Brighter Lights On These Darker Days

[azskyman]

One of the challenges for all of us is to find something to cling on to, a person to talk with, or a good news story that helps give us hope and take away some of the despair.

Here's a posting thread where you can put your personal experiences that helped make your day...or stories of others that you hear about or read about that are uplifting.

I'll kick it off by sharing that I had a wonderful AIM conversation with Sandi (Gulfbreezer) this morning. We both needed a lift in spirits, and after a few minutes, we both admitted the conversation helped us get our day off to a better start. She herself went through much during Florida's hurricane year last year...losing property and possessions too.

Sometimes a brighter light comes from some compassionate words among online friends.

Post your own "brighter lights" here to share with others who need them too.

[cmdebbie]

God Bless America! We are a strong country and WILL come through this even stronger! I am proud to be an American!

[Skywatch_NC]

The city of Raleigh where I live has 30 evacuated children enrolled in our school system and hopefully can help many more families as time goes on!!

2 brothers ages 8 and 4 raised $300 in a lemonade sale this past weekend in their Cary, NC neighborhood for hurricane relief and plan to hold another lemonade sale this coming weekend!

Eric

[Mattie]

I learned from my Godmother that evacuated from Slidell that a man paid for a week in the hotel for all hurricane evacuees in the Huntsville area.

WOW!

[GalvestonDuck]

I was able to reach MSCoast today!

[Cape Fear Cane Watcher]

The town of Burgaw, NC sent a tractor trailer load of household supplies and food to Gautier, MS yesterday.

[azskyman]

Some 2000+ evacuees now living in Phoenix have ALL been invited to the Louisiana State/Arizona State football game in Tempe, AZ, on Saturday night....free of charge! Today there is a job fair going on at the Coliseum where they are staying, and the governor has pledged that every child will be in school here as early as next week.

[Mattie]

GEAUX Tigers!!!! ROFL

[USCG_Hurricane_Watcher]

...made contact with some friends of mine in the CG that are assigned in and around the NOLA area. Some came out of this unscathed, others lost almost everything.

This morning, in one of my conversations, I asked my friend how he was doing. "Not good...we're tired." Because of time and conditions, he wasn't able to evacuate nearly as far as he wanted. (They were busy pre-staging rescue assets while the mayor, gov, etc. were fumbling around.) Luckily, his family made it to safety.

Basically, he made it out with the uniform he was wearing at the time, a duffel bag with another uniform and some other "essentials." And that's how they've been operating for well over a week now.

In my conversation, I asked him if he or his crew needed anything...I'm guessing somebody to stand in for him for a day or two, or maybe a replacement for his crew, etc.

His response..."Yes, there is some stuff we need...send some more uniforms, we've still got a lot of work to do and we can't find the washer and dryer."

[Houstonia]

I have my family, parents, and pets all safe and sound and happy. I have enough possessions that I was able to give a lot away to the evacuees. I have a good job and a nice, clean apartment.

I live over 100 ft. above sea level.

These are the things that make me happy today.

[azskyman]

For those who have already posted here....the messages are uplifting that you provided.

In the days ahead, this is a good place to come when you need a lift.

I know I will.

[azsnowman]

While I'm not close the devastation and my heart goes out to the people that are still without homes, lost loved ones here's a few things. I'm grateful for Storm2K and ALL the wonderful people that call us home! I'm grateful for my wife, my dogs, my job with the PD, my home and best of all, the gift of Eternal Life!! Amen!

Dennis

[Mommadot]

My cousin, her husband and kids (9, 10, 16) are all fine and will be heading up to NJ soon to "visit" with us. We're so happy to extend the welcome mat to them. Her one son will be celebrating his 11th birthday in NJ. We are so grateful for that. Her husband is a hospital pharmacist who was evacuated days after the levees broke. I haven't talked to him yet, but he needs time to decompress. Their house is one of the twenty percent that has no major damage. Yet two blocks away some homes were under nine feet of water.

