We are getting calls from all over the country, thanks to your networking. We are in need – NOW – for 250 folding cots to deliver to the Gulf Coast ASAP. These items cannot be found in the Jackson area at this time. Do you have connections to ask this? Anyone can call my husband, Robert Connolly, 601-573-5796, if they can find any cots and get them to Jackson quickly. He will let them know how many are needed. Thanks again for all you have done.
Emma
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I’m so proud of Mississippi’s Episcopal clergy, who have been doing some amazing work in this. My friends Yamily+ Bass-Choate and Horace+ Choate conducted last night’s wedding, which I know was a huge morale booster. I finally had the opportunity to make it to the coliseum this afternoon to do some work with another minister. I knew by then that the air conditioning worked, but the folks who had been telling me it was cool weren’t kidding–it was hospital temperature, which is pretty amazing. You walk under that covered area and the temperature instantly shifts from 92 to a crisp 68. But what really blew me away was how clean and spacious and relatively quiet everything was, how good the food looked (and how much of it there was), and how relatively pleasant the place was, despite the fact that everyone there had been through so much. People were smiling, the children were well-behaved. I mean, these were folks who had lost everything, and yet I couldn’t get over how pleasant they consistently were to be around. I tried to reflect that. Seeing children and old folks smiling at me when I came in made it impossible for me to take on my funeral demeanor. It felt more like a picnic. Reminds me of that wonderful quote from Albert Camus: “In the depths of winter, I finally realized that deep within me lay an invincible summer.” These folks personified invincible summer. They’re inspiring in the real sense of the word. Cheers, TH
#134253 | Author: Tom Head | Date: Sep 5 2005
Speaking of inspiring, it’s hard not to be impressed with what local Pentecostal churches have been doing through their shelters, et. al. They haven’t gotten much publicity–mainly because they came on the scene early, then folks ended up at the coliseum and trade mart–but they deserve kudos for their work. As does Catholic Charities, but that’s a given. Cheers, TH
#134254 | Author: Tom Head | Date: Sep 5 2005
