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Readers report rainbows of hope from Katrina (Latest Updates)
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SEPTEMBER 14, 2005
By Happynews Staff

September 14, 2005
Alexandria, LA
Where Is The Light?
This was brought to our attention by a writer who wanted to share his story. Reprinted from Beginner Triathlete.
By Michael Pate
HappyNews Citizen Journalist
A note from the editor: While we believe this story is compelling and significant to the tragedy that hurricane Katrina has bestowed upon thousands of people, HappyNews would like to warn our readers that this article contains graphic imagery which some might find disturbing.
I have been told to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. In the past week, with the hurricane devastation in Alabama, Mississippi, and in my home state of Louisiana, I didn't think I could see even a glimmer of light.
In the brutal, devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we've all watched helplessly as the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas - most of the Gulf Coast, in fact - crumbled before our eyes. How many of us have sat glued to our televisions, watching, hoping, praying?
We've all seen the looks of desperation on the faces of evacuees. Some have lost everything except the items that they quickly packed into a suitcase - in some situations, they have only the clothes on their backs. We've seen people who know that their businesses don't exist anymore. We've seen others who don't know if they even have a place of employment. We've clenched our fists in frustration as we've seen people - Americans on American soil! - dying from starvation, thirst, and exposure to heat. We have watched with hurting hearts as parents held hungry, sick, dehydrating babies and children and we've thought of our own kids. I know I have hugged my own son and daughter a little bit tighter in the past few days, grateful that they are comfortable, safe, and fed.
But just when I was beginning to think that life is consumed by only darkness, just out of my sight, there it was …
A glimmer of light.
Our tri club forum - usually full of the normal race trash talk - suddenly had a post telling us how the tragedy had reached us. Overnight, our relatively small city had become home to many thousands of evacuees. They had a safe place to stay, but they had so many basic needs. Someone suggested that we should collect food and other necessities for the American Red Cross. A box was placed at the local bike shop and members were encouraged to drop off whatever they could. Within a few hours, the box was filled with powdered baby formula, diapers of all sizes, canned food, towels, toiletries, and hygiene products.
One of our members - a pharmacist at a local grocery store - told us that his store would allow us to buy non-perishable food items for a discount so we could stretch the dollar further. Other members came forth who were willing to cook and feed those who weren't able to get into the shelters. Oh, and I can't forget this. It's a big one! Others decided that we all had race shirts that we had not worn and they would be great for those who needed a change of clothing.
Our forum was suddenly transformed into a source of information about the immediate needs of evacuees. We were suddenly told where we could go to drop off food and clothing. Babies had reached our local hospitals without their mothers and members went to rock them. We realized that evacuated children were being allowed to enroll in our local schools and needed school supplies and school uniforms. We were told where we should go to donate blood, serve food, or just go and be a shoulder to cry on.
Amidst all of the unbelievable, horrific, terrifying, negative things that were happening less than two hundred miles away, our little tri community was doing what we could in our own backyard. Even the race director of our State Championship in Lafayette, cancelled the race and gave all of the race shirts, Gatorade, water, and other miscellaneous items that could used in disaster relief, to local agencies without a second thought.
I come to the forums on Beginner Triathlete and what do I find? I find people willing to give to agencies to help those in need. I read about others contemplating not going to a race because they don't feel quite right about it. Others are willing to offer their professional services in the medical field, so they are heading to the disaster area. There are some offering to pay for hotel rooms and help people financially and others trying to help find employment for evacuees or colleges for them to attend. The list goes on.
The tri community has been truly blessed to have such good-hearted people. But, I already knew that, and you certainly did, too. We are a bunch of folks who accept each other for who we are - even with our faults. It's not a matter of, "You are different from me, so why should I help you?" It is a matter of, "I can help you. What do you need?"
Thanks, fellow triathletes, for showing America - especially my little corner of it - what you are made of. It is said that in the midst of great tragedy, great heroes arise. Some often criticize the expensive bikes, lycra shorts, and a lifestyle that they can't imagine, but you always seem to rise above all the criticism and say "Here I am. How can I help?" That's what true heroes are made of.
