Biloxi blues

As you know, he's staying at church/shelter in a town called Ocean Springs, MS. It's very close to Biloxi, MS which has just as much, if not more, storm damage.

Each day people contact the shelter and ask for help. Wire told me last night that after the inital contact, a person is sent from the shelter to the location to assess the situation. That way, they know if they can help, how many people to send in the work crew, what tools they'll need, etc.

He told me a story last night about a guy who went to do that initial assessment in Biloxi, and came back with two flat tires. Not from vandalism, but from the stuff that's strewn all over the roads. They just haven't been able to clean it up yet.

This person got one flat on the way down, got it fixed, did his work, and drove back. While sitting in the shelter at dinner, someone came in and said, "Hey, is that your truck out there? It's got a flat tire.". He must have had a slow leak on the way back to the shelter.

But the next thing that happened was even more amazing. Some people coming by stopped and patched his flat for him! People are just helping each other left and right down there.

Speaking of help, the shelter where he's staying offers free meals to everyone in the community who needs them. It's just incredible. Whole families come in every day to eat, or just to pick up food to bring back to what's left of their homes.

Today he's scheduled to re-join the work crew and continue cleaning out that woman's house, shoveling drywall and soaked CDs. He said he'd leave it till morning to decide if he'll rejoin the work crew or work in the office. Either way he'll be a great help.

He hasn't yet had much of an opportunity to help out $-wise, but I'm sure that will change. Alot of the stores (walmart, etc.) are open, so he can buy stuff for people that need it.

He's being well taken care of there - he's got a cot to sleep on in an old schoolroom of the church. He's got fresh hot meals three times a day. He can get medical help if he needs it. And he's helping out in any way he can.


End of line.