Suddenly things got much brighter.....
The first week after the storm continued to drag on with no easy way to get supplies. They had finally opened a distribution center, but it was a drive through center and the wait in line was several hours long. A lot of people actually pushed their cars slowly through the line to save gas. I decided to wait it out. I would still drive down to the bank headquarters each day to see if they had gotten any supplies in and also to check for messages from Brad. It was very discouraging to go there each day, because employees were required to sign in and every day I went in and had to explain that I was a wife of an employee who had been sent to Chicago. I did not see any of the employees there that knew me and the ones who did not know me seemed suspicious of me. I took Calvin and his friend in one morning to let them fill up on the candy bars and junk food and to get my usual one or two bottles of water. There was a woman there trying to load up some supplies into her vehicle and so I had the two boys help her. They loaded several cases of water and soda into her car and I realized that I could probably take a whole case of water instead of trying to take a couple of bottles each day. I had Calvin load one up in my car. As he walked out, someone saw him and became very upset. I think she may have also seen him loading up the other persons car and thought the boys had taken all of the water for us. She started talking very loudly and complaining about people who just walked in off the streets and took things. I was too upset to try to explain, so I just quickly left. When I got home, I cried for a long time. It was more than just the water. I missed Brad and wanted to hear from him. I was overwhelmed with the daily struggle to clean up and feed the boys and worry about the damage to the house.
That night as we sat in the hot dark house, I heard a knock at the door. It was 4 people from the bank. They told me that Brad had called them and wanted me and Calvin on a plane to Chicago that very minute. They had arranged for me to go spend the night at the bank and then catch a private bus to Baton Rouge in the morning. From there, they would arrange a flight to Chicago. I was thrilled that Brad had finally gotten a message through and the thought of leaving the hot dreary depressing house was a dream come true. That only lasted for a minute or two and then I realized that I still could not leave because there was nobody to care for our dog. Nobody in the entire neighborhood had fences up. I had Julie on a chain, but I had to check on her every hour or two because she would get the chain all tangled up or knock over her water bowl. I also really needed to try to find someone to repair the roof before it rained again. Then there was the daily bleaching that kept the mold away.
I told the people from the bank my concerns and they assured me they would take care of Julie. They said I could take her to Baton Rouge on the bus and from there, someone would find a place to board her. They told me I could think about it and they would come by early in the morning to see if I wanted to get on that bus.
Calvin and I talked it over and then my neighbor came over with news from Brad. She said that he had emailed her Mother in Ohio, and the Mother had gotten a call through to my neighbor. The phones were evidently up during the wee hours of the night, and Brad was going to try to call me then. Sure enough, he was able to call at about midnight. We talked for over an hour and I convinced him that I was OK and that I felt like I had to stay to take care of things down here. There were 20,000 other evacuaees in Baton Rouge and I was concerned that I would get there and not be able to board the dog. With Brad's (grudgingly) blessing, I decided to stay. A few minutes after I hung up, a friend and fellow employee of Brad's, named Terri, called me up. She lived in Baton Rouge wanted to know if Brad and gotten through and also to assure me that if I came up there, she would make sure the dog was taken care of. I decided to stay anyway, but the impact all of this had on my morale was fantastic. Just talking to Brad was a huge boost, but also knowing that I had an "out" if I needed it was good. It was also wonderful to know that Brad's fellow employees were so concerned about me that they would go to all of that trouble to help. Many of them were in a much worse position than I was.
Brad and told me that he and the others up in Chicago were working almost round the clock to get the bank up and running. They usually worked 21 hours and then slept for a couple of hours but at least once Brad had worked for 36 hours straight through. He was exhausted but in his element. He loves his job and thrives on the hard work. I knew that I had to make sure he was not worried about me, so he could devote himself to his job. The people down here needed their money so the bank had to get back up. 4 or 5 of my neighbors are school teachers and one of them told me that their paychecks were all direct deposited to the bank and payday had been the day before the storm. The money had disappeared in cyber space and she wanted me to ask Brad when they would be able to get their money. I did not think Brad would have the answer to that, but when I talked to him, he did have the answer. He said that was one of the first things they had worked on when they got to Chicago, and for her to go to one of the branches and the money should be in her account. It was and the teachers were all so happy to be able to get to their money. Some of them wanted to leave the Coast and could not do it until they knew they had money in their accounts. I was very proud of the job that Brad and his co-workers were doing.