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September 7, 2005
Baton Rouge, LA
Johnny Hebert, Happy News Citizen Reporter
Heaven's Grocery Store
Bessie sat in a wheelchair at the LSU Field House, staring absently at the cots all around her. She was clutching a wool-lined denim jacket, and wrapped in a black blanket. Her gray hair was disheveled, and the arms of the wheel chair were peeling. The doctor told me to stay with her until the bus was ready, handed me a chart and gave me instructions. Looking at the chart, he realized it was the wrong patient and grabbed it back. After hailing the nurse, he obtained the right folder, handed it back to me and told me what to do with it. Then he ran off to the next patient. The chart said she was born in 1922, with a note that she had been screened, had some complications and was “confused”. I sat next to Bessie and nervously looked for something to say. I noticed she was wearing a bright rosary around her neck and asked her where she got it. She said her priest gave it to her from her home parish in New Orleans. She couldn’t remember his name, or even where she was from, for that matter. All she could recall was she was originally from Houma and was in a hospital in New Orleans, that if we could only get it touch with the hospital, they could tell us what was wrong with her and what medication she needed. But, she said, “I can make it all right. The Holy Father suffered, and Jesus is with me too.” She began to rapidly recite a prayer, more like a poem, called “Heaven’s Grocery Store” that she said she learned when she was little. It was about walking into a grocery store and seeing the heavenly hosts lined up to pull all of God’s graces off the shelves to provide all anyone might need. She repeated this again and smiled at me.
I asked her if I could do anything for her. Despite the warmth in the building, she asked if I could help her put on her wool lined coat. That’s when I noticed Bessie was wearing only a diaper in the chair, unbound. She never complained however, and I tried to respect her dignity as best I could. I noted she had no shoes, so I grabbed some nearby that were far too large for her. With some difficulty, another young volunteer helped me put Bessie on a wheel chair with footrests, since hers did not have any. When I asked whether anyone was with her, Bessie said no, she had no family. Her husband had died some time ago, and they never had any children. Her great-nieces had taken care of her, but she didn’t know where they were. “That’s all right,” she said again, “Jesus is taking care of me”, and off she went again with “Heaven’s Grocery Store”.
As the time came for Bessie to be loaded, I piled everything she had into a pillow sack, discretely tried to fasten the diaper along the sides, and wheeled her to the bus. Bessie said she sometimes gets seizures, and needed something to warm her head. I grabbed another nearby volunteer to see if she could locate a hat or something for Bessie. The volunteer went dashing around to find something, but all she could come up with was a pillow case, so the volunteer tore it into a triangle and, with tears in her eyes, gently wrapped Bessie’s head with it. As she tucked Bessie’s gray hair into the makeshift scarf, Bessie was loaded on the bus for a temporary stay at a nursery home in Franklin, Louisiana. From there, the doctor did not know where Bessie would end up.
I said goodbye to Bessie as the nurses and volunteers gently prepared Bessie for her trip. I overheard a nurse tell Bessie how beautiful she was. With a marker I put Bessie’s name on the pillow sack that held all of her possessions and loaded it on the bus, where I hoped that someone would be sure to drop it off with her in Franklin. Yet, it seems to me that Bessie was traveling with Heaven’s Grocery Store and already had found the greatest riches in the world.
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September 2, 2005
Alexandria, Louisiana
Diane Davidson, Happy News Citizen Reporter
Surrounding Cities Offer Strong Support
I live in Alexandria Louisiana, about 200 miles from New Orleans. On Wednesday, I had the privilege of going to a United Way meeting and was absolutely blown away by the generosity and support these groups were willing to give. Each agency was asked two questions: What can you do and what do you need to have in order to do it?
The responses: YWCA - we can offer child care and pre-k services. We'll need money for higher utility bills and school supplies
RSVP - a group of retirees - we can play bridge with the elderly, find areas for them to volunteer their time to keep them busy and feeling useful. Boy Scouts - we can volunteer our time to the shelters and storage facilities, CASA - we have volunteers - Battered Women's Shelter - we can offer family counseling….
