I just got off the phone from talking with Martha!
Here’s the latest.
She and her family have moved back to their home after staying at her son’s home since the hurricane struck.
Their home sustained minimal damage from a tree that fell on the edge of the roof.
Their home is a double-wide manufactured home located on their three acre tree-laden property.
Martha’s husband Doug, her son and grandson are using chain saws to cut up the fallen trees and to move them.
Her 8 year old grandson is ‘working like a man’ cutting trees and dragging limbs and stacking them from sun up to sundown.
Some of the oak trees were uprooted and blown over; others (the pines) snapped off and blew down like toothpicks. They will need to be cut down. Many of the trees twisted and fell upon one another. For the first time since they’ve lived on their property, sunlight now dances on their home since the trees are down.
There is a current ban on burning so they are just stacking the wood as they are able.
They have a number of vehicles on their property – ATV, a motor home, cars. Some sustained damage due to the trees lying across them.
Two doors down from them, a neighbor’s stove caught fire last night and people in the area were worried the fire would spread and take out others. It was put out.
Martha’s sister, her niece and baby are staying with them.
Altogether Martha is the chief cook, bottle washer and laundress for 16 people.
Her Mama is the General and
giving orders…pray that her Mama is subdued and mellows out (this is my request, not Martha’s…if the Lord could close the mouths of lions and prevent them from eating Daniel while he was in the lions’ den, surely He can close her Mama’s mouth long enough for Martha to have a few moments of peace and quiet and to get some rest…)
She said her kids and family have always teased her about keeping her pantry full of food and now they are thankful that she has done so. She said her kitchen pantry is full of food, she has extra canned food under the bed and they had two freezers full of food. They lost one freezer full of food. She said she kept bags of prepared chopped celery, bell pepper, etc. in the freezer and since some thawed while she was at her son’s, it is not safe. As we spoke she was pounding round steak and preparing it for Swiss steak and smashed potatoes for supper.
There is no telephone service for landlines and the cell phone service cuts in and out; they have trouble getting calls to ring through at times.
Hopefully Martha will be online by Sunday or Monday. It depends upon how quickly and efficiently the service is restored.
Power and water was restored last evening at sundown. A man came out last evening and worked on their well, establishing the water flow last night. Their water supply is from a well but they are taking precautions and not yet drinking it, following the orders to boil, as it may be contaminated.
I may not have this part exactly right but I believe she said the water was not at full speed and it went off for a while. They were not flushing the toidy every time and kept the lid down and added a dash of Pine Sol…
Doug was able to get some ice and water from the city emergency resources – they are giving out four 12 packs of canned water. MREs are being given to the people who have no food.
The bank is open.
Wally World (Wal-Mart) is open until 5 PM and they can get very limited items there. No eggs or meat, etc. Doug bought some milk.
There are still curfews in place.
Her son-in-law works for MEMA – sort of a Mississippi area FEMA. He told her that there are many more deaths than are being reported. The morgues are full. There are more than 800 people dead in Biloxi.
They are getting the newspaper now and mail service began today.
Typically they get a lot of mail and her mailbox just had a few pieces today but at least they are receiving mail now. Some of their mail comes out of Jackson and I cannot recall the other hub or source but the point is, the mail that was in transit or sent prior to the hurricane may never be located.
Doug returns to work on the tug on the 14th of September. Tomorrow is his 45th birthday.
Happy Birthday, Doug. We love you, Man!
Near the Interstate 110 was a factory that processes pork bellies, chicken and shrimp and the hurricane lifted the ‘stuff’ and dumped it…it is rotting and putrefied…evidently it makes people gaga-mun-do even inside their cars with the windows rolled up….as you get closer to the beach, the stench is horrible.
Not all of their losses are covered by insurance. They purchased a car just three days before Katrina wiped out the area and the car was not yet insured.
They are thankful that everyone in their family is alive. They feel
blessed that their home is intact and Doug has a job. Martha’s daughter who used to work at the hospital no longer has a job – the hospital is a total loss.
If there are those of you who wish to contribute to Martha’s Medigrub, you can email me and we can talk about how to do this. She prefers Dutch Choc shakes and she has plenty of soup in hand. If there are some who wish to give $, again, send me a PM and I will be sure she gets it.
I hope that I have accurately reported Martha’s story. We await her return and are just so grateful that she is alive and doing so well.
Thank you for praying for Martha, her family, her neighbors and for the survivors who are trying to crawl out from the devastation.
We will never know the extent of the financial, emotional and psychological impact of this hurricane.
You have a tremendous influence in the lives of others – never underestimate the value of your words and the love you show for one another.
Every day, let people know how
much you value them – we never know when our last day will come – be thankful and grateful.
Be generous of your
praise and appreciation of people. 
The Leopardy One loves you and is so proud of you all
Fondly and with a grateful
heart…
Walmart got frozen foods and cold foods(most of them) in yesterday for the 1st time since the storm.. THANKS BE TO GOD!! how we take the small things for granted--ice cream 
fast food 
--alot of damage done here and especially on the Gulf Coast--trust me when I say the news and the pictures do not do justice to you seeing the real damage.. so many people lost family as well as everything they had.. WE are truely BLESSED!!!
we bought 2 generators and alot of gas(2 runs out of state) the a/c now has to be repaired and the well needed to be repaired.. so as you can see we are BLESSED in so many ways.. we had clean clothes and plenty to eat.. Doug brought bread and 24 gallons of water with him as well as c and d batteries.. we bought 2 generators and alot of gas(out of state) I went to Canton, Ms and got 2 of my grandbabies(daughter sent them away before the storm) and got a ice chest of eggs, milk and cold cuts and bread and things like this..shared with neighbors-- everyone is safe as is my family in N. Orleans and surrounding areas and Mobile areas too.Katrina's affected area is 90,000 square miles-nearly 293,000 homes damaged or destroyed is being reported this morning in the paper..we have postal service again--YEAH!!I have cards ready to send to my list of people but no post service and will get those out tomorrow..
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