"We're in constant need of diapers and formula -- they're both SO expensive and with our strained budget it's getting harder and harder. (We have a 3 month old and a two year old who hates her potty chair.) And help with some dog food and cat food would also help a great deal (for our 6 month old puppy and the three kittens that we rescued before the storm)."And then an answer:
"If you are in the Bay St. Louis area, I am working on getting a shipment to BSL within the week. There is an entire pallet of brand new diapers on the load, we're just having trouble getting it to BSL. The trucker can only bring to Jackson and then we have to try to get it transported to BSL. If we can't get the shipment picked up in Jackson, I'm coming down week after Christmas and will bring items with me. I also have a family coming to Pascagoula to help in clean up week after Christmas and they are offering to tow a trailer. We will bring items down then if we can't get shipment picked up in Jackson this week."The answer, I learned, came from Mary Gray - founder of the group MinnesotaHelpers.
Over the next week or so - Mary and I exchanged a couple of emails. She promised to put me in touch with a contact here on the coast who could get the items we needed for us. I must admit, I was a little skeptical. Since the storm I have had many such exchanges with really well-intentioned individuals who finally end up telling me that they heard there are some clothes at a distribution center at a church somewhere in Gulfport or Biloxi -- that there may be diapers there -- and good luck. Of course by the time we do find such places the items are already gone or being held for others.
My mood brightened when I received a voice mail on Friday from a man in Ocean Springs, MS who said the shipment was arriving and Mary had given him my name. It brightened even more when he informed us the next day that not only could we come pick up what we needed -- but he also needed some help unloading and sorting items. We have been helped so much since the storm - we welcome any opportunity for some hands-on help for others. I called my mother and asked if she would like to help as well. She was as excited as we were. Finally, I had to run the whole plan by our son, William. Sunday would be his 8th birthday and it was definitely up to him whether or not he wanted to donate a couple hours of his birthday time to such a cause. Imagine how proud I was to hear his response: "Sure, Mom. That would be great."
I made the call and told our contact that we would be able to come help with the shipment on Sunday between 3pm and 5pm -- maybe a little earlier. We then made the mad dash to finish priming the laundry room walls Saturday night since we would not have time to work on it Sunday as we had planned earlier.
Dave and I were a bit groggy for church the next morning -- we were painting until well past 2am as I recall -- but we dressed the girl in their best Christmas season clothes and got everyone there on time. Mom met us there as usual and followed us home afterwards for cake and the rest of William's birthday celebration. He seemed quite pleased with everything -- even the cake although it hadn't turned out to be what was promised. (You see - I had promised to make a nice chocolate cake with a giant "8" candle on top. He came with me to pick out the cake mix and the frosting a few days before and I actually remembered to get the eggs this time... But when I took it all out Saturday night to get the cake ready for the morning I realized that I had forgotten one tiny detail: The oven is on the fritz. Dave dutifully took off at 10:30pm in search of a store-made cake and some icing so I could add the name...) Pictures were lost for the occasion as well, I'm afraid, as the memory card for my old dinosaur digital camera had yet again mysteriously disappeared (Yvonne likes to help out by shoving it into diskette drives and the large holes that were drilled all around the bottom of our cabinets to air them out after the flood when she can get her hands on it.) -- and, besides, my potential subjects were outside in a flash when William opened his present: the new kick scooter he had been asking for all year.
The rest of us passed the time quickly with coffee and chat and soon it was time to start packing up the kids and the baby gear to start the drive to Ocean Springs. We made bottles and changed diapers and straightened up the birthday trimmings. Finally, we were ready to gather the children when I heard my husband gasp and shout from a few rooms away. Mom asked what could have happened.... I didn't look up - I realized immediately what it had to be: There was water spewing all over the laundry room. I had put a load of school uniforms and baby blankets in the washer a few minutes earlier so that they would be ready to dry when we came home. I could tell by the panicked sounds coming from that general direction that whatever disaster had befallen the area had to do with water... Dave doesn't respond well to water anymore. We had moved the washer and dryer out from the wall and disconnected them when we were priming the walls at an ungodly hour the night before - and though Dave had reconnected them in his dazed state before we went to bed, he apparently forgot to reattach the drain hose for the washer. And, of course, I didn't think to check it before I started the laundry. I found Dave standing in the laundry room in just over an inch of water.
