Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Calling Gulf Coast FoLCs!!

Nice to hear you guys are fine.

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

Jen!! Whew! Yes, we were all very worried about you, given the pictures we've been seeing from all along the Gulf Coast. Thanks for checking in, especially as your time is limited.

I hope you have something to go home to. But the most important thing is to stay safe, even if it does mean staying away from your home for a little while longer.


Wendy

We were lucky. One county over there were some bad storms and last I heard, a few deaths. It didn't even rain here. Atlanta got a bad rainstorm, but all the inclement weather passed over Douglas County.

Laura

Glad to hear it, Laura. I know parts of Georgia got hammered. Thanks for checking in.

PJ

Hey CC.

Don't feel bad about writing a lot. I know I want to 'listen'. I hope everything is going all right for you - as best as they can be under the circumstances.

I can't imagine what it feels like.

I'm glad you and everyone else so far is okay.

<<<<hugs>>>> to everyone.

What's up.

So I made it home this afternoon. I finally got my internet working during these wee hours <g>. There wasn't quite as much hurricane damage as I expected...although I don't live downtown; it's probably a mess there. Several windows blew out in my apartment, and I'm absolutely shocked that they were replaced in the week I was gone. Others in my building weren't so lucky (i.e. tree damage), so I'm counting my blessings. Lots and lots of trees down, but many have already been cut up and are waiting to get picked up. I stopped by my parent's house, and they have, among other things, power lines down in their front yard. No major damage, though.

We had a couple of tornado warnings in Georgia, so we hid in the basement for a while, but nothing came out of that during the evacuation week. The only major hassle was they starting gouging the gas prices in our area of Georgia, and it got up to 6+ dollars a gallon. Cops were showing up all over the stations to regulate.

It's still kind of a mad house down here. My city, among others, has been all over CNN and such mainly because of gas shortage and lack of supplies (i.e. ice, water). For a while, people were showing up at the gas stations with guns and such. Some people even tried to hijack a gas tanker that was bringing gas to one of the stations. But now that there's no gas, well, crazy people aren't much of a problem for now.

A lot of the city got power back today, which was surprising. It was a lot worse with Ivan last year.

So that's about it, I think. The city is still kind of a mess, so we have a curfew here every night. All in all, it could have been a lot worse. Several friends of mine no longer have houses in both Mississippi and Louisiana.

Anyway, enough chatter. I should get to bed soon since our first school make-up day is tomorrow (formerly a school holiday).

Peace,
Jen

HEY!! Jen, glad to have you back for real now.

Damn, that whole armageddon mentality going on has got to be scary. Keep your head about you when you're out and give us progress reports when you can.

Take care!! If there is a way you can be helped out, let us know. I wouldn't know the logistics of how to help other than Red Cross or Salvation Army, but I'm more than willing to jump in if someone enterprising figured out a way.

TEEEEEJ

Welcome back, Jen!! I'm so glad to know you're home and in pretty decent shape.

We're still waiting to hear from several friends in the Biloxi/Ocean Springs area. Ocean Springs- with the power and bridges out- has been especially hard to get information on.

Some brighter news: My town is receiving evacuees from N.O. As of today we have 350 new Georgians, with more expected tonight and over the following weeks. We're a good spot-- close to the coast, able to make housing available fairly quickly.

It has been so nice to *do* something hands-on, rather than just watching it unfold on television feeling helpless. I know that makes me one of the lucky ones.

I love you guys. Have I mentioned that lately? Thank you for being such a great place to let off steam.

CC

Since this thread said "Gulf Coast" and I don't live on the coast, I kinda passed it by. Then I was told my name was mentioned because y'all didn't know where in Alabama I live. I'm 450 miles inland -- on the opposite end of the state from Mobile. We had wind and rain and a brief power outage. Some folks were without power for a couple days but no one here is complaining. We feel so bad for the coastal folks and feel that what we experienced is just a minor inconvenience. Because we're along I-65 we have evacuees in the area. Churches and other civic and religious organizations are taking them in and are asking the locals to help with supplies and perhaps lodging. A job fair was held yesterday to help them find employment. And the local university has said any students from the N.O. colleges can attend here. They're going the extra mile to see that their education continues.

My writers group just learned today about a writer from New Orleans who has come here to stay with her sister. Our workshop is this weekend and we're inviting her to attend free of charge, hopefully to give her a few hours with other writers and take her mind off things. She lived in the Garden District and isn't sure but suspects that the house she rented was flooded and probably looted. This means her books and computer are most likely damaged beyond repair if they're even still there. I really hope she attends on Saturday so we can see if there's anything we can do to address her needs.

I'm hearing more and more that it's the grassroots help that's most effective. The monetary donations will eventually be distributed, but the individuals who take boxes of food and clothing and supplies straight to shelters or who take in a family are the ones really meeting the immediate needs of these people.

Thanks for asking about me.

OMG!! ANNE RICE?!?!? Tell her the Sleeping Beauty chronicles ROCK!!!

Just kidding... Seriously, I hope your visiting writer comes through okay. It sucks to lose your work, the awesome turn of a phrase, those ideas that even the writer knows are brilliant, grrrrr, and unfortunately most of us don't have a photographic memory to store it all in. Give her our best!

TEEEEEEJ