Louisiana writes to her friend in California after Kendra Williams has emailed her.
Weds., September 14, 2005, 11:31 a.m., C.D.T.~
Dear Kendra Mae and Girls~
Hello! Thank you so much for writing to me; it was good to hear from you again! I am so glad you aren't mad at me for cursing like I did in my last letter; but I am just fed up about people pinning the blame on others and not taking full responsibility to try to rectify the problem. I am also sick and tired of all the Bush-bashing. I have always been a staunch Bush supporter, and I have always been "conserative" in my beliefs. But we aren't here to discuss my political views here; I am here to write a letter! LOL
I am glad that you are doing okay and that you are trying your best to help the hurricane victims. We have been too: we have been donating some of the kids' "gently-used" clothing that they no longer wear to the Red Cross, and we have also been donating their old toys and books to the Salvation Army for the storm victims; and we have been sending money to the Red Cross, the Catholic Charities (even though we are no longer Catholic), the Salvation Army, and other reliable charitable organizations. There have also been telethons to raise money for the storm victims, and some of my kids have performed in the telethons, so that has kept us very busy on the weekends.
Speaking of storm victims, we are going to take in a woman from Biloxi, Mississippi, who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina; she has nobody, and she is in desperate need of a place to stay. We will be taking her in as soon as she is released from the hospital; she is currently recuperating from dehydration, pneumonia, and infected cuts and bruises, as well as a very badly broken arm. (Her arm has an external fixator device on it, to help it heal; she really had a very bad break in her arm, and this was the only way we could save her limb from amputation. She will have to wear the fixator up to ten weeks, depending on how fast her arm heals.) Her name is Shaniqua N. Williams, and she is forty-six. She seems to be a very nice lady, and she is quite polite. Everything is "Yes, ma'am," "No, ma'am", and she is very softspoken and has a very gentle way about her. She is very grateful for the care we have given to her, and she is very grateful to be alive. But she is very sad about losing everything, and it is going to take a very long time for her to recover both physically and emotionally.
We also may take in a few children from the storm; there are some evacuated children in our hospital, and they are so sad and lonesome. There is a boy, aged 13 (his name is Antoine), his younger sister and brother (Peaches, who is nine, and Reynaldo, who is but six), and they lost their parents; so they are orphans, and they have nobody to take them in, so we are going to. So our humble house will soon be full up once again, and we will do everything in our power to help these storm evacuees get back on their feet. The children mentioned above are from New Orleans, Louisiana, and they look so sad and so shellshocked; my heart breaks whenever I see them!
Speaking of children, I am sorry your kids have been sick. I do hope they feel better soon! Ours have managed to stay out of the hospital (except for the time when Johnny had his testing and Ronee' had her hip replacement surgery), and it has been a while since we have had to call the ambulance on their part. Hope it lasts! I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop! When it does, I hope I am ready, and I hope it isn't for a very long while! LOL I do hope the girls are feeling better soon, and I hope that your stamina holds up and that you remain well yourself!
Bill and I are fine, but I am still recuperating from my time in Mississippi, and I will be returning to work on Monday of next week. I do go to the hospital every day, to check up on my patients, and to see the hurricane evacuees and visit with them, to try to get their minds from the tragedy at hand and to try to give them hope and faith. Mississippi was really bad; Biloxi looks like it had been bombed by a nuclear bomb, and it is a shell (literally) of her former glorious self! I hear it is so much worse in New Orleans, and it may take YEARS before the Gulf Coast is back up and going again. It is such a shame! I still cry whenever I think of those people living in such filth or such devastation, and I still cry when I think of the atrocities that went on in New Orleans. It is as though I am looking at the carnage/wreckage in Sri Lanka all over again, and it is something that seems so "foreign", so unreal here in the United States of America. You expect to see such conditions in places like India, Africa, Sri Lanka, or the slums of Brazil, in South America, or the inner city of Mexico City in Mexico--but NOT here in our nation!! I saw so much in the way of horror and devastation, and it is going to take a very long time for ME to get over some of the things that I saw or witnessed first hand!
How is the weather there in Soulsbysville? Has it cooled off any yet? Here it is starting to cool down; highs lately have been in the eighties and the lows have been in the sixties, which has been a welcome change from the nineties we have had recently. The rains have moved on too, but we still do have some days of rain; they just aren't as frequent anymore, and we have been able to get more in the way of yardwork done. But Bill will have to have his riding lawnmower fixed: he ran over one of his crutches when it accidently fell off, and it destroyed both the blade and the crutch! So now my son Michael is having to do the grass cutting until our riding mower is out of the shop! I have been teasing Bill about this, and he looks at me and gives me a dirty look! LOL He did this while I was in Mississippi, and when he told me about it, I couldn't help BUT to laugh!
Well, dear, I will let you go so you can tend to your sick brood. Again, I hope they feel better soon, and I thank you for writing! Do write again soon, and tell Lacey, Maria, and Susie that I will write soon! (Have they heard from their mama yet? Let me know; Lord, I only hope she is okay...) God bless each and every one of you mightily, and know I love and miss you guys!
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Tennessee, Louie May. :D
Again, Karen, you manage to weave the positively homely detail that warms the heart with the seriously devastating that takes us right into the reality of the gore that surrounds Katrina. There is no limit to the giving of those generous souls who have willingly rolled up their sleeves sacrificially and are pouring themselves out on behalf of those who suffer. Sitting here in the distant comfort of UK, YOUR writes are the ones that really make me feel what it is like to be a part of this unprecedented phenomenon in our first world. Bless you and thank you. You write with intelligence and knowledge, but always with humility and grace and without any sense of hard edge or judgment. You are truly gifted to be able to maintain this difficult balance when it comes to writing. Bless you and thank you as always. LOL Kate xx
GLIMPSE OF AN ANGEL IS NOW AVAILABLE. A PORTION OF ALL SALES WILL GO TO HOSPICE TO THUS ENABLE THEM TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE SOON TO PASS TO THE OTHER SIDE. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
This exceptional book, Celebrating the Gift of Being Alive, has the perfect thoughts and words for birthdays, graduations, engagements, marriages, and any life celebration or family tradition.
Weds., September 14, 2005, 11:31 a.m., C.D.T.~
