Thoughts of Glory

We met our convoy at 5:30 AM at the Fort Worth headquarters on our second day on duty. Our destination was Kountze, TX.  We had never heard of Kountze and did not know what to expect.  Our lead driver got us on the wrong highway briefly, but we found out many years ago a trip is not a trip without at least one detour.

Seven hours and thirty minutes later we arrived at the warehouse where supplies for the hurricane victims would be arriving and shipped out by budget trucks.  This building was very dirty, had no lights and no bathrooms and full of flees.  We sprayed our shoes and legs and started working to get it set up.

One of our new friends, Dinah and I went grocery shopping to get water, snacks,and paper goods for the volunteers.  The manager of the local grocery store, Brookshires, gave us all we had picked out to purchase.  He also offered to cater breakfast for us on Friday when their deli was back up and running.

Once we were released that night we went to the Lumberton, TX high school across from the Wal-Mart.  There was a curfew in effect starting at 8 pm and the Wal-Mart closed down at 6 but they would allow Red Cross Volunteers to come through the side door and purchase what they needed until 9 pm.

This second shelter had cots with volunteers in every nook and cranny.  It had 4 women's showers but they had no doors on the showers and no warm water.  We were warned that the water was cold, but that was a real understatement.  It was like the artisan well water I remember being on my dad's old home place in Louisiana.  That is turn you blue cold.  But after working in the hot sun on asphalt most of the day it really was not that bad.  We took blankets and draped the showers for privacy.  You know when the people you have come to help have no homes to come back too who could complain.

Chuck and I and our new friend Dinah found a spot to set up cots in the hallway between the lights that stayed on all the time so that we could sleep without lights shinning directly in our eyes.  After eating chinese at one of the few restaurants opened we took showers and settled down for the night.