To the loving volunteers of the Ozark Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Springfield Lion\'s Club, Centerline, The Ozark Food Bank, The Salvation Army, numerous church organizations and faith-based community representatives of agencies that assisted and are still assisting the disaster victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,\r\n\r\nWe want to thank you for your loving support for us in our time of need.\r\n\r\n It was ten p.m. Wednesday, September 21, 2005. I had spent three days tracking a violent storm in the Gulf while attempting to at least have a plan if \"Rita\" decided to come on shore near my home in Vidor, TX. I had addressed the issue with both son\'s (deep into their teens) on Tuesday evening, only to be informed that I was being \"paranoid.\" No one wanted to believe a hurricane that might be worse than what devastated our neighboring states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, would actually come our way. \r\n\r\n Wednesday, while having lunch, and watching the news at a favorite restaurant in Beaumont with a co-worker, the announcement was made. Local officials warned of the eye approaching the nearby town of Port Arthur. That made my decision to leave, and early enough not to be caught in hours of traffic congestion headed north (or so I thought.) At that moment, my oldest son (20) called and said they were closing the restaurant where he worked. I was glad to see I wasn\'t the only one who was now paranoid, or maybe it had risen to \"committed-concern.\"\r\n\r\n We were given approval to leave by our employers (not that I needed it,) and headed home to prepare. Six hours my son\'s and I spent clearing the yard of potential \"flying-hazzards\" while stopping only to check the latest coordinates with the Weather Channel. We packed food, bedding, means of cooking, and clothing. We never took precious time to gather photos or special documents, this was serious and we needed to leave, now.\r\n\r\n We left in two cars with what once was a plan to head to San Antonio. This is where I suggest people have a \"Plan-B.\" You could only travel north. East and West traffic was stopped to allow northern traffic flow. 2.8 million people fled from Wednesday to Friday evening. After driving all night, we finally pulled into a town by the name of Idabel, just north of the Texas/Oklahoma border at 6:00 a.m. Tired and exhausted, we were forced to pay for two days just to sleep and leave the next day. One is never prepared to pay $85 per room night on a last minute whim, but it was a necessity.\r\n\r\n Eight hours on the road after a long day\'s work, nervous and frightened of where we would end up, made three dead-tired individuals. We realized that since we had been host to Katrina victims, we had seen just how long the recovery could be. We had come this far, and we had parents/grandparents who had been diagnosed with cancers we would love to see. Besides, seeing them would help us feel as though we weren\'t terribly displaced, at least not as badly. The bags we packed were filled with clothing hardly fit to wear around the house. Who could think to pack a decent bag? Who knew we would leave the Texas heat to venture into last Saturday\'s frosty morning? We had on flip flops and shorts, as well as most of the other S.W. LA., and S.E. TX. people we met at Remington\'s.\r\n\r\n Here\'s where YOU come in...\r\n\r\nYour state, region, towns, businesses, faith based centers, local Salvation Army, Missouri Career Centers, local FEMA, human services, VOLUNTEERS, and organization representatives committed to the service to humanity are, by far, the greatest on the entire planet! OK, maybe we are editorializing without proper research, but it\'s our personal opinions, and we really appreciate all the help you gave us. Thanks for the untiring, dedicated commitment you gave to help restore our lives while being away from home. Three weeks since we left on our \"destination-unknown,\" we are proud to say we are home, with power, food, water, clothing, jobs and restored faith in the power of community, whether it\'s ours or yours.\r\n\r\n Many people are not so fortunate. Driving home, as far as 150 miles from the Gulf Coast, trees are through buildings. Homes are lost, electricity still unavailable, water and ice are still needed, as well as food and clothing. Lives are on hold. But because of all of you, we continue to have hope. I can never describe the gratitude in my heart for the way you gave of your time, your pocket books, and your patience with us as we stumbled around your area trying to find our way.\r\n\r\n Red buckets will be filled in our area this Christmas, because you can never understand until you have been there. More red and white vests will be worn here because we realize \"we\'re in it together.\" \r\n\r\n Special thanks to our case worker and new friend of the American Red Cross - Ozark Chapter - Jami Peebles, and our precious friend of the Salvation Army (who\'s name I never knew.) Jami, I haven\'t forgotten your \"BEAUMONT\" ...Texas with a little something extra T-shirt!\r\n\r\n\r\nLea \"Ellen\" Simon\r\n\r\n(409) 838-2816\r\nfax - 409-838-2865\r\nSpecialty Publications Manager\r\nA Division of The Beaumont Enterprise\r\nA Hearst Publication\r\n\r\nP.O. Box 3071\r\nBeaumont, Texas 77704