Still Trucking Along

Things are bad in Louisiana. Mainly the area in the immediate vicinity of Baton Rouge. I didn't work a full day at all last week. I went to work, we got done what had to be done & we left to go help. Everyone knows someone that was affected by the flood. I did a lot of packing, a lot of sweeping, a lot of wading through gunk. In case you didn't know, flood waters leave a LOT of muddy gunk. 

We were in Central Saturday & Denham Springs Sunday. I just thought it was bad in the area of Baton Rouge I'd been working in. Devastation doesn't begin to cover it. There are just mounds of debris piled along the street. It's the most depressing thing I've ever seen. People say it's just stuff & that's true but at the same time that stuff are things that people have worked their entire lives for & now they have to start over. 

People still need supplies & food. A friend was denied emergency food stamps because her income is too high, yet her house is gutted & has to be rebuilt. How is that ok? Everyone is doing what they can to help but it's just sooo many people that need help.

There have been comments made about why people live in Louisiana when these things can happen. I can't even deal with that stupidity. Why do people live in California where there are earthquakes & why do people live where there are tornadoes? It's just a stupid statement. Another popular misconception is that we're below sea level. Baton Rouge & the other areas that are flooded are not below sea level. 

We've learned through this that there are a LOT of really good people out there but there are a lot of really crappy ones too. I'm trying to focus on the good. 

If you're able & want to help, this is a GoFundMe that is doing a lot of good for people. It's helping the entire community & not just one family. 

Todd McClure's Relief Fund

 Some people are ordering from Amazon & having things shipped directly to Louisiana for distribution. If you prefer to go that route & donate items that are needed email me at tracib1004@gmail.com & I'll give you my address for shipping & I will see that it's distributed to people in need.  

Please continue to pray.

Thanks.

Pray for Louisiana

My heart is broken. Parts of Baton Rouge & the surrounding areas are inundated with water. Think Hurricane Katrina but without levees or a hurricane - absolutely zero time to prepare. Tons & tons & tons of rain. My parents had 28 inches in 2 days. 

Area's that haven't flooded in 50 years are completely destroyed. Rivers are rising & overflowing the banks. Complete devastation. It's surreal.

Dean & I are fine, our house is fine. My parents and brother & sister in law live in the heart of the devastation. They got out Saturday & were able to make it safely to my house. They were lucky. Their houses are ok which is amazing. So many people surrounding them are not ok. 

We have so many friends that have lost everything. 

We've done nothing but watch the local news since Friday morning & we woke up to storms & school closures. I couldn't get to work. I've spent an inordinate amount of time on Facebook. I don't ever want to hear one bad thing about Facebook again. Yesterday, when we woke up there was zero cell service if you were an AT&T customer. Major towers were down. If you had Wifi, Facebook & iMessage were the only way to communicate. So many people don't know where family members are & many found people because of FB & everyone sharing posts. Last we heard on Saturday my uncle was fine in his 2nd floor apartment but he didn't have power & only a cell phone. No power means no charging the phone. We don't know if he's still there or was rescued by boat. Boat is the only way to get to many of these people.

As I type this I'm watching helicopters fly by. There were boat rescues, helicopter rescues, hospital evacuations, people waiting to be rescued on their roof. 

Schools are under water. Hospitals are being evacuated. Shelters are full while other shelters are taking in water & are having to evacuate. It's an absolute NIGHTMARE & there's no end in sight. There's a chance of more rain & a river still hasn't crested. More people are being evacuated.

The local newspeople have dubbed it "The Great Flood of 2016"

In the words of my 7 year old nephew "This ISN'T great".