These are just a few of the many groups that responded. The United Way opened it's requests to all agencies in town. In addition to the member agencies, there are many groups that have been doing charitable work for years. The United Way board got everyone together and each agency took on the responsibilities of what their group does best. If it's offering mental health services, Alzheimer's support, meals, whatever they do, they said we can do it on a bigger scale and are ready right now. They formed a response fund called the "Central Louisiana Katrina Response Fund" and a charitable group in town called the "Rapides Foundation" donated $1,000,000 (that's ONE MILLION DOLLARS) to get it started. There are two companies in town that are matching any donations made by their employees. The outpouring of support has been incredible. During the 10:00 news last night, a makeshift telethon raised $85,000 before the end of the broadcast. Stories like this are just pouring out all over town.
In addition, we have people that have taken up to 35 people into their homes. They've opened their doors and their pantries and said come on. Families are enrolling their children in school here and our school board has opened it's doors happily. I just talked to the soccer league and they are preparing ways to enroll children in the soccer program. The looting and shooting going on in the city is only a small part of the story. The real story is the people of Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama… that have willingly and readily opened their doors to people that would do the same for them in a heartbeat. The people of New Orleans are known for their love of life and people. The hospitality of the south is defined in New Orleans. The entire state of Louisiana's heritage is grounded in New Orleans. The best story I have is the story of an hourly employee that works in one of our manufacturing plants. He has taken 35 people, of those, 21 are children, into his two bedroom trailer. We asked him how he is feeding all of those people and he just shrugged and said, "Well, I cooked three dozen eggs and 75 pancakes this morning. That's what you do."
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September 2, 2005
Baker LA 70714
Dee Hebert, Happy News Citizen Reporter
Baton Rouge Shelter Bursting with Love and Support
I live in Baton Rouge which has become a safe haven for many evacuees. I visited several shelters to deliver donations and saw throngs of people bringing food, bedding, personal items, baby needs, and supplies of every kind. I saw our City Hall filled with cots, TV sets, and kitchens filled with food for the homeless. I saw relief on the faces of the adults and I saw children being fed and cared for. I saw dozens of volunteers sweating and working hard to assemble the donations, and I saw concern, love, and generosity everywhere I looked. I saw teenagers loading supplies in vans to deliver to other shelters in the city. If people in New Orleans have not been rescued yet, it's not because of a lack of effort. When we think about the thousands who have been rescued and placed in shelters, we can be thankful and blessed that so many have done so much to alleviate this tragedy. Only in this country can you find people who will lend a helping hand in an instant's notice. The people in Louisiana have demonstrated their love of neighbor and have opened their hearts and their pocketbooks to the max. And when New Orleans is ready to rebuild, we in Baton Rouge will still be around to help them restore that city to its original prominence in Louisiana.
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September 2, 2005
Melissa Mackey, Happy News Citizen Reporter
Family Rescued and Carried to Family by Everyday Angels
We are indeed each other's angels. After surviving a direct hit at Buras, LA, a woman and her son along with the family dachsund and jack russel terrior were rescued from the roof of their home tuesday morning. They were chest deep in water within minutes Monday and were able to escape with the pets to the roof. Still miraculous is they weathered the winds while continuing to keep hold of their pets. Another lucky and fortuitous occurence was a cooler floated toward them and they used it to shield their heads against flying branches and debris. The coast guard was able to rescue them after a tip was called in from a family member in Maryland. They were then taken to a shelter in Baton Rouge. The shelter could not accommodate their pets, however. They were told they would have to have them euthanized. Someone volunteering at the shelter took the woman, her son and the pets home with them. Through a chat room, family from Maryland found an "angel" citizen from Texas who volunteered to not only drive to Baton Rouge to pick them up, but to drive them an additional four hours to the airport in Houston where family members have made an arrangement to fly them to Maryland. This angel citizen also provided pet containers and spending money for the family. Happy news indeed, and evidence of present day miracles and the goodness inherent in our family of man.