katrina




	Write 2 The Heart October 20,2005 Welcome to your latest issue of Write 2 the Heart. Write 2 the Heart is sent by subscription only. Unsubscribe instructions appear at the end of this letter. I know many of you have wondered what happened to Write 2 the Heart. Today’s story shares just a small portion of what of what I just went through. After Katrina By: Cheryl Speir We expected the wind damage. You can’t be hit by a category four hurricane and not receive some damage. We expected to lose power. Power lines are vulnerable to the high winds. What took us by surprise was the loss of all communication. When we were able to go out and look at the damage after hurricane Katrina, it was overwhelming. Trees and power lines lay together in huge tangled balls. Roofs were missing; homes were demolished, and concrete sidewalks were ripped up. David immediately went and checked on our elderly neighbors. One needed trees limbs moved so she could get in and out of her house. Another sent half of his insulin home with David, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to keep it cool and asked David to help. Everyone appeared unharmed, but we were all in shock. Our phone was one of the few in our area that worked. But we couldn’t use it to make calls out of the area. Friends and relatives from out of state could call us, but we couldn’t call them. Cell phones were not working; the cell phone towers were down. Radio stations were gone. Mail service was halted. We felt isolated. We wondered what was going on in the rest of the world. We worried that another storm could hit and we would not know of its coming. My first order of business was to count noses. My oldest son had to ride out the storm at the air force base located near the beach in Biloxi. We were only able to hear from him because he and his wife had the walkie- talkie feature on their cell phones. When all of my sons, their wives, and children were accounted for, I turned to finding my siblings. All of my brothers came through the storm with minimal damage. My sister was a little more difficult. She and her family live in Waveland, to near the beach and in the path of the storm serge for my peace of mind. When she was able to get in touch with me, several anxious days had passed. Her home had been flooded and would need extensive repair. Several miracles had happened in her area, the flood- waters had picked up her travel camper and floated it. Not a drop of water had gotten in it, so they were able to have a place to stay after the storm. Even though most of the buildings were totally destroyed or heavily damaged, the cross on churches and the statues of Jesus remained standing. Everything in our freezer needed cooking. I cooked and shared with our neighborhood. Our elderly neighbors brought their frozen goods and we barbequed, boiled, and fried most of it. Our patio became a meeting place in the evenings. As time went on, the heat became unbearable, 103° with 99% humidity. Then the mosquitoes hatched. They bit and buzzed around our ears continually. The combination of insects and heat made nights miserable. David came up with a great idea. He took an old motorcycle radiator fan and hooked it up to an automobile battery at night. He would charge it during the day. It became our little piece of heaven! That’s one of the reasons why I married him: he’s a problem solver. The day came when David had to venture out for gas. There was only one gas station opened. You had to wait in line for nearly eight hours to be able to buy only ten gallons of gas. I was surprised at how people took it in stride and remained calm. For weeks everything we did required waiting in long lines. Water, ice, and food, given out by the National Guard and other wonderful groups that came from other areas to help, were like manna from heaven. Every relief vehicle, every gas tanker was treated like royalty with a police escort. I kept a running letter to son Tim in Iraq. It was more like a daily journal letting him know what was happening. I knew he would be worried but I didn’t know when the mail would start running again so I could let him know we were all right. At one point I wrote: I have no power, am living under a curfew with martial law, enduring high temperatures and eating military MRE’s, how did I get to Iraq? The weeks passed in a swift blur. I often wonder what happened to the month of September. Funny how time flies when you are just trying to survive. I felt like we had been transported back to the 1700’s. Light was by candle. Food was cooked on open fire. Clothes were hand washed. News was spread by word of mouth, and so were rumors. Even the smallest cut or nick had to be cared for or infection wanted to set in. The thing I missed most was my air conditioner. The second most missed appliance was the washing machine. Cleaning up after a storm is dirty work and we wallowed in it. I discovered if I put dirty clothes in five-gallon buckets with detergent and allowed them to soak for hours, then took a plunger and plunge them for several minutes every time I passed them, I could get the clothes reasonably clean. I became quite proficient at cooking on our barbeque pit using the downed tree limbs for fuel. I could also use the butane burner to make coffee, but I never did acquire the knack to turn the flame down very low without it going out. One morning I noticed that an electric company from South Carolina kept driving by looking at the wires on the ground in my neighborhood. Hope bloomed within me. That evening they came and picked up the wires and began to reattach what they could and replace what was damaged beyond repair. When the truck parked in front of my house, David raced out to see if we could offer them ice water. I was practically dancing out of my front door just in time to hear the crew turn down the offer of water but ask if we had some sweet tea. David started telling the young man we didn’t have any; I interrupted and told them I would be happy to make some for them. I made a gallon for them and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. I felt like a child at Christmas when I ran to turn the electric breakers on. Heaven was tuning the air conditioner on. We were surprised at the events that had transpired while we were without communication. Our Chief Justice had died, been buried and there were hearings to appoint another. We were able to see pictures of New Orleans for the first time. We saw the total devastation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and found out just how far inland the wind damage had gone. Through it all, we know that God’s hand was upon us. Though we had a tree fall on our house and slide across the eave causing damage and our fence is down in many places as well as most of the trees in our backyard, God protected our lives. He made sure we had food each day. Ice was brought to our front door by people who found they had too much. Our water never stopped flowing nor did we ever have a boil water notice. Best of all, there was a peace in our lives. We woke each morning with an expectation; we knew without a doubt that the needs of each day would be met, and they were. He never disappointed us. When we ran out of insect repellent, the mail started running again and in it was a care package from relatives that included insect repellent. When we ran low on toilet tissue and first aid supplies, another care package arrived. Our neighborhood is different now. The oak trees that were over one hundred years old are uprooted leaving holes in the ground big enough to create ponds or water gardens. Some houses will have to be torn down completely. But the greatest change has been to the neighbors. Before, many of the elderly were afraid to let unknown others into their lives, especially a family that has a young adult son who receives lots of visitors. Now this same son and his friends are among the first they call when they need minor household repairs. We get friendly waves and smiles every time we walk out of the house. We are the recipients of many meals because someone cooked too much for their own use. On the surface, it may look like hurricane Katrina dealt us a blow and scattered much, but in reality God used the whirlwind to blow away the chaff of indifference leaving new kernels of friendship. Cheryl Speir moderator @ write2theheart.com Military Prayer Reminder As you read over this list of names, please take a moment to pray for these young people and their families: Tim Speir Alan Todd Holland Graham William Julie Sagel Jessie Marshal Thompson Jason Eric Hernandez Kristin Danielson Ryan Larry Miele Daniel Amy John Joanne Gary Boardwine Hadassah Chanz Wackerly Robert Henderson David Habighurst Tonia Melissa Bair Matthew Nutter Seth Jarrell Matt Hall Donald Wayne West Frank Schambach, Jr. Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and our troops at this time. If you have loved ones in the military, or who are being called to go overseas, send their names (first and last or first only) to be included in our prayer reminder. Have you visited our new bookstore? It’s located at http://www.write2theheart.com/html/book_store.html You will find wonderful books written by, or that include stories by many of our talented writers. You will also find books that aide the budding writer. I highly recommend “Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’ Guide,” and “2005 Writer’s Market.” Both are must haves for all serious writers. They are great tools to find that perfect market for your writing. Copyright © 2005, Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors. Write 2 the Heart does not share subscribers names or emails with third parties.