Talk about deja vu!!! We worked for a while with towels and a sponge mop until we had the floor mostly dry again while Dave continuously muttered, "I really hate water. Have I mentioned that I really, really hate water?" With the excess water transferred to a mop bucket, we looked at one another and shrugged. We agreed later that at least this minor flooding incident consisted of nice, clean water.
The directions to the site in Ocean Springs turned out to be fabulously clear and we arrived in no time at the home of Mr. Art Vincent. The yard was adorned with "Operation Vanessa" signs and there was a large truck in the driveway with a Red Cross symbol on the side. You couldn't miss the place, for sure. We made with the introductions as Mr. Vincent invited in to his home. It was lovely - warm and inviting. There was a Christmas tree in the corner and candy and Christmas cakes on the table. I found myself staring at the carpet now and then -- how nice it is to stand on finished flooring!! The place was utterly comfortable and we instantly felt at home.
After a good cup of coffee (quite good, actually) we went out to the garage to tackle the job at hand. And that's when we saw it -- hundreds of bags and boxes... stuffed full of all sorts of wonderful things. Dave and the boys helped Art with heavy lifting as my mother and I started opening bags. We gasped with every discovery. These items were new - brand new - complete with tags and all simply beautiful. Clothes for men, women, boys, girls, toddlers, and babies... The baby clothes kept slowing down my progress, I must say... Simply because I had to pause so often to say "Would you look at this? Isn't this adorable??" And there was so much more: towels, sheets, bedspreads, comforters, blankets, hats, socks & shoes.
Just then - Mr. Vincent handed me his telephone and said that there was someone who would like to speak to me. It was Mary Gray in Minnesota. She sounded as excited as I felt and I could picture her bouncing up and down while she was talking just as I was at that moment -- and so many hundreds of miles away. I toldl her how beautiful everything was - how fantastic that so many needs were considered - how wonderful she and all of her other 'angels' who helped put the shipment together are. I know that much - but I was frankly so excited by it all that I barely remember what else we said... It was lovely speaking to her at that moment though.. putting a voice - a happy loving voice - with all the goings-on. Absolutely magical.
When we left that evening we had managed to get everything off the truck but the books -- ah I forgot about the books!! There was also an entire pallet of books and backpacks for the children!! The books were to be picked up by someone else later that night so we decided it would be best to leave them on the truck rather than double the work of moving them around.
As I said, though.. everything else was moved off the truck and piled high in Mr. Vincent's garage. What a lovely sight... My mother and I giggled like children at the thought of how happy these gorgeous and thoughtful things were going to make so many people. I could picture an entire legion of coast kids decked out in the wonderful fleece caps this winter and I couldn't hold back the resulting smile.
We were loaded up with more diapers than I could easily shove into the mini-van and some adorable warm clothes for Yvonne (including one of those great fleece caps!!), plus so many extras... Bath towels -- warm, soft, exquisitely clean bath towels. Some t-shirts for Dave (could someone please tell me what "Get Up the Stairs!" means? If not, Dave will simply make something up when people ask....). A couple shirts and some socks for me -- including some fabulous fuzzy socks for lounging about that Art insisted I needed (for those days in the distant future when I may actually 'lounge' again...). There is also a new baby blanket - and a blanket for Dave and I as well... and nice sheets waiting for the twin-size bed when we are able to replace it.
What an indescribably wonderful day it turned out to be! We want very much to return to Mr. Vincent's to help with the sorting and packing and if not for the (mostly failed) coordinating of kids, contractors, and general chaos we would have already been there. We'll have to wait and see how it all works out. However, if anyone reading this is in the Jackson County area and has some time available today or tomorrow -- please contact me via the blog or email and I can get you in touch with Mr. Vincent. Help is needed!!
In the meantime, I have to extend a long-distance hug... no.. make that many, many long distance hugs to Mary Gray, MinnesotaHelpers.org, and to all of those who helped make the shipment possible. You are all truly extraordinary people and we will never forget what you have done!! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And thank you, Art - for your hospitality and for all the work you're putting into this. We are so glad to have met you and to have made a new friend. Merry Christmas!!!(TO BE CONTINUED)
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