December 8, 2005

Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and here I am, still in Mississippi. Let me tell you all about the state of this beautiful state.

3 months post Katrina. People are still without power. Without water. They still are living in tents. Things are getting better, but the forward momentum is slow, and not everyone is getting the help they need, but the job is so overwhelming, that you have to start somewhere and just work your way around, and unfortunately, some people get caught in the void and still are needing help.

Fema trailers are everywhere. Some people are just getting theirs. But just because you get a trailer in your yard doesn't mean you will get the keys to it. I know of one family who has yet to see an inspection of their trailer. If the person setting it up didn't just "accidently" forget to lock the door when he left, the entire family would still be staying in a tiny camper.

Let me tell you about Thanksgiving.. what a beautiful day that was! My oldest daughter Jen made it down here, and we spent the day together on the same ERV. Our morning routine in our kitchen was different on that day since the Baptists that cook our food weren't going to make the big dinner, the caterer at kitchen 35 was going to make our hot meals. So we lined our ERV's up and had a caravan of sorts to the other kitchen in Biloxi. The sight of it gave me goosebumps. All of our ERV's moving down the highway in a line, it was an awesome sight. We served our clients a wonderful meal, turkey, dressing, cranberries, the whole traditional meal. I'm happy to say, I had a hard time finding people to feed. It seems that people found places to go, family and friends, so they weren't home to accept our meal. That is a wonderful thing though.. I'm glad they got out of town, if only for a short time, to spend the holiday with others.. the ones who were there to take our meals, were forever greatful that we would spend the day making sure they had a hot meal.

I missed spending Thanksgiving with my husband, eating turkey and watching football.. but it was special to spend it with my daughter, and my Red Cross family, helping others. I'll have plenty of holidays, but this one will always be special to me.