Sally's 2005 Christmas Letter
aka
Katrina and the Waves hit home
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES
I know of lot of things happened prior to August 29, 2005, but you will have to forgive me if I am a bit fuzzy on the details. I remember it snowed on Christmas - there must have been at least 3 or 4 snowflakes holding hands under the bushes. We flashed forward to Mardi Gras and the parades-- not as festive as Galveston, but lots of excitement. The big Pascagoula parade passed by the end of my street, so I had easy access to the fun. We all had birthdays with Len having the most significant. Hard to believe he turned 40. Then came summer, Tyler and I made a long trip to visit Galveston. It was his first time away from both parents for more than a day or two. He was taking antibiotics for a toe infection, so when his ears started hurting, I thought they would be covered too. Not true. When we got home, he was put on another round of meds and eventually had to have the tubes that were put in two years ago, taken out. He is much better now. He spent a few weeks with Chris on the truck and a few days with the Mann clan in Braxton. That was about it for summer. Towards the end of summer, Robby orchestrated his Eagle Scout Project. We were all supposed to help his group clear three miles of Desoto National Forest. Unfortunately, a severe thunderstorm hit, so Len called to cancel the civilian help and the scout troop and leaders completed the task. We all got shirts that said we helped, and we did in spirit.
Then along came another hurricane warning. It was not supposed to come
anywhere close to here, so we all decided to meet at Chris and Sharon’s
house. They live on a hill in the country. All equals Hunny and I, Len,
Renee, Robby, Ryan and Len’s three dogs, 5 birds and a ferret, plus
Chris, Sharon, Tyler and Blu. I had made 3 batches of red beans and rice,
Renee made a huge kettle of soup and brought most of her pantry, and Chris
made whatever was left in the kitchen. We all got to the house about 2 on
Sunday afternoon. Chris had brought the big semi home and had it parked
along the edge of the driveway. Some watched the news most of the night
till about 7:am when the power went out. Chris was able to use the inverter
on the truck to connect a small TV and the fan. We huddled in the back room
and ventured out once in a while until the calmer weather finally came.
We had filled the bathtubs with water for the toilets, as the kids have
a well and we did not want to lose the prime. The sound of the wind and
rain got a bit much. The shingles and siding were blowing off the house
and the trees were breaking all around us. Fortunately, all but one missed
the house and that one got the edge of the car port. By late afternoon,
Len was getting itchy so he and Robby took off to try to get to his house.(
He could not get there until Tuesday morning). Chris had wanted to go too,
but we were checking for damage and missed their departure.Chris decided
to try to find them but could not, so went to Pascagoula to check on my
house. 
He
had to park about two blocks away and walk through thigh deep water and
climb over my back fence to get to my house. He used his cell phone to take
pictures of my house. I could not believe what I saw. My refrigerator was
floating in the kitchen and my big TV was on its face in the den. It had
washed off the cabinet. My house had about 4 feet of water go through it.
Needless to say, most everything lower than my waist was lost. You cannot
imagine what it is like to feel responsible for losing stuff that was entrusted
to you for safekeeping. I learned a valuable lesson though, you really do
not need all the stuff you have. It is nice and comforting, but not as important
as we think it is. I will never be a minimalist, but I am looking twice
at being a keeper of everything. Since I did not have flood insurance, like
over 90% of the town, I will have to work with FEMA to get my house fixed.
I have been fortunate to be able to live with Sharon and her family in the
guest roomand what was left of my stuff fit into the corner of her attic.
Now that I have a trailer, we have a bit more space to store things.
Len’s house had roof, shed and fence damage. His house was one of about six houses on his street not to flood. Chris and Sharon had wind and rain damage to the roof, windows, sheetrock and flooring. They are just now starting to work with the contractor to fix everything.
The best part of this whole experience has been family and friends. My
friend Royce came the next weekend. She and her friends in Florida sent
gasoline, plastic containers, dish wrapping paper, and all sorts of things
we didn’t even know we needed, but we did. Robby, his friend Matt and
Len came over and tore out the carpeting and moved the damaged furniture
out of the house. I was in denial at the time and refused to let them take
out everything. I just knew it would dry out and be fine. I was wrong. Chris’s
family came down twice to help pack up my house and Renee’s folks came
down with a utility trailer to get it all over here.
They all hauled stuff and mucked out the sheds, pulled and tugged until
they could hardly walk. It was incredible. My only worry was that I did
not tell everyone enough times how much their help meant to us. Royce came
back a few more times until she was sure I had retrieved and saved a much
as I wanted. She personally saved my wedding pictures and family photo albums
that would have been lost forever. Then there were the calls from friends
and family. It was extremely difficult because all we had were cell phones.
You would have to reconnect several times to complete a conversation. Since
Chris was the tallest, he would stand in the middle of the driveway on the
highest point of the hill, get the connection then slowly lower the phone.
It was sort of funny and we learned to talk quickly. I am grateful for the
patience our friends and family showed.
So, as this Christmas season nears, and now just a few days from Thanksgiving, I want to make sure that everyone knows things will be better and could have been a lot worse. We are so thankful for our friends and family and their friends and families. We have heard your prayers and they have been answered. We send you our love and great appreciation for being there for all of us.
