wall and bracing it with about seven hundred
pounds of books that were being stored in tubs in the garage for lack
of extra space in the house. Coupled with 2x4's, the door was steady
and held for the storm. We retreated back to the safe room and turned
on the radio. My boys were asleep so we huddled in close to the speaker
and listened as our world changed. I can only imagine what so many
people do during times of war while they heard reports of major battles
and were on pins and needles waiting for news.
There was only one tv station reporting and they carried the broadcast in cooperation with the radio stations in the area until all of the towers eventually fell and we were left with one weak signal. 10am:The bay bridge has been totally destroyed. At some point later in the day we found that the other bridges went under. 10:30am: Major gas leak in downtown Biloxi. Explosions and fires feared. 11am: Hancock County medical center takes major damage, may be destroyed. Callers chiming in that houses were floating by, that a family of 18 people was riding out the storm in a 14 ft. long boat tied to the roof of a house on the beach in Biloxi because the second floor had flooded. I knew that person and I know that boat. It's not urban legend. It really happened.
And the day carried on...and the news carried on...and bit by bit, my
home was changed. A casino landed on top of a museum 5 miles from where
I sleep. The only sturture standing on Biloxi's front beach is an old Catholic church in the shape of a seas shell. St Michaels. My best friend will be coming back to a pile of rubble that used to be his house. I'll share a photo here for you all to see. HE'll be living with me for a while. And the day went on...and the storm slowed, and then the worry for those a bit north started to settle in. The people who evacuated to the north were now in the path of a hurricane...and the structures they were in were not prepared for the blow.
After the storm we ventured out to begin picking up trees out of the road so emergency crews could get from point a to point b. The winds still gusting at 45 mph, we did the best we could before retreating inside the boarded up blackness for a rest. Bottled water and ice from distribution points....not an easy step for those of us proud people who think ourselves beyond public help. I got over it quickly and took the bottles of water and MRE's with a smile and a hug. The day the storm ended, I tended to my house as much as possible and went to my church. We have a congregation of almost two thousand people and we have since learned that half of them had severe damage and about one fourth of them lost their homes completely. There were four of us there when the Red Cross showed up. Five were there when FEMA came in. Donations started flowing in on day two. I have a few choice thoughts about FEMA and how they handled things and I'll get into that later.
Let me just share the nugget that the first day after the storm, UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief sent in seven 18 wheelers full of supplies and FEMA turned them away a hundred miles from the coast saying that search and rescue was more important. I agree, but there were already distribution sites waiting on supplies and FEMA stopped them. Grrrrrr...
Anyway,
I have spent about 12-14 hours each days since the storm running the
donations center for a Red Cross shelter. We get trucks in everyday, and in turn take orders from community or shelter members in need of clothing, food, cleaning supplies, etc. It's been a rough go but luckily people here are not the animals that CNN likes to show. They say "Thank you" with grateful hearts and offer to help in return. We have over a hundred folks at the shelter I'm helping to run, and each day there are sick children, or eldery folks coming in with no
clothing, or in need of food.
Through our donations site we have been the grateful recipients of truckoads of donations from West virginia, INdiana, California, New York, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Virginia, ARkansas, Texas and Utah. We've fed over 500 families. Given out more than 3000 items of clothes, and over 500 toys. We have a doctor on duty 24 hours a day and prescriptions are being filled for free. We're doing ok it seems. And I have to say that there are some lovely souls here on the TMF that have already begun getting a shipment together to send to the shelter I'm working. Good and bad...good and bad.
Now, let's have the other side. While you may think petrol is expensive where you live, know that gas trucks are hijacked here daily. You have to wait in line for hours to get the capped limit of ten gallons. Some neigborhoods are so devastated that the National Guard has to bring supplies in because residents can't get out. Their homes are being condemned hundreds at a time because of mold growing in the sheetrock.