Prior to the phone call that I finally got from Brad, he had talked to another one of the people on the message board where he had asked for help. One woman offered to send a shipment of supplies to the bank in Baton Rouge, and Brad's friend would see to it that the supplies were put on the bus to the headquarters here on the Coast. After she shipped out the supplies, that woman, who I had never met, got into the car with her husband and drove all the way from California to the Coast. They brought a bulldozer and some chain saws and worked their way through the damaged areas, helping wherever they could. I finally met up with those 2 people, Stephanie and Doug, about 4 weeks after the storm. They found an area that had been hard hit by the storm surge here on the coast, and they stayed in a camper cutting trees and clearing them for the people in that community. It amazes me that people can be so good hearted. All of the generous and kind people that have helped out in any way they can, have helped me in a way that does not involve chainsaws or food and water. It helped brighten my spirit and give me the will to keep on doing what I needed to do down here.
That night as we sat in the hot dark house, I heard a knock at the door. It was 4 people from the bank. They told me that Brad had called them and wanted me and Calvin on a plane to Chicago that very minute. They had arranged for me to go spend the night at the bank and then catch a private bus to Baton Rouge in the morning. From there, they would arrange a flight to Chicago. I was thrilled that Brad had finally gotten a message through and the thought of leaving the hot dreary depressing house was a dream come true. That only lasted for a minute or two and then I realized that I still could not leave because there was nobody to care for our dog. Nobody in the entire neighborhood had fences up. I had Julie on a chain, but I had to check on her every hour or two because she would get the chain all tangled up or knock over her water bowl. I also really needed to try to find someone to repair the roof before it rained again. Then there was the daily bleaching that kept the mold away.
I told the people from the bank my concerns and they assured me they would take care of Julie. They said I could take her to Baton Rouge on the bus and from there, someone would find a place to board her. They told me I could think about it and they would come by early in the morning to see if I wanted to get on that bus.
Calvin and I talked it over and then my neighbor came over with news from Brad. She said that he had emailed her Mother in Ohio, and the Mother had gotten a call through to my neighbor. The phones were evidently up during the wee hours of the night, and Brad was going to try to call me then. Sure enough, he was able to call at about midnight. We talked for over an hour and I convinced him that I was OK and that I felt like I had to stay to take care of things down here. There were 20,000 other evacuaees in Baton Rouge and I was concerned that I would get there and not be able to board the dog. With Brad's (grudgingly) blessing, I decided to stay. A few minutes after I hung up, a friend and fellow employee of Brad's, named Terri, called me up. She lived in Baton Rouge wanted to know if Brad and gotten through and also to assure me that if I came up there, she would make sure the dog was taken care of. I decided to stay anyway, but the impact all of this had on my morale was fantastic. Just talking to Brad was a huge boost, but also knowing that I had an "out" if I needed it was good. It was also wonderful to know that Brad's fellow employees were so concerned about me that they would go to all of that trouble to help. Many of them were in a much worse position than I was.
Brad and told me that he and the others up in Chicago were working almost round the clock to get the bank up and running. They usually worked 21 hours and then slept for a couple of hours but at least once Brad had worked for 36 hours straight through. He was exhausted but in his element. He loves his job and thrives on the hard work. I knew that I had to make sure he was not worried about me, so he could devote himself to his job. The people down here needed their money so the bank had to get back up. 4 or 5 of my neighbors are school teachers and one of them told me that their paychecks were all direct deposited to the bank and payday had been the day before the storm. The money had disappeared in cyber space and she wanted me to ask Brad when they would be able to get their money. I did not think Brad would have the answer to that, but when I talked to him, he did have the answer. He said that was one of the first things they had worked on when they got to Chicago, and for her to go to one of the branches and the money should be in her account. It was and the teachers were all so happy to be able to get to their money. Some of them wanted to leave the Coast and could not do it until they knew they had money in their accounts. I was very proud of the job that Brad and his co-workers were doing.
Prior to the phone call that I finally got from Brad, he had talked to another one of the people on the message board where he had asked for help. One woman offered to send a shipment of supplies to the bank in Baton Rouge, and Brad's friend would see to it that the supplies were put on the bus to the headquarters here on the Coast. After she shipped out the supplies, that woman, who I had never met, got into the car with her husband and drove all the way from California to the Coast. They brought a bulldozer and some chain saws and worked their way through the damaged areas, helping wherever they could. I finally met up with those 2 people, Stephanie and Doug, about 4 weeks after the storm. They found an area that had been hard hit by the storm surge here on the coast, and they stayed in a camper cutting trees and clearing them for the people in that community. It amazes me that people can be so good hearted. All of the generous and kind people that have helped out in any way they can, have helped me in a way that does not involve chainsaws or food and water. It helped brighten my spirit and give me the will to keep on doing what I needed to do down here.
posted by Nancy at 7:51 AM
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