A story of thanks

Marge -

Gloria, her husband, and late teenage son live in a brick home in a middle class neighbor area of Slidell. Her husband was listening to the weather report continually. He said “we might not be so lucky this time with the report of the wind and flood coming in. Gloria began preparing sandwiches to evacuate. Suddenly the water came up and into their home. The water knocked over the refrigerator as it came through their home. They quickly ran across the street to their neighbors who had a boat. The two families got into the boat to flee as the water rising was too high to get by car. They headed west in the boat but couldn’t get out that direction. So they turned back toward home and headed to the other neighbor’s house which had a second story. The three families were safe on the second floor but without food or water for 3 days. Gloria said she was getting dehydrated and her stomach was bloating. The 3rd day a boat came through offering evacuation. The group asked for food and water rather than evacuating even though the water was over 5 feet in their homes. The evacuation team said they wouldn’t be back for 4 weeks. The second family decided to leave plus Gloria’s son who had leg injuries that were bleeding. As the water went down, Gloria and her husband decided to walk out. A truck came by and gave them a ride in the back of the truck. Then they found a ride to an area where they had friends. They walked to their friend’s home and found no one home. They walked the streets to another friend’s home. They knocked at the door and just went in saying “we’re coming in.”

Their home was totally ruined. They have it totally rebuilt from the wall studs out. Gloria took me for a tour of the house saying they will be able to move in to the home in a week. She said “time goes slow” and thanked me for coming. She expressed her deep appreciation for a church group from out of state bringing food while they were stranded and for church groups who have and are, helping others. “We don’t even know their names to thank them.