Schools were destroyed, so we don't know when our kids will go back to school. Walmart is open from 8 am to 5 pm on a CASH ONLY basis. It's one of the only places a person can buy the items they need to clean and feed people. When you don't have a home or a car cash is a rare commodity. Hospitals are bursting at the seams. Housing prices just quadrupled because so many have been destroyed. Unemployment is not even something you can describe. The casino industry on the Gulf Coast employed almost 20,000 people who are all now completely without jobs. Every major retail area, malls, movie theaters......GONE. Where houses used to stand, there are cement slabs covered in 2 feet of hard packed sand.
And yet, my house stand. In my area, it's ok. BUT...300 feet down the road, the houses are underwater. How do you explain all of this to people? Oprah, Faith Hill, Paul Simon, Geraldo, Ted Koppel,...yeah...they came. No one cares here. Celebrity means nothing. There is no Black and White issue. There is no Rich or poor. We're all in the same boat. We have no homes. No jobs. No food. No clothes. Sure, it's getting better....but there are things we're seeing on the
news...democrats say this...republicans say that....black white....comparing things to 9/11. WE DO NOT CARE DOWN HERE! IT's about getting the lights on. It's about clean water. It's about clean clothes. It's about beating meningitis and dysentary (sp?) If each person who wants to discuss the political side would stuff ten bucks in an envelope and mail it to the red cross, things would improve dramatically. This isn't politics. This isn't preparedness. This is a natual disaster and people are doing the best they can.
During past storms, we sent our school buses to the neighboring towns to help rescue people, but we don't have buses and gas to do that now. Why the hell are we hearing political discussions when there are still areas with no shelter for people? You see, we're not wallowing in self pity here. We're out there helping each other clean the mud out of houses. We're helping ourselves. We're conserving water...we're riding with strangers...to bring them home to
sleep on our dry floors and couches. Folks aren't sitting there with a hand out. If we were, we'd be in sad shape. We're not rotting in despair. We're getting the attitude around here that if folks without a home can help a neighbor, then the government really could do a better job. Blah...I'm sitting here crying. I've held it together so long. I've counseled countless people this week. I've not broken...and I won't. I can't. But I sure can share these things with folks who have loved or hated me over the many years I've been posting here. Not many folks have an open forum to share what counts. I took that here...and I hope you all can seperate the chaff from the grain.
We have one guy in the shelter named Mike. His 6 year old son died. His wife was in the hospital and he was there in our shelter...having come over from New ORleans with a broken ankle. He was taking care of his 2 year old by himself. I got him some asthma medicine and you would have thought that I actually did something important. He cried because I got an inhaler for him....such a minor thing. I sat for an hour with him..and let him cry. This one man....out of millions touched. Mike....and he was helping to serve food in the shelter because he didn't want to "just take stuff." THESE ARE THE STORIES CNN SHOULD BE COVERING!
My power was out for one week following the storm. During that week, I lived my my black and white 5 inch battery powered television getting news that most days of my life I never would have imagined. Day one, we found out that New Orleans was underwater. We found out that whole cities on the Coast here were lost. 90% of the infrastructure in the area was devastated. 85% of the state of MS was without power at one point. Areas 150 miles inland were as flat and damaged as the coast. That's something that isn't being reported.
Cities that have never received hurricane force winds were suddenly beset with the joys of gusts nearing 200 mph. We learned that every major bridge in the area was destroyed. The plates had been lifted off the bases and were redposited in the water between them giving the bridge the look of a row of dominos waiting to be knocked down. We learned they were picking bodies from the trees and sandy beaches like fruit from the vine. Personally, I was assessing the damage to my home that included portions of the roof that would later be found a nearly a mile away. My shed in the backyard was half partially intact almost two miles down the road. My fences were all down, my trees were down and everything in sight was wet.
That was day one.
It's been almost 14 days. You can only imagine what life is like when I tell you that the news got worse.So, that's all I can write for now. I'm at a loss. Thanks to my darling Red Indian for keeping such good tabs and checking on me. And thanks to Ray for hosting the photos here.
Just keep folks in your prayers. Please.
THAT is what we need.
Thanks, y'all...and God Bless,
Jo
Power lines down on the highway.
