Tuesday, February 26, 2008

After Dinner Talk

Pearlington: Tonight the Pearlington group went out to eat to Turtle Landing in Pearlington. While the food was good, the real highlight of the night was after dinner: Connie (a local resident who rode out the storm on her roof) and Glen (the leader of One house at a time) spoke for nearly an hour on storm and on the recovery effort.

Some of the highlights:

* The storm was unreal. 30 feet of water in most places. Houses splitting apart. Survival was close to impossible. Trees falling. Pure chaos.

* The hours after the storm were similarly harrowing with water ever where. Connie and her husband survived in a church.

* The days after the storm were drawn out episodes of trying to find friends, homes, and streets. It was terrifying.

* Many residents have had a long hard battle to recover. Some have not and have given up and committed suicide.

* Volunteering down here not only helps, but improves the morale of the residents.

No comments: