Finding Direction: The Wind Vane Chronicles

Mark, who is in Eunice right now, was finally able to get through to me on the telephone a little while ago and we had a long talk about the heartbreaking needs of the thousands of people in and all around Picayune and Slidell and points beyond from his trip over there Wednesday and return late yesterday. Still, the extent of the life and death needs is beyond comprehension.

The greatest needs are for medical supplies and medicines, insulin (no diabetics for miles and miles and miles have insulin, which is the only thing that will keep them alive), fuel, fuel, fuel, water, food and shelter.

Mark told me he ran across numerous diabetics who are frantic for insulin, but none is to be found. The local CVS drugstore opened immediately after the hurricane passed through, but medicine did not last very long and now has all long been gone.

Tom told me that he had not gotten word of where I was or how I was until late Thursday when Mark got back to Picayune from Lafayette to find him and tell him (and to bring supplies and help, of course), before heading back to Lafayette yesterday evening. He said that up until Mark told him his greatest fear was that he would look out the window of the paper and see me driving up in the midst of such turmoil to turn to him for refuge when he could not give it.

In fact, he said he’d alrady had one diabetic crisis with his assistant pressman who is diabetic and ran out of insulin. Tom gave him $50 and told him to get out to go try to find some somewhere around Picayune, but he returned empty handed.

Then, one of the carriers showed up who happened to be diabetic and he gave the pressman a shot of insulin and then an extra bottle of insulin he had.

Tom then gave his pressman $200 in cash and told him to go and get his family and take them with him to Tennessee where they had relatives to help them out.

Mark stayed with Tom while he was there and said that Tom sent him out with an arm load of free newspapers to distribute everywhere he went, which everyone was desperate for.

Many, many tens of thousands of people still remain totally and completely isolated without adequate provisions or any means to get out because of all of the downed trees and debris, still.

Mark said in his travels around the town and area that just showing up at someone’s door gave them tremendous hope and that he could not leave anyone he met without stopping to talk with them, sometimes for up to an hour because they were so desperate for news.

Although the Picayune Item is normally a five day a week paper (Tues. thru Friday and Sunday), Tom is publishing one every day, including today, and distributing them to shelters and all they see for free. The company is sending down two reporters from a newspaper in Pennsylvania to help him cover the vast number of articles that need to be disseminated.

It is the only newspaper for miles and miles around able to publish and print out papers.

Mark said that hundreds and hundreds of refugees from Slidell and the country and the coast are also streaming into Picayune with no place to go. Hundreds are being housed in the junior high school and in various churches around town.

The same is true in Slidell, only worse because Slidell itself still has lots of water throughout the south half of town. Refugees there are coming across miles by boat from south of the lake out of St. Bernard Parish, which is all still under water.

Mark spoke of dozens and dozens of heroic Coast Electric repairmen working in and around Picayune from day one to restore power even though many have totally lost their own homes and do not know where their families are.

Again, this is a scene that can be magnified many times over in other towns.

I talked with Mark at least 45 minutes and could have talked for hours more about all that he had seen. He was nearly beside himself with worry and anxiety for all of those he had to leave behind to go back to western Louisiana, but had to get back to Lynn, Zoe and Hannah to care for them.

Plus, he is not well with a badly herniated disc in his neck and up until a week ago, had not been able to work or even drive for nearly two months. He is now experiencing much pain, again, but has no doctors to go to for help in either Picayune or Slidell and has not had time to seek medical help near where he is.

Mark is begging people in other places to send help and assistance and money for help and assistance as quickly as possible because of the extent of life and death situations he encountered. He said the damage and needs continue to be beyond comprehension.

All of the things I have just described above can be repeated in every little town and city just above and beyond the completely destroyed areas. Picayune is already serving as a hub for entry into the devastation because of its location on Interstate 59, which until late yesterday had only been really passable from Picayune south to Slidell and then west on I-12 to Baton Rouge.

I-59 is now open all the way to Hattiesburg, Mark thinks, although only one lane for most or all of the way.

For those living close enough, go to the blog of TCS, a dear blogging young friend of mine in Starkville, Mississippi, at "Believing Thomas", where he gives detailed instructions for those wanting to come help.

All of you need to also read the past few posts of my good friend, JD, the minister of the Pascagoula Church of Christ, at "Out Here Hope Remains", in which he tells of getting back to his home yesterday to find it had had 3 to 4 feet of water in it, as did the church building.

Finally, I am seeing from all Tom and Mark have to say, from all TCS and JD write, from all of the many Christian friends and others from the area I’ve talked with and emailed with, and from all of you I’ve heard from, the resiliency of the human spirit is an amazing thing to behold. This is especially true when infused with God’s love and compassion.

Much good is already being done and coming from this and much more will continue to come. If each and every one of us will do our own little part and combine our efforts with all others, we will succeed in bringing hope, help and restoration to many of these places and will prevail in making all things even better.

May God richly bless us all as we do so.