The bridge going into Biloxi, MS. Note in the background on the right, you can see a multistory building with a dome on top. You can see it has a bright white spot where the sun was reflecting. That's a casino....that sank.
What is left of a thriving seafood market that has been in the spot for decades. It was huge surrounded by parking lots, trucks, piers and boats. This was all that remained. This is in my neighborhood.
My best friend's house.
I'll post more, but my sat link is going in and out here at the Red Cross station and I'm afraid I'll lose the post if I don't close it now. Prayers appreciated.
If anyone is interested in helping with a shipment of supplies to aid the area, please contact Venray @ [email protected] He has the details on the location and items that are needed. Thanks Ray, I love ya bebe!
Thanks Red, you're the best!
I'll be back when I can.
Warmth and peace,
Jo
I'm alive.
I suppose that's the best news of the day. For most anyway.
I wish I could easily and quickly sum up the images, feelings and life changes that have occured over the last two weeks, but it's simply impossible to do with limited space and time. I'm sure I can get some points across, but as soon as I post the message, I'll think of fifteen more vital things that I should have shared.
First let me address something that has really pissed me off more than anything that has happened due to this storm. "Someone" whose name I do not deem worthy to mention, commented in the other thread that Red posted that I somehow "needed" this more than even I knew. I'm not sure what was intended by that statement, but I can clearly say that I didn't "need it." Today alone I found out that three friends of mine died. I didn't "need" that. I have always been worried that the causes of the less forutnate were ignored,mainly children, and in spite of the goodness I see each day, I am still witnessing terrible greedy acts that make me want to vomit. This event has truely brought out the best and the worst in people, but I didn't need it. The extremes of society are no better than the daily actions....they are just easier to report.
To ASSUME that you know anything about what another person needs in life based on a few posts on a tickling bulletin board borders on the insane. A ridiculous comment like that is uncalled for and and reeks of a petty jab when someone is down. I may not agree with someone's political views, but I don't see how a personal statement was allowed to be posted saying that I somehow NEEDED to lose home, health and lives of my family in New Orleans and three dear friends. Shame on him and anyone who thinks that sort of behavior should be condoned. Now....to my reason for posting....The storm came, and I reacted like I have for every crisis I've been a part of....I've rolled up my sleeves and started working.
The basics:
The storm was horrifying. I went to bed and the storm was a 2. I woke
and it was a 5. I was prepared with supplies to ride out the sotrm but I was not prepared to evacuate. During the hours of approach I questioned myself repeatedly about leaving, but the fact of the matter was clear. There would later be cars that were victim to hurricane force winds while sitting on the interstate in the evacuation route. I felt my chances were better in a house than a car. We made a safe room in the center of the house with flashlights, first aid kit, etc and hunkered down for the storm. The power went out at 5 am. I was asleep, but woke quickly to the sound of the fire alarms beeping as the battery power kicked in and slowly died. It was pitch black and the wind was literally howling. I was in a panic as it took me a couple of minutes to remember that I was in the hurricane. The sounds of trees smacking against the outside of the house was one I remembered well from previous canes, but is not one that engenders hope and cozy feelings. We made a quick tour of the house to check windows and the garage door which, much to our dismay,
was already buckling under winds. We braced the door by screwing it
into the foundation of the wall and bracing it with about seven hundred
pounds of books that were being stored in tubs in the garage for lack
of extra space in the house. Coupled with 2x4's, the door was steady
and held for the storm. We retreated back to the safe room and turned
on the radio. My boys were asleep so we huddled in close to the speaker
and listened as our world changed. I can only imagine what so many
people do during times of war while they heard reports of major battles
and were on pins and needles waiting for news.
There was only one tv station reporting and they carried the broadcast in cooperation with the radio stations in the area until all of the towers eventually fell and we were left with one weak signal. 10am:The bay bridge has been totally destroyed. At some point later in the day we found that the other bridges went under. 10:30am: Major gas leak in downtown Biloxi. Explosions and fires feared. 11am: Hancock County medical center takes major damage, may be destroyed. Callers chiming in that houses were floating by, that a family of 18 people was riding out the storm in a 14 ft. long boat tied to the roof of a house on the beach in Biloxi because the second floor had flooded. I knew that person and I know that boat. It's not urban legend. It really happened.
