Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Greetings to all:
After much consternation, I decided to end my stay in Mississippi one day earlier than planned. Big deal.
This past week has been somewhat frustrating as the Red Cross work of bulk distribution and mass feeding has really slowed down. That's a good thing. The stores are open, the residents are going back to work and life is a little closer to normal which means there is less need for the street to street distribution of food. In fact, RC is closing that phase of the recovery and will be focusing on providing support at numerous service centers throughout the area. The service centers were developed mainly to have a place for the residents to sign up for the RC emergency financial assistance. Normally, there are 1,000 checks given out per day at these centers where there is also health care and mental health counselors.
I "outprocessed" yesterday with RC. That is the word RC uses for checking out. It was uneventful. I then went back to the naval base and packed to go home. I left most of the hand sanitizer and other comfort items at the "Leave One Pick One" table. I enjoyed chatting with several of the American Indians who were waiting to head to Texas for Hurricane Rita clean-up. They provide forestry services. There were Native Americans from all the major tribes, Navajo, Commanche, Apache, Chocktaw. With the number of Mississippi residents that will be misplaced by Hurricane Katrina I couldn't help but think about how the ancestors of these Indians were moved. It is clear that most of those who we have talked to who have lost their homes from the storm don't want to move to another area. Let's hope that FEMA and the local governments can accomplish that.
So here I am at home again in Lancaster. It feels great to sit in a comfortable chair. The flight home was uneventful with many RC volunteers blending in again with the business and personal travelers. Our mission accomplished. For the first time in several weeks we didn't have to where our ID badges, however, we exchanged hellos in the airport sharing our experiences and having the satisfaction for a job well done.
I will be getting pictures developed and posting them on the blog. I also feel a real need to have some time to process this experience. I dn't know quite what to think at this point.
Stand by for more news....
Bob
Greetings to all:
After much consternation, I decided to end my stay in Mississippi one day earlier than planned. Big deal.
This past week has been somewhat frustrating as the Red Cross work of bulk distribution and mass feeding has really slowed down. That's a good thing. The stores are open, the residents are going back to work and life is a little closer to normal which means there is less need for the street to street distribution of food. In fact, RC is closing that phase of the recovery and will be focusing on providing support at numerous service centers throughout the area. The service centers were developed mainly to have a place for the residents to sign up for the RC emergency financial assistance. Normally, there are 1,000 checks given out per day at these centers where there is also health care and mental health counselors.
I "outprocessed" yesterday with RC. That is the word RC uses for checking out. It was uneventful. I then went back to the naval base and packed to go home. I left most of the hand sanitizer and other comfort items at the "Leave One Pick One" table. I enjoyed chatting with several of the American Indians who were waiting to head to Texas for Hurricane Rita clean-up. They provide forestry services. There were Native Americans from all the major tribes, Navajo, Commanche, Apache, Chocktaw. With the number of Mississippi residents that will be misplaced by Hurricane Katrina I couldn't help but think about how the ancestors of these Indians were moved. It is clear that most of those who we have talked to who have lost their homes from the storm don't want to move to another area. Let's hope that FEMA and the local governments can accomplish that.
So here I am at home again in Lancaster. It feels great to sit in a comfortable chair. The flight home was uneventful with many RC volunteers blending in again with the business and personal travelers. Our mission accomplished. For the first time in several weeks we didn't have to where our ID badges, however, we exchanged hellos in the airport sharing our experiences and having the satisfaction for a job well done.
I will be getting pictures developed and posting them on the blog. I also feel a real need to have some time to process this experience. I dn't know quite what to think at this point.
Stand by for more news....
Bob
posted by Bob Still at 3:03 PM
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