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OT - heartwarming story (long)
Reaching more than 36,500 subscribers in 118 countries, this is...
------------------------------------------------------------------------ HeroicStories #632: 9 September 2005 www.HeroicStories.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Last Boat Out Story Editor: by Robert LeBlanc Clayton Bennett Louisiana, USA On Wednesday, August 31, my friend Jeff Rau and I wove a motorboat through New Orleans, pulling people out of the water. We ferried people all day between Carrolton Avenue and the Causeway overpass, about a mile and a half each way. Early on, we saw a black man in a boat with no motor. He rescued people and paddled them a mile and a half to safety -- with nothing but a piece of two by four lumber for a paddle. He then turned around and went back for more people. He refused our help, saying he didn't want to slow us down. At 5 p.m. he headed on another trip, knowing he would finish after dark. One group of 50 people we rescued that Wednesday afternoon was on the bridge that crosses over Airline Highway near Carrolton Avenue. Most had been there with no food, water, or anywhere to go since Monday morning, with 10 feet of water all around them. One man had been there since the beginning, helping people reach the bridge and caring for them afterward. He didn't leave the bridge until everyone got off safely, even deferring to people who'd just arrived. This man waited on the bridge until dusk, leaving on one of the last boats out that night. He risked not making it at all. In a really rough neighborhood, we came across five seemingly unsavory characters, one with gunshot wound scars. We found them at a recreational center, one of the few two-story buildings around. They broke into the center, then gathered as many people as possible from the neighborhood. They stayed in the center all day, helping people into rescue boats. We approached them at 6:30 p.m., obviously one of the last trips of the day. Yet instead of getting in our boat, they sent us further into the neighborhood to get more people out of homes and off rooftops. These five were on the last boat out at sundown. They were incredibly grateful, repeating "God is going to bless y'all for this". One even offered us his Allen Iverson jersey, perhaps the most valuable possession among them. We declined, but understood the depth of his gesture. The looting and shooting you saw on television tells but a small part of the story. By showing the worst effects of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that followed, news reports discouraged volunteers from helping. But help was still needed, and will be for a long time. In case it matters, I'm politically conservative. I was impressed to see young and seemingly poor black people caring for sickly and seemingly well-to-do white people. We can sort out political issues later; anyone with a sense of compassion will agree that New Orleans needs help, people's lives need to be saved and families need to be put back together. They now need all of our help. I want everyone to know how gracious these people were, despite being stranded and panicked. This transcends politics. It's about humanity. ----------==========----------o----------==========---------- The staff and volunteers at HeroicStories asks that you (continue to) donate to help Hurricane Katrina victims Links below, and more all across the Internet. Thank you. ----------==========----------o----------==========---------- Another milestone passed! We now have over 36,500 readers. It's so fantastic to see HeroicStories grow. Especially if you have a friend or relative dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, do let them know we're here. If you're aware of heroic tales during Katrina, whether performed by individuals or communities, please send them via our Submissions page: http://www.HeroicStories.com/submit.html . Raw emails to friends or web sites or lists are fine -- as long as the *author* sends them to us. See below for more on Katrina, and a request for your reactions and comments. Many readers sent links to assistance for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Some lists were too long to publish. A favorite site, which readers recommended for hope, tears, and renewed faith in human nature, was actually published in our last issue: http://www.hurricanehousing.org . It now contains literally thousands of offers of places to stay, help with clothing, jobs, and so forth. What a creative and uplifting use of the Internet to aid and assist our fellow humans in need. Meredith (location unknown): "I've posted information on disaster help with a focus on help for people with disabilities, he http://uniquelygifted.org/katrina.htm . It includes info on emergency waivers of requirements for government services, housing, volunteering, places to donate, and city-specific information (especially Houston)." Nathan (location unknown): "We've created: www.connectkatrina.org, with a database to allow citizens to log their name and contact information, and search for missing loved ones to find where they're housed. Hopefully, we can