tigsmom said:
Jonnie! So good to hear from you! Glad your family is safe, the house can be fixed or replaced, but you all can't be. (((HUGS)))
I second that! Good for you MicBat!:sohappy: That makes me feel a lot better.
We took a drive over to Biloxi and Gulfport, MS today to inspect the damage of my friends homes and attempt some repairs. I have a lot of tarps, roofing nails, roofing cement, lumber and other stuff left over from Ivan and Dennis. So, we packed up several SUV's with repair material and several cases of MRE's and water and then headed on over first thing this morning. We left the children at my house with their mom's and aunts watching more Disney movies.
Well, I don't need to describe the extent of the damage. You've seen it on TV. It looks like a war zone. We had to be careful not to run over debris in the roadway. We didn't see any local law enforcement or fire and rescue. We brought firearms too, just in case. We went first to my buddies house that was gone. Indeed, it was gone. However, he was able to find pieces of his house and personal belongings spread along a corridor about 1/4 mile long. He and another friend stayed there to collect what they could and we left to go to another house.
The second house we found was in fair shape but had severe roof damage. We set to work patching holes and nailing down tarps. I'm an expert tarp installer due to my extensive Ivan experience! Of course, there was no water, electric or other utilities. I shut off all the main breakers to prevent damage when power is one day restored. From the looks of things, it's going to be a long time before they get power back.
Before I forget, I need to add a personal story that relates to this mess. Back in late July, 2004 I was hospitalized for about a week and hooked up to all sorts of monitors. I was not allowed to get out of bed and I could not take a shower! I hate being stinky! In the old days, nurses would give you sponge baths in your hospital bed. Now, they have a product called
Comfort Bath. These are disposable, moisturized washcloths that you use to clean yourself. They suggest that you warm them up in a microwave but that is not really necessary. These things are great! After I was released from the hospital, I bought a case of these things. I'm glad I did because they worked great during Ivan. I bought another case after Ivan and brought that case to MS.
We moved on to several other of our friends houses in the that area and performed similar repairs. We contacted some other friends in that area that had sheltered in their homes and did some more repairs. They were clearly suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. The stories they told about the howling winds, rising water and how they thought they were going to die reminded me of Ivan. When I asked them if they would like to come over and stay with us in Florida they did not hesitate to accept the invitation. I told them that some would have to stay on the back porch and others camp in a tent in the back yard. One buddy said, "Woody, Hell would be better than this." Gosh, that was quite the complement! Living over at Woody's house is Hell! We gave them some Comfort Bath packs and told them to clean up first........because they stank to high heaven! :lol:
We decided to get out. It was hot, humid, with no shade and just plain nasty. We distributed the water, MRE's and Comfort Bath packs among people in the neighborhoods. We also left 6 ice coolers with ice and assorted drinks. We went back and helped our first friend pick up some personal items and then we all got out. When we drove home, we had the radio tuned into WWL 870 AM. The reports out of New Orleans were very depressing but we just had to listen. News reports are saying that gasoline is going to be in short supply around here so I don't know if we're going to be able to make any more trips over to MS.
We've got 1,000's of Katrina evacuee's staying here in Florida that need food, water, etc. The local charity organizations are doing wonderful work to help these people. Sam's Club sells the Comfort Bath packs. We're going over there tonight and buy several cases which we will drop off at the relief distribution center. It isn't much but it will make a few people more comfortable.
This last part is hard. I haven't heard from one of my friends since before the storm. We went by his house. It was gone. Nothing left but the foundation. We searched in the logical direction of the path of destruction and found nothing. Haven't heard a thing from him and I don't know if he decided to shelter in place or if he decided to go. When I call his cell phone, all I get is, "We're sorry, but that number can not be completed as dialed".
