I have written several times in the past about our experience being in the literal eye of a hurricane and coming out the other side. September 11, 1992, the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Small, idyllic, a slice of paradise. When Iniki came along it ate the entire island. Directly over, bounced off the warm water, came back the opposite direction, bounced again, finally went back over and out to sea. There was not a structure on the island untouched. Wind, water, sand - they all had their way with every house, hotel, shop, telephone pole, palm tree. Our home, a 60+ year old rental we lovingly referred to as the Shit Shack for its single wall construction and tin roof, was obliterated, carpet pulled from the foundation.
And while loss of life in the storm was kept to a single person (there were several others in the aftermath), not a single life was untouched. And being on a island, there was no way to drive away from the storm before it hit, or once it had moved on leaving a full third of the residents homeless.
Starting over is overwhelming. The idea of "nothing" is hard to wrap a mind around before a hurricane hits. Trying to digest the reality afterwards when you see everything you owned and worked for gone is numbing. There is no roadmap, no guidebook. But what I can tell you that there is, is kindness.
The best of people is revealed in the worst of times. And that worst does not have to be happening to them, they only have to see it happening to another for them to be moved to action. Humans are remarkable that way. At our deepest level we know that we all laugh, cry, struggle, bleed, and mourn the same. We can imagine being in a situation with having to be in a situation. And we are moved to help.
That is how Rudy and Culley and I began to rebuild our life. Strangers who heard our story; new co-workers of his when we were moved to a new town and were living in the hotel. Sheets, silverware, blankets, clothing for our baby, enough to start to make a life and furnish an apartment when we moved from that hotel. Strangers supporting us when we were unsure how to even take the first steps forward.
Which brings me to the keyboard tonight. In the past, our Yes, Virginia requests have often been supplemented by special stories and circumstances that come to our attention. Donations come in specifically for a family and their needs. The year we bought a new bed and pillows and bedding for a mother and son - that one always stays with me, the pictures of what they were sleeping on forever embedded in my head, on my heart. Tonight I am writing to share with you the family that has joined our sleigh over the weekend.
A single mother with five children who had been living in Asheville, North Carolina. When Hurricane Helene raged up from the south, flooding entire cities, the trailer home they were renting was destroyed. Their belongings, toys, food, clothing, even important papers like birth certificates. (We only still have Culley's, water stained as it is, because we threw it and other papers like our marriage license into a garbage bag and into the trunk of the car before the hurricane hit.)
With nowhere to turn in a city that was underwater, the mother reached out to a friend all the way up in New York who offered to take them all in while they begin to figure things out.
I have been her, but I only had one tiny child to worry about. She has five ranging in age from 6-14. We lost our home, too, but we had a hotel company that found another position for my husband and allowed us to live on property for months. I cannot begin to wrap my mind around the enormity of loss and fear this mother currently lives with. And the children who are all old enough to understand that something massive has happened to completely upend their lives. Security and stability are everything to a child, and theirs has been torn from them.
I am asking that we make a special effort for this family. That donations can come in specifically for a huge DGMS effort to make Christmas happen for each child, to help with basic clothing items for each, and to fund a gift card that will help feed them all while they stay with the friend whose home is small, but opened it to them nonetheless.
There are still YV funds I am working with for other children. This would be independent of that money.
Again, I have been there. With nothing, and not knowing where to turn. And I am grateful to this day that total strangers did know where to turn. They turned their smiling faces, their open hearts, and their generosity toward us. And with their support we started moving forward.
Please help if you can. We have the capacity in this group of incredible people to reach out and truly help a family begin charting their new course. When push comes to love, no one does it like DGMS. Especially at Christmas.
Love you all,
Linda
PayPal: [email protected] (It will show as Sanity Central)
Zelle: [email protected]
Venmo: @Linda-Sharp-29
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