And the day carried on...and the news carried on...and bit by bit, my
home was changed. A casino landed on top of a museum 5 miles from where
I sleep. The only sturture standing on Biloxi's front beach is an old Catholic church in the shape of a seas shell. St Michaels. My best friend will be coming back to a pile of rubble that used to be his house. I'll share a photo here for you all to see. HE'll be living with me for a while. And the day went on...and the storm slowed, and then the worry for those a bit north started to settle in. The people who evacuated to the north were now in the path of a hurricane...and the structures they were in were not prepared for the blow.
After the storm we ventured out to begin picking up trees out of the road so emergency crews could get from point a to point b. The winds still gusting at 45 mph, we did the best we could before retreating inside the boarded up blackness for a rest. Bottled water and ice from distribution points....not an easy step for those of us proud people who think ourselves beyond public help. I got over it quickly and took the bottles of water and MRE's with a smile and a hug. The day the storm ended, I tended to my house as much as possible and went to my church. We have a congregation of almost two thousand people and we have since learned that half of them had severe damage and about one fourth of them lost their homes completely. There were four of us there when the Red Cross showed up. Five were there when FEMA came in. Donations started flowing in on day two. I have a few choice thoughts about FEMA and how they handled things and I'll get into that later.
Let me just share the nugget that the first day after the storm, UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief sent in seven 18 wheelers full of supplies and FEMA turned them away a hundred miles from the coast saying that search and rescue was more important. I agree, but there were already distribution sites waiting on supplies and FEMA stopped them. Grrrrrr...
Anyway,
I have spent about 12-14 hours each days since the storm running the
donations center for a Red Cross shelter. We get trucks in everyday, and in turn take orders from community or shelter members in need of clothing, food, cleaning supplies, etc. It's been a rough go but luckily people here are not the animals that CNN likes to show. They say "Thank you" with grateful hearts and offer to help in return. We have over a hundred folks at the shelter I'm helping to run, and each day there are sick children, or eldery folks coming in with no
clothing, or in need of food.
Through our donations site we have been the grateful recipients of truckoads of donations from West virginia, INdiana, California, New York, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Virginia, ARkansas, Texas and Utah. We've fed over 500 families. Given out more than 3000 items of clothes, and over 500 toys. We have a doctor on duty 24 hours a day and prescriptions are being filled for free. We're doing ok it seems. And I have to say that there are some lovely souls here on the TMF that have already begun getting a shipment together to send to the shelter I'm working. Good and bad...good and bad.
Now, let's have the other side. While you may think petrol is expensive where you live, know that gas trucks are hijacked here daily. You have to wait in line for hours to get the capped limit of ten gallons. Some neigborhoods are so devastated that the National Guard has to bring supplies in because residents can't get out. Their homes are being condemned hundreds at a time because of mold growing in the sheetrock.
Schools were destroyed, so we don't know when our kids will go back to school. Walmart is open from 8 am to 5 pm on a CASH ONLY basis. It's one of the only places a person can buy the items they need to clean and feed people. When you don't have a home or a car cash is a rare commodity. Hospitals are bursting at the seams. Housing prices just quadrupled because so many have been destroyed. Unemployment is not even something you can describe. The casino industry on the Gulf Coast employed almost 20,000 people who are all now completely without jobs. Every major retail area, malls, movie theaters......GONE. Where houses used to stand, there are cement slabs covered in 2 feet of hard packed sand.
