“The RoseBouquet”

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, too
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 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 is the editor and moderator@write2theheart.com You my sign up for
her weekly inspirational ezine at http://write2theheart.com
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