The day after Katrina struck, I volunteered with the Red Cross. I have many, many memories from my experience – some heart rendering, some brutal, some life transforming and some numbing. But all of them have one thing in common and that was the amazing resilience of the people I met who were impacted by the catastrophe.\r\n\r\nAllow me to share at least one memory that is most vivid in my heart. My volunteer assignment was quite unique. I and three other women, all strangers, were assigned to travel by car throughout Southern Mississippi trying to connect persons impacted by Katrina with lost family members and loved ones. There were only 24 people assigned to do this task throughout the 3 states afflicted by the Katrina – a very small number considering the thousands of volunteers that were deployed. Amongst the four of us, we had 24 cell phones, many of which didn’t work because of fallen lines and satellite dishes. For those persons who had yet to access a phone to reach a loved one, we would lend them the use of one of ours. For those people who had no idea where their loved ones were and as such, had no number to call, we would complete forms that would then be transmitted to the International Red Cross office who in turn would try to find the lost loved one and make the connection happen. \r\n\r\nMy team would visit shelters and service centers – centers dispensing Red Cross funds to persons impacted. My memory was of our first day when we visited the service center at the Natchez (MI) Convention Center. We had no idea what to expect except that we suspected there might be some people there for whom we could help. As we drove to the Center, we witnessed a line of people standing patiently on the sidewalk. As it turned out, what we thought was a short line of people waiting to go into the Center and be processed ended up being 4000 people waiting in the 100+ heat all day long. So we parked our car and for as long as the line was being processed, we walked up and down that line with megaphones announcing we were there to help people connect with those whom they had lost contact with during the hurricane. We connected many people that day most of whom had left the remnants of their lives in New Orleans. Along with the National Guardsmen who were “protecting” my colleagues and me from what I don’t know, we dispensed drinking water to everyone and candy to diabetics and those weakened from the heat. Most poignant in my mind was the gratitude these people conveyed despite the wretched heat they were subjected to for hours -- regardless of age and in some cases physical condition. This was coupled with the fact that many of those waiting in line had chosen – or been self forced -- to sleep on the side walk the night before to ensure their place. \r\n\r\nNow I ask you, does this sound like the America most of us know or some third world impoverished nation? Well, that is the question my three colleagues and I asked ourselves as we left that day. Yes, we felt depleted and yet grateful that we had witnessed such an outpouring of gratitude as we did amongst the people we met. However the realization that many of these people didn’t expect better treatment than they were receiving – better than being subjected to 100 degree heat and sun for hours on end with no food unless they risked loosing their place in line – was truly one of the most humbling experiences of my life.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n