I am thankful for shelter.
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| Melanie and her sister at my wedding. |
Melanie is the daughter of friends and I was her constant babysitter when I was in college. She was adorable and we had a lot of fun together. Now Melanie is all grown up and married with with 4 children of her own. She lives in the U.S Virgin Islands on St. John. Or she used to. Irma wiped away everything she and her family had. Luckily, no one was hurt, but they had no where to go after the storm except into a van that some how had miraculously survived.
The main concern for them is to get off the island before Jose comes barreling through. Easier said than done. The local airport had some damage making flying iffy at best. The first flight they could possibly get out would be on Tuesday. In the meantime, the family got on a chartered boat with others to Puerto Rico hoping to fly to the US from there. However, Puerto Rico is having enough problems of their own and refused to let them enter. The boat had to turn around in the middle of the night for a 3 hour trip to St. Croix. There they got a hotel room and it was the first time they had a place to sleep and bathe since the hurricane hit. Now they have tickets to fly out of St. Croix on Friday to Texas where her in-laws live. Here's hoping for the best that that actually happens.
What you don't get from my telling of Melanie's story above is the desperation that you hear in her families' pleas for information. The anger and panic you hear when plan after plan falls through. And imagining what it must be like for those four children ages 8 months to 11 years old as they are going through this very scary, difficult situation.
Melanie and her family have survived and will be able to move forward with the good family and friend support they have.* It's going to be a long road, but they will make it.
So for the shelter I am so lucky to have and the shelter that Melanie and her family found last night, I am thankful.
*Presently, there's a Go Fund Me drive to help buy plane tickets for them. The tickets are about $2-3000 each.
Shelter is definitely something for which to be thankful. I am so glad to know that your friend is safe and she and her children are OK and on their way to family and friends. How many others are without a place to go to?
ReplyDeleteI don't think their parents will rest until Melanie and family are back on the mainland. And as you mentioned how many are out there who don't have a family who can help them.
DeleteIt is nice to have the hurricane personalized instead of being random individuals. Sometimes we look at victims of storms as a faceless nameless group and forget each individual impacted has a story and a life and the recovery is going to be difficult.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. There are so many victims, we tend to generalize into a generic person. But they are made up with individuals, each with their own story. Knowing this particular family certainly puts a face on it for me. I'm have a hard time imagining how they are managing all of those small children with no where to go. Essentially everything was wiped out.
DeleteI cannot imagine how hard this must be for Melanie and her family. And having to keep your cool through all these frustrating circumstances to keep things together for young children--wow. Words fail me.
ReplyDeleteMy best friend lives on the gulf coast in FL and is now staying with friends in Alabama. My brother and SIL are hosting a couple from FL as well. So grateful there are those willing to host family and friends. You are right .... somehow, when you hear about these devastating storms, you become aware of the many conveniences and blessings we take for granted--regular meals, electricity, shelter ...
I know it's not true for all, but all of the reports from friends in Florida are okay. One person is still waiting to hear from her 94 year old father. He was in an apartment building and is hopefully okay just without electricity.
DeleteIt's so nice that your friend and brother are hosting people from Florida. An update from Melanie said the people of St. Croix have been wonderful. The boat captain made sure that everyone had a place to stay before he left. Some were in hotels and some were in peoples homes.
OK, perhaps it's time to stop whining about having to walk all the way downstairs to use the bathroom while I'm working on the upstairs one. :-)
ReplyDeleteHoping everything works out for Melanie and her family. I'm reading reports of food shortages on the islands. And with Jose approaching... I fear for the people who can't get out.
The islands have really been hit hard. I'm seeing in the news now that they are pleading to not forget them as the efforts are focused on the mainland.
DeleteI typed up a comment on my phone yesterday but it lost it before I could publish it :( I hope they are able to return to the US safely tomorrow. This is a huge ordeal and I feel so bad for everyone involved on the islands. I just saw a satellite picture comparison of some of them before (all lush and green) and of them now (all brown because all of the vegetation has been destroyed) and it's horrifying. Those poor people.
ReplyDeleteMelanie and family have a flight on Friday. I hope it goes well and they actually get on the plane. In the meantime, they are very thankful for the kindness of strangers.
DeleteThis story is heart wrenching I hope they are able to make it back safely.
ReplyDeleteSo many stories including yours. I think Melanie and family will be okay eventually and I hope others will, too.
DeleteThose tickets are insanely expensive for people trying to flea devastation, with small children. I hope they make it out and rebuild their lives. I can't imagine the horror people are going through there, especially those of little or no means, and the animals.
ReplyDeleteMelanie lived 6 blocks away from the World Trade Towers that went down on 9-11. She said that she hadn't seen anything like it until hurricane Irma devastation. I don't know others are going to manage.
DeleteSaying prayers this family makes it to Texas, hopefully to begin rebuilding their lives. What a horrible ordeal!
ReplyDeleteI'm anxiously waiting to see if they got on the plane today.
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