Hurricane Ike Aftermath

Schlepp got Sunday off from hospicing Aunt Frances thanks to Cousin Kathie holding the fort. Got to go up to the Valles Caldera and tour back into the far NW reaches of the Redondo Border. Beautiful country, early fall, and wonderfully re-energizing.

Today we're back at it, but for perspective, don't forget that Hurricane Ike was a huge disaster despite the media's switch of attention to the financial situation.

For example, this just in from my old college roommate, J.C. He lives in PA but obviously took time off from work to help out in TX.

hi all,
I just got back form Houston/Baytown. Baytown is the site for the 2nd biggest emergency kitchen operation in history ( the first was the support operation at the twin towers site). I have to admit that the baptist men's clubs of North Carolina really do know how to do it right as far as supporting the emergency workers, they run the kitchens that supply the food we deliver to the clients, and they have both a couple of portable shower trailers and a laundry trailer that was parked outside of the staff shelter that I got a cot in last night.

this is an altogether different operation than what we did at Katrina, the need is more pressing. It is probably because I am here at week 2 instead of week 5 like Katrina. We have elderly people walking up to the meal lines at the shelter who have walked for a 2 miles or more. This isn't "helping the needy and meeting the greedy" this is bringing 500 lunches to the community of Anahuac and running out of food, then 4 hours later coming back with 750 diners and leaving just 30 extra meals in the shelter for people who walk up after we have to leave. You do NOT want to be the guy in the red cross vest who has to look a 3 year old in the face and say "Sorry, we're out."

we aren't resupplying warehouses like we sometimes did in Katrina. We are running supplies to where the generosity of America meets the desperate of America. The missions are long, very long! We operate the main warehouse and the head quarters up in Fort Worth because ....well for exactly the reason we are in now. There is Kyle churning up the Atlantic. If we were deployed closer we could be knocked out by anything that comes on shore.

well I've driven almost 900 miles in a box truck in the last 48 hours so I need some pillow time.

See ya all,

JC/Razz