I left Portland on Friday, two weeks ago, for San Antonio, Texas to help the Red Cross assist those affected by Hurricane Dolly. The first two nights were spent in a staff shelter. I HATED it! It was a first for me, on other disasters, I have always been fortunate to have had a hotel room. There were about 300 people in the cafeteria of a high school, men and women, trying to sleep. There were two sections to the room, one was air conditioned and freezing, so I picked the non air conditioned room with just a fan...well, that fan was not just a fan, I think they got the blade and motor from an airplane...it was huge and LOUD and along with that and all the noise from everyone snoring and getting up and down...it was a sleepless night, and the next night was not much better, although I was so tired from my lack of sleep the night before, I am pretty sure I fell asleep for a little while. Ear plugs were useless. Thinking back, it was probably a good thing for us all to experience what it is like for families that have no choice but to go to one when their home is ruined. It was such a relief the next day when they sent us on into the field to get to our work. First they sent me to Brownsville, then up to a town called Pharr. We shared hotel rooms there.The first day we went to the shelter and helped those staying there and the next day we did outreach, going into the neighborhoods that were flooded. These pictures were taken after the water had gone down a bit already.What a mess, some places were still inaccessible, so we did not get to those, they were the homes of the ones in the shelters, but the other homes that we did get into were a mess! mud and water and mold...the smells were horrible...we were warned that there were five poisonous kinds of snakes there, but I didn't see any live ones...the only snakes I saw were dead on the road. But I sure did keep my eyes open as I walked up to the homes. The mosquitoes were outrageous. They would just wait outside doors and windows for you! When you went out, they covered any bare skin...I think I donated most of my blood there and it was not for the usual Red Cross blood drive. In spite of it all, the heat, the humidity, the bug bites and lack of sleep, I came home feeling like it was worth it all to know that a few people were helped.

They require us to take a day off after we have worked 7 days. Since we were so close to South Padre Island, that was the destination of choice for most of us. Since it is a tourist destination, it is mostly hotels, restaurants and second homes, so there was no Red Cross need there. Some of the hotels had roofs off and a few places were closed, but mostly it was up and running. You would never have known that a few miles away there was such a mess! It was a perfect place to relax and unwind and remember how blessed I am. The last day, I had to be back up in San Antonio for my flight and since my flight was not until late afternoon, I was also able to spend some time at the famous Riverwalk downtown and see the Alamo.

Once again, I go away with a list of new Red Cross friends. Here are a few of us that were assigned to outreach in Pharr.