The LSOG office received
the following message on Jan. 11 from our friends, John
and Gwen Impson, of Bay St. Louis, MS. He is a Senior
Athlete and they help organize the Mississippi Gulf Coast Games. Their story is very well written
and captures in amazing detail some of their emotions and
activities of daily life they experience after their home
was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Their message is
very powerful and offers a glimpse into what many victims
of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita are currently
experiencing. John and Gwen gave us permission to
share their message with you.
Please take a moment to read their story...
Greetings,
This is not your typical holiday letter, but then, it
hasn’t been a typical year for us.
We are not going to candy coat
the truth and say we are fine. We are not fine but we are
coping….one day at a time.
Its funny to think that it was
only last June that we traveled to
Pittsburg where
John participated in the National Senior Olympics, coming
in 11th and 14th in his races. Looking back, it was a fun
and carefree trip, visiting friends all along the way.
That seems so long ago now; almost like another lifetime.
Who could have imagined that
our world could be shattered in one day? Who could have
foretold that we’d lose our home and all of our
possessions? Still, John and I count our blessings. We are
alive and have each other.
Mom is safe with my brother
and his wife in
Seattle. She’d
like to come home but we advise her not to - not yet. She
has seen photos. You probably have too. But unless you are
actually down here, its impossible to grasp the reality of
the situation.
Its Too Hard
Living here
day in and day out is difficult. So many of the things we
took for granted are no more. There are still areas
without safe drinking water, still people in tents, still
no grocery store…although WalMart recently opened a basics
only store.
Its Too Raw
Your
eyes burn, your heart aches at the changed landscape. You
cough from the constant dust and dirt that coats
everything. You mourn for friends who’ve moved away. You
cry at the many kindnesses offered by strangers.
Its Too Complicated
Dealing with FEMA, MEMA, SBA, various insurance companies
and other burearacracies is an ongoing and mind-boggling
struggle. Our post office was destroyed so they have set
up metal boxes along Hwy 90, but getting mail is still
frustrating. I am down to our last two checks – new ones
were supposedly mailed six weeks ago.
We wake hoping its all a
nightmare but realize it is all too real. The mounds of
debris everywhere, the lack of street lights and street
signs, damaged homes or bare slabs, broken and twisted
trees, and vehicles strewn about randomly conjure up
visions of a war zone and that is exactly what it looks
like.
Phone service is being
restored where there are houses. Although, when I tried to
get a phone line installed in our travel trailer using our
old number, I was told we had an outstanding bill since
August. It took five calls before I could get that cleared
so the line could be installed. This is the kind of
insanity we face.
Progress is Slow and
Tortuous
We rejoice that two of our four libraries survived and are
open, that our twice weekly newspaper has not missed a
week, that our hospital has reopened with 25 beds instead
of 200. Our beaches, though strewn with debris, are whole
and our beautiful- but bare -live oak trees are putting
out new leaves.
We have a place to live – it’s
a 8 x 30 ft travel trailer parked in the driveway of a
friend of ours. Her house was flooded so she is staying
elsewhere. We are living in the middle of Bay St. Louis,
lots of houses around, but we are the only ones in this
block. It looks and feels like a ghost town.
We were extremely fortunate
that our studio only received minor damage compared to
everything else. However, it was only a couple of weeks
ago that we were able to get into it because there was no
power.
Why Do We Stay?
It’s our home
–even though our house and so much else is gone. This is
the most caring community that either of us have ever
lived in. We have strong ties, strong friendships and a
feeling that we are needed here.
There are meetings here every
week in Bay St. Louis, Waveland and the county. We are
starting over and there are many decisions to be made;
decisions that will determine the future of this
community. John and I both are involved in the Governor's
Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal.
On a daily basis, I work in
temporary space at the Chamber of Commerce trying to help
the artists in our community: finding them, assessing
their needs and raising funding to get them back to work.
John has become a spokesperson for our neighbors in
dealing with authorities and an excellent scavenger- often
finding items that were thought to be gone forever. He's
located one neighbor's jewelry safe, another's coin
collection. This is our salvation-- keeping busy.
Yes, we will rebuild in the
same place. Our neighbors will too. You see, we were not
in a flood zone. Our house would have survived a normal
hurricane without a doubt. But this was not a regular
hurricane or even a once-in-a-100-year hurricane, this
was a once-in-a-1,000-year hurricane. This was the worst
disaster in our nation’s history.
John and I would like to thank
all of you who have offered us a place to stay or visit.
We appreciate it greatly. Please understand that its hard
to leave here. We did take some time over Christmas to
visit
Washington
state, where we spent time with Mom, my brother (who had
eye surgery) and meet new friends in Port Townsend who
have adopted Bay St. Louis.
There are so many, many people
from across the country who have been supportive, kind and
unbelievably generous. Church groups and individuals- more
than any organized relief effort- have made the
difference. The past four months have truly been a lesson
in humility and a lesson in humanity.
Please keep in touch through
our e-mail address:
impson@msn.com Also, please keep us in your
prayers. We will continue to need patience, resolve and
strength in the months ahead. Here's hoping that 2006 will
be a better year for us all.
Love, John and Gwen
(John asked us to pass the word on to everyone saying they
are planning to have some type of Senior Olympics activity
later in the fall. We'll share their news with you
when we hear from them again.)
|