And yet, my house stand. In my area, it's ok. BUT...300 feet down the road, the houses are underwater. How do you explain all of this to people? Oprah, Faith Hill, Paul Simon, Geraldo, Ted Koppel,...yeah...they came. No one cares here. Celebrity means nothing. There is no Black and White issue. There is no Rich or poor. We're all in the same boat. We have no homes. No jobs. No food. No clothes. Sure, it's getting better....but there are things we're seeing on the
news...democrats say this...republicans say that....black white....comparing things to 9/11. WE DO NOT CARE DOWN HERE! IT's about getting the lights on. It's about clean water. It's about clean clothes. It's about beating meningitis and dysentary (sp?) If each person who wants to discuss the political side would stuff ten bucks in an envelope and mail it to the red cross, things would improve dramatically. This isn't politics. This isn't preparedness. This is a natual disaster and people are doing the best they can.
During past storms, we sent our school buses to the neighboring towns to help rescue people, but we don't have buses and gas to do that now. Why the hell are we hearing political discussions when there are still areas with no shelter for people? You see, we're not wallowing in self pity here. We're out there helping each other clean the mud out of houses. We're helping ourselves. We're conserving water...we're riding with strangers...to bring them home to
sleep on our dry floors and couches. Folks aren't sitting there with a hand out. If we were, we'd be in sad shape. We're not rotting in despair. We're getting the attitude around here that if folks without a home can help a neighbor, then the government really could do a better job. Blah...I'm sitting here crying. I've held it together so long. I've counseled countless people this week. I've not broken...and I won't. I can't. But I sure can share these things with folks who have loved or hated me over the many years I've been posting here. Not many folks have an open forum to share what counts. I took that here...and I hope you all can seperate the chaff from the grain.
We have one guy in the shelter named Mike. His 6 year old son died. His wife was in the hospital and he was there in our shelter...having come over from New ORleans with a broken ankle. He was taking care of his 2 year old by himself. I got him some asthma medicine and you would have thought that I actually did something important. He cried because I got an inhaler for him....such a minor thing. I sat for an hour with him..and let him cry. This one man....out of millions touched. Mike....and he was helping to serve food in the shelter because he didn't want to "just take stuff." THESE ARE THE STORIES CNN SHOULD BE COVERING!
My power was out for one week following the storm. During that week, I lived my my black and white 5 inch battery powered television getting news that most days of my life I never would have imagined. Day one, we found out that New Orleans was underwater. We found out that whole cities on the Coast here were lost. 90% of the infrastructure in the area was devastated. 85% of the state of MS was without power at one point. Areas 150 miles inland were as flat and damaged as the coast. That's something that isn't being reported.
Cities that have never received hurricane force winds were suddenly beset with the joys of gusts nearing 200 mph. We learned that every major bridge in the area was destroyed. The plates had been lifted off the bases and were redposited in the water between them giving the bridge the look of a row of dominos waiting to be knocked down. We learned they were picking bodies from the trees and sandy beaches like fruit from the vine. Personally, I was assessing the damage to my home that included portions of the roof that would later be found a nearly a mile away. My shed in the backyard was half partially intact almost two miles down the road. My fences were all down, my trees were down and everything in sight was wet.
That was day one.
It's been almost 14 days. You can only imagine what life is like when I tell you that the news got worse.So, that's all I can write for now. I'm at a loss. Thanks to my darling Red Indian for keeping such good tabs and checking on me. And thanks to Ray for hosting the photos here.
Just keep folks in your prayers. Please.
THAT is what we need.
Thanks, y'all...and God Bless,
Jo
The bridge going into Biloxi, MS. Note in the background on the right, you can see a multistory building with a dome on top. You can see it has a bright white spot where the sun was reflecting. That's a casino....that sank.
What is left of a thriving seafood market that has been in the spot for decades. It was huge surrounded by parking lots, trucks, piers and boats. This was all that remained. This is in my neighborhood.
My best friend's house.
I'll post more, but my sat link is going in and out here at the Red Cross station and I'm afraid I'll lose the post if I don't close it now. Prayers appreciated.
If anyone is interested in helping with a shipment of supplies to aid the area, please contact Venray @ [email protected] He has the details on the location and items that are needed. Thanks Ray, I love ya bebe!
Thanks Red, you're the best!
I'll be back when I can.
Warmth and peace,
Jo
Just bumping this up to make sure everyone sees that Joby is okay. 
