My brother #3 who owns a business in Biloxi about a mile or so from my mother's house... we saw on the NOAA website, that the building for his business is still standing. He has owned this business for about 25 years. Unfortunately he can't work until electricity is restored in Biloxi. That will be a good while. His owns an appliance repair business. When the lights come back on I am sure he will be swamped with business. He lost his home... a condo directly on the beach in Pass Christian. Thankfully he had evacuated to Pensacola to a friend's house.
My mom heard from my sister with M.S. yesterday. She was the one who told us Mom's house was standing and we all thought she was crazy until today when we looked at the NOAA website. Tonight, my brother #4 in Hattiesburg is taking my mother to the fire station where he works, and have her call me. I am in charge of talking her to fly to Virginia and stay with me until the electricity comes back on at her home...probably three months. I am the only one in the family that she will listen to when Mom's go off the deep end emotionally. She wants to go back now to her house which is impossible. She has health problems and can't take the heat and will need more heart and blood pressure meds soon. So pray for strength for me when talking with her tonight. My #1 brother in Mobile does have electricity and water again, but they do not have gas in the city. He can't run his trucks for his business because of the gas shortage. They are all running so short of money because the banks are not open. Mobile will hopefully be opening the banks tomorrow. He is going to give cash to Brothers #3 and #4. Yesterday, all these brothers meet in Mobile. My mom, brother #4 and his wife saw on TV the new shows about the condition of the coast. Everyone had a big long cry. Because this was the third tropical system to come into the area, and the other two were not that bad, noone took that much cash out of the banks in advance. Brother #1 vacation house on Dauphin Island got flooded but it stood its ground. He had just finished restoring it from Hurricane Ivan from last year and it was hit again. I asked him the stupid question that the press asked, "Why do you keep living in an area where so many hurricanes hit?" I also told him that was the press' question not mine. I know the reason. Because the Coast is my home, I love the water, fishing, and swimming. My family is here, it is home. There is a blessing with this home... when you see the news footage of the island and see an oil rig that hit the island, my brother house is the one still standing next to the rig. This brother was a Navy Seal. Brother #2 made it in from Africa from the oil rigs, and my sister's husband made it in from the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. My brother and sister are married to a brother and sister. The oil rigs guys are in Monroe, Louisiana and are coming to the Coast this weekend to pick up my M.S. sister and her children to go back to Monroe. My husband's family in Bayou La Batre, Alabama house were all flooded. But everyone is safe. Our family joke, Bayou La Batre is where in the movie Forrest Gump went to start his shrimp boat business. Our cousin Bubba did own a shrimp boat business in Bayou La Batre until Hurricane Frederick wiped the business out in the 1980s. This whole community is a fishing community. Susan, my asst. who is married to one of my husband's cousins, lives near Bayou La Batre. She has phone service and water, but no electricity. She went to Bayou La Batre and gave us a report. Our relatives in Slidell and Pearl River, Louisiana lost their homes. But they are safe in Northern Mississippi. I think I covered everyone in the family. BTW, the MS Coast newspaper said that several of the antebellum homes in Pass Christian did survive. (The ones in my online photo collection.) The new homes did not. Some history of the Coast does live on!!! People have asked me what can they do to help. Please keep praying for the people of this area of our country. Volunteer for one of the charity agencies or donate money. You can answer phones, pack kits, load trucks, etc. Go by and say thank you to some of the corporations that are sending massive amounts of aid. Some are Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Food Lion, etc. Make a point to talk to the manager of the store and let him know that you appreciate their corporation's charity. I went to Food Lion grocery this morning and personally thanked the manager and asked that he let the corporate offices know how much we appreciate their efforts. The manager told me they hardly ever have people outside the affected areas tell them thank you. Food Lion stores are not located in the Mississippi Gulf Coastal area. But they were one of the first corporations to rush supplies to the Coast. Thank the citizens of states like Alabama and Texas who are taking the children into their schools until Mississippi and Louisiana can rebuild their schools. That is a lot of tax money to do put out. Thank the family members of the police, search and rescue, military, electric and phone specialists, etc. from all over the U.S. who are going into the Coast. Their families need to hear thank you. I personally thank all of you for the hundreds of emails you have sent me. I have read all of them and found them very comforting. I have told all of our family members that you all have offered your prayers and support. Penny E. Ladnier Owner, The Costume Gallery, www.costumegallery.com Costume Classroom, www.costumeclassroom.com Costume Research Library, www.costumelibrary.com _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
