…locally, anyway, in this town, population: 2 (4 now.)
The local newspaper interviewed us and the other hurricane refugees who came here and put their kids in the Anacortes school district. The Mega Bloks set Brennan is playing with in the picture is one of his donated toys–and he loves it! :D He loves everything he's received, and so have I. Some very special people have sent us some very special things and have done some very special things, and I have some huge thank-you's to deliver.
Well, Bryan is gone now. I sent him back to Mississippi to live on his Coast Guard boat. It was a rough day for all of us–Brennan cried for several hours at school, and Bryan wasn't very dry-eyed, either. We're used to him leaving on boat patrols for weeks at a time, but this is a lot different. This next year will be interesting. Bryan will keep himself busy dealing with work and the house, and I'll keep myself busy with all kinds of stuff.
To be honest, my desire to write has taken a hard hit after everything that has happened…not to mention after Snowbound's rejection. But I know I'll get back to it soon–I have friends who support me, help me, and, when I need it, threaten me. :P And then yesterday I got something that put my spirits into orbit, and I realized that I can't give up. Ever. Time to write may be a lot more scarce now–I'll probably have to go back to work–but I WILL keep writing.
Right now, though, I'm just trying to keep it together for my son. He's been through so much, and I want to make sure he feels secure and safe, and I want him to see the positives inside even the worst situations.
I'm also busy trying to educate the media. It may be a useless effort, but some of the morons I see spouting off on the news make me ill.
A couple of days ago I saw a very incomplete report that said that FEMA had contracted cruise ships to house homeless Katrina refugees, but that refugees have refused to live on the ships. The report made us all sound like a bunch of ingrates. Funny, but no one EVER approached us about living on one of the ships. We didn't even know about them until we arrived in Washington and saw them on the news. When we applied to FEMA for aid, we mentioned that we were homeless–and they still didn't tell us about the ships.
One of our Coast Guard friends who was stationed in New Orleans had to make a temporary move to St. Louis because of Katrina. He WANTED to stay on one of the ships, but had a hard time trying to get information on how to get a room–and then learned that he couldn't get a room for his wife and himself because they have pets. So if people are turning down rooms on the ships, it may not be because they are ingrates who would rather sponge off friends and relatives–they may not be able to because they can't take their pets. Then there are those who don't even know about the ships.
Then there are the people who are criticizing FEMA's $2000 credit cards given to Katrina survivors. They say that the money has been used by the recipients for expensive handbags and designer shoes. And yes, I'm sure that there has been some abuse; there are always people willing to take advantage of a situation. But my family? We spent ours on food and shelter–just as the money was intended. And that's ALL we've gotten from FEMA (besides the offer for a 5.5% loan.) So not everyone has been scamming the government for money to buy handbags. Some of us (I daresay most of us) have used the money for necessities, and we've been grateful beyond belief.
These are just a couple of the items that have gotten under my skin over the last week or so. I really should avoid the news.
Anyway, I hope you all have a nice weekend, and that you all went to see Serenity. ;) I'm hoping to see it this week. The theatre is a million miles away, so I have to plan ahead.
On Monday, I'm going to start posting Katrina pics, as well as chronicle (mostly for my own records) how each day of clean-up went.
Take care, and once again, thank you to everyone who has offered support of any kind. I don't know what we would have done without you.
Hugs!
(((Larissa)))
It’s good to hear from you again and great that you and your family are doing good in the situation you’re in. Good luck with the writing, I know myself how hard it is to realize that you can’t give it up regardless of personal situations.
It is just so hard to hear everything you all are going through. It still makes me cry. I’m trying to help through donations and stuff, but I know it’s not enough. I wish I could do more.
I don’t blame you for not wanting to write. I just had something devastating happen in my family about six weeks ago and it took awhile to be able to write. I’m pushing myself now because the situation is better under control. At least I hope it is.
Hugs, Larissa.
Chey
(((Larissa))) But things are slowly achieving some semblence of normality, yes? Thanks for popping in to keep us informed.
Hey, I was beginning to wonder about you. :) I broke my leg in August last year – and my hubby finally got me back into writing in November by guilting/daring me into NaNoWriMo. It worked! He’s already dropping the hints (huh, where did this anvil come from?) about this year. I jokingly told him that my leg wasn’t broken.
BTW – Holly’s crit was very helpful and has given me a whole new burst of ideas (and inspiration). So, I guess I owe *you* a big thank you, too! (((HUGS)))
Try to avoid the news, people in the real world know that it’s all a scam to try and make the goverment’s response look better. Although not everyone lives in the south, I’nm betting everyone knows someone whose been touched by this, and hears the real stories.
Take care!
Larissa you take care of yourself! And good luck with the media. Unfortuantely (Sash) there comes a time when sometimes you just CANT ignore what’s going on around you. Unfortunately there are plenty (lots) of people out there who are clueless.
Larissa, I can’t even imagine all you’re going through! All I can say is I’m thinking of you, thinking of everyone who is going through all this. HUGS.
Larissa, hugs!
Hang in there, Larissa!!
(((hugs))) back, and thanks for everything, guys. And something that needs to be said…people who think they haven’t done enough can’t be more wrong. Sometimes, the littlest things mean the most. Everyone who has offered items for the auction, or who has bid, or who sent things…even just notes of support, has made a HUGE difference in our lives. Huge. Please believe that. I don’t know what we’d have done without you all. :)