at least let people know that their families are safe." Michele in Ontario, Canada commented on http://www.hurricanehousing.org: "The news is filled with horrors of people reacting to the Gulf coast disaster. I've been horrified to read that people are being bussed from one stadium to another -- which is not a suitable place for families to live for several months! I've been longing to hear about people opening their homes, and today you provided not only that story, but also a blurb on an organization helping to match displaced people with homes. Thank you! This issue could not be more timely." Brian in Georgia: "Thanks for all of the inspiring stories. In these trying times after Katrina, it's even more compelling to hear stories of people doing the right thing. Please continue to encourage people to donate to the relief efforts -- the damage is truly catastrophic and 'total' recovery will take years. (A small example of how widespread the damage is: My grandmother's house is in a very small Mississippi town over an hour inland from the coast. It's a country place on several acres, surrounded by ancient, huge pecan trees (at least 30) as well as several towering pines. After Katrina came through, there are now *3* trees standing on the whole property--the rest of them are either on the ground or on the house. Even more heartbreaking is the fact that this is very 'minor' damage compared to what many of the storm victims are facing... We do still urge you to donate to Katrina victims, especially if you have a contact in a local community that has taken in hurricane survivors. We urge you to donate items or funds *directly* to such a responsible friend or small local agency, so aid/items arrive immediately. I participated locally in a drive to raise clothing and funds for Louisiana Parish that has taken in 5,000 people. More than that, we think there's a "take-home lesson" from Katrina: Be prepared for a disaster. On a personal level: do you have emergency supplies? In your car (if you have one)? In your home? Are they adequate? When was the last time you re-visited them? Perhaps this is a good time to add to them. In honor of HeroicStories, why not add something in case a neighbor would need help. Do your children have ID bracelets? (Even if they don't want to wear them all the time, if you think disaster is imminent, get them on.) Do all the members of your family have pictures of each other in their wallets/ backpacks? Do all of your family members know what your family's survival or evacuation plan is in case of emergency? Does everyone have a role to play? Have you practiced this? (Getting things to car, each person carrying different items; running extra water into containers while water still runs, etc. etc.) Is it realistic that you'll be able to leave home? If not, what should you do to prepare? Do you know what your city and state's plan in case of emergency is? If not, it might be wise to learn what it is. If you're not satisfied with their plans, if possible, be a part of improving them. If all you do is make three phone calls, or write one letter, you can be a part of preventing non-responsiveness to the needs of tens of thousands of people on the scale we have just witnessed. Your letters or calls could save real lives. *Now* is the time for all of us (in the USA, at least) to get involved to try to make this situation better. If you take the time to do something either for your family, neighborhood, or city, please write and let us know. And please send your personal experiences and reactions regarding the past two weeks of Katrina aftermath. Whether you're in the USA or not, we want to hear from you. Joyce Schowalter, Publisher Co-Conspirator to Make the World a Better Place SUBSCRIPTIONS to HeroicStories are FREE. Just send a blank message to or visit http://www.HeroicStories.com (to UNSUBSCRIBE, see the end of this message) COMMENTS about stories are always welcome -- please include your first name and location: TO SUBMIT A STORY, see our submission guidelines, tips and information at: http://www.HeroicStories.com/submit.html PUBLISHED BY HS & Son, Inc., PO Box 55213, Seattle, WA 98155, USA. HeroicStories is a trademark of HS & Son, Inc. Newspapers can get the stories as a regular feature column for FREE. For details, send your paper's editor to http://www.heroicstories.com/column.html Copyright 2005 http://www.HeroicStories.com -- All Rights Reserved. All broadcast, publication, or copying to the WWW, e-mail lists, or any other medium, online or not, is prohibited without prior written permission from HeroicStories. However, permission is granted to circulate this publication via manual forwarding by e-mail to friends providing that the text is forwarded IN ITS ENTIRETY, from the "Reaching more than" line on top through the end of this paragraph, and NO FEE is charged. We request that you forward no more than three copies to any one person -- after that, they should get their own subscription. -- -- The ONE and ONLY lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too) email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep |
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