Its been a very hectic and stressful couple of weeks. Thankfully, everyone is safe and secure. My parents are staying with me in Chicago and my sister has relocated to Orlando for the duration of the exodus.
What do we know?
- My boyhood home in New Orleans East is intact but was under at least 6 feet of water according to all the aerial imagery (2 floors..so there's some hope of a salvage effort)
- My sister's westbank home stayed dry and only suffered minor wind damage.
- I will have housesitters (mom and dad) during my Australian adventure. Small consolation.
- The warmth and generosity of friends, family, neighbors and complete strangers has been overwhelming. Some examples that you won't see on CNN:
- The countless unsolicited offers of assistance...sometimes from complete strangers who overhear a conversation.
- The phone calls from acquaintances I haven't heard from in 5-10 years.
- The large amount of funds raised by my coworkers in the first week of the crisis.
- The City of Chicago, Red Cross and countless other charities and companies setting up top notch facilities to welcome and process evacuees in the Chicago area. My parents called it an "extraordinarily wonderful and heartwarming" experience.
- A private school in an Orlando suburb providing free tuition and costs for my nephew.
- The neighbors who brought over cookies and games for my neice and nephew while they were with me.
- The huge care package fedexed by my cousin filled with clothing and toys for my neice and nephew.
- Multiple offers of apartment space.
- The Target gift card that allowed everyone to buy additional socks, underwear and shoes...from Larry and Nancy, owners of Scuba Systems.
This story is being repeated throughout the country. Too bad it isn't getting any press.
All I can say is THANK YOU!
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