I'm back from Louisiana.

Hi All: I want to thank everyone who wished me well on my mission to help in the disaster area. Pamela thanks for the offer to send what we needed. I was unable to get on line for the 2 weeks so I only saw your post when I got back. We were fine. The only thing I needed once I was there was a rental car in order to get around. My daughter managed to get me one - not an easy task- and from then on it was great. The trip was very gratifying and I am so glad that I went. The living conditions were challenging but I was able to manage. We had to sleep on canvas cots in a tent that housed 100 people - both men and women. The work was different than what I expected but I am still glad that I was able to go and help. The devastation is awful. Towns and areas totally distroyed. FYI - for those who want to help in a disaster and are not health care professionals or cannot afford to volunteer there is a company that hires individuals to do data processing and phone work, in addition to other things. A per diem salary is offered as well as housing and meals. You can check it out at Kenyoninternational.com. I'm writing up my memories of the experience in a word processing program. If anyone would like to read about it just send me an email and I'll attach it back to you. I've just started it and it will be lengthy, but so many of my friends and family have asked me to do it. Thank you again for all the good wishes. Pat/Louise

Welcome back Pat! I'm glad that your trip was a success and I greatly admire you for what you have done. Mike

Ditto-to what Mike just said. Very admiral of you to do that & we need lots more just like you. Thanks for sharing & glad you are back safe & sound. Marilyn, the Bearlady

Pat, That is wonderful that you were able to go and help first hand the people of LA. I volunteer for the Red Cross at the back up emergency call center here in Denver. It is frustrating to take these peoples calls and not be able to reach out and just help them directly. I wish that I could afford to just go there and fix everything for every one but that is not possible. Every little thing does help and I admire you for going and doing your part. Leslie P

Pat - welcome back and I'm happy for you that you were able to accomplish something that you felt driven to do. Might I suggest you start a blog to write of your experiences? It would be really cool if you could just share it online. You can go to www.blogger.com and set up a free blog that will allow you to add whatever you like as much as you like. It's very user friendly, so you might find it suits your purposes well. Thanks for going down and being a part of the relief efforts. I know it's not easy and not something everyone can do. Dina

Pat, I'm so glad you're back. I have a cousin that was wiped out with Katrina and another cousin that lost everything to Rita. The folks down there really appreciate all the work that you and the other volunteers do. Thanks for caring. Connie