[chrisnnavarre]

Friday night my friend Wes (Active Duty Airforce - Hurlburt Field) came by and asked me to help him off-load some funiture for his ex-roomate's girlfriend's family. I rode with him to this trailer around 9:30PM that evening and when we walked inside there was a family of 9 people all from Biloxi, Gulfport, Mississippi. 1 greatgrandmother (83 years old), a grandmother, two mothers, one father who is a contract fire-fighter from Iraq, four kids, ages 4 thru 11, and two dogs who from what I understand swam with some of them from their homes. They are perfectly happy to be in the mobile-home which used to be Wes's roomate's place and they want to be together.

Saturday I fixed the toilet, showed them where my home was here in Navarre. The Air-Force boys cut the grass around the trailer. They have been using the phone calling FEMA and the Redcross and Insurance companies. Watching Satellite TV and the two girls 4 and 6 have been riding around the yard with my six year old in the Barbie Jeep.

They were shy at first, but we insisted on a Bar-B-Que with them on Labor Day, and had pizza last night. The little girls will spend the night tomorrow with my six year old and start school here on Monday, I think.

The boys are spending their time when they come over riding skate boards with my friend's son.

I have a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters, and hopefully when we're done working on these folks, they'll decide to stay here in Navarre, Florida or at least make it their favorite place to visit outside of Biloxi/Gulfport. It might be small but I can think of alot worse places to lay my head at night.

[Skywatch_NC]

While I'm not close the devastation and my heart goes out to the people that are still without homes, lost loved ones here's a few things. I'm grateful for Storm2K and ALL the wonderful people that call us home! I'm grateful for my wife, my dogs, my job with the PD, my home and best of all, the gift of Eternal Life!! Amen!

Dennis

And your kids, too, even though they've left the "nest"!

[Stephanie]

These are all great stories!

I read a story in the paper today which I posted in the Animal Rescue thread that a man chartered a bus to specifically pick up people in NO that would not leave without their pets. He was able to get permission from the Governor and I think it said that he picked up 22 people with an assortment of dogs, cats, fish, etc. The gentleman was from Louisiana though I'm not sure from where. He had banners on the bus that said some like "Pet Friendly Bus".

Philadelphia also welcomed yesterday 38 evacuees that flew in from the Gulf. The city offered shelter for 5,000, but apparently many don't want to come this far north and be so far away from their homes. That's quite understandable. Anyway, the city has reopened an old school that had been out of service and set up classrooms as bedrooms, the cafeteria will serve them food, etc. Also, when they arrived, there were many medical professionals waiting for them at the airport at a make-shift triage (sp?) set up in the old International Flight terminal.

[Stephanie]

I had posted in the "What's your community doing..." thread that a local fire company had hooked up with the EM agency in Aberdeen, MS and will be sending donated goods to them via tractor trailers. I had dropped off some toiletries last weekend.

Last night, I passed by a sign at one of the stations saying that they were not accepting anymore donations at the time because the trailers were full and they were on their way down to Aberdeen!

[azskyman]

Stephanie...here in Phoenix, virtually all of the 1600 or so evacuees who were flown in are quickly being accepted into the community with housing, jobs, school for the kids, and more. And, like your area, in some cases they have MORE than enough donations to keep the others going for a while.

Before long, I suspect the needs will change from day-to-day necessities to the larger needs for volunteers to physically go into the devastation area and begin cleaning up. First, though, the rest of the security issues have to be in place.

[beachbum_al]

There is talk about putting Fema Trailers at the fair grounds in Robertsdale to make permanent housing for the people living in the colesium. I hope this happens!

Talking to one student...a young boy in high school said he has gone from being in @#@@ (NO superdome) to paradise...Gulf Shores. (You know what I meant!

[Skywatch_NC]

Gave some money to my church's hurricane relief fund today and I found out that my church is going to "adopt" a church that was damaged or destroyed down in the Gulf region.

Eric