I'm sick to death of "these" people complaining about the "rich" not paying their fair share when it is the rich that are keeping them alive. They should be grateful not hateful.
Posted on 11/16/2005 5:23:43 PM PST by LA Woman3
(West Columbia)-Larry Young read, "The last night FEMA will pay for hotel costs is November 30."
It's the letter Larry received Tuesday night. The lines were still unbelievable to him Wednesday morning.
Young said, "We were told they would cover our expenses until we found a personal residence."
But Larry still hasn't found his picket fence, and he says FEMA isn't doing much to help him look.
Young said, "I don't know where I'm going from here. I don't know what I'll do from here."
Larry has called Columbia home for a month and a half. He's located his wife, sister and brother in other states. He still he has yet to find his eight children.
"It hurts but I know they're safe," said Young.
So each day he fishes through an ocean of papers, trying to get the assistance he needs, but he can't get a bite.
Young said, "I need some help from whoever can help me."
In two weeks, Larry hopes to have a plan. He said, "If I can survive that hurricane, I can survive anything."
He just hopes he won't have to survive the streets.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has granted exceptions to evacuees in hotels in Louisiana and Mississippi, where there's a shortage of housing.
Evacuees in those states have until January seventh to find homes. FEMA estimates that 53,000 families remain in hotels, mostly in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.
The South Carolina Evacuee Assistance Center is open to help people in need. Call 1-800-590-6395.
That's also the number to call if you have housing you want to donate.
Ummmm...so he's expecting someone to help him find a place to live? Would you really want some gov. hack "helping" you with that?
"Sounds like Larry is a lifelong deadbeat looking to continue his trade."
BINGO!!!!
I wish some of those workers would come back so Walmart and the restaurants would get back to regular hours. It's crazy shopping now. There is work here in the Lake Charles area too.
I'm sick to death of "these" people complaining about the "rich" not paying their fair share when it is the rich that are keeping them alive. They should be grateful not hateful.
With all due respect, I was there a bit over a decade ago. A series of little personal reversals left me with no job, no house, bank account near empty (but good credit history intact), my only vehicles a two-decade-old Datsun and a slightly younger 10-speed bicycle. Took a job at $10/hour (I hated being on unemployment -- 3 required interviews per week? I went for much more than that!) and started building things back up.
Today I have a good-paying job, a house on land (in a locale where neither is cheap; I never thought I would own a house again), a wife, two cars (one bought new -- I will *never* do that again but it was for my wife). The bicycle is history; I wore it out riding to work. The Datsun ditto. Retirement situation isn't good, but am working on it. (My wife will be fine if I die in the traces; but as yet it would hurt if I quit working.)
Fortunately for me I didn't have, or believe, a bunch of government officials saying "We're from the government and we're here to help you."
Me too. Wal-Mart is 7 to 7 now. I was told today they're going to shoot for January to resume normal hours.
Mainly I wish traffic would return to normal. I'm sick and tired of fighting that horrible traffic every day.
Sorry to hear that y'all are going through that over in Lake Charles too. Hope things return to normal for us soon.
As a too-frequent traveler, it's hard to think of a worse fate. Other than living in an airport the rest of your life.
IMO, FEMA did a sh!tty job on so many levels.
Did they EVER get their sh!t together and use those hundreds of trailer homes, or are they still bogged down completely in beaurocratic paperwork!
I don't understand why some of the closed millitary base housing could not have been used as temporary shelter.
That said, why in the WORLD cannot people get off their butts and be proactive in taking care of themselves?
Get a J.O.B.! I suppose these people will just stay put and not do a damned thing for the rest of their lives if FEMA will continue paying for their housing and living expenses.
A little personal history: I served 5 yrs 9 mos 27 days in federal prison( but who was counting?) on smuggling related charges. I made the misrtake, I was responsible, served my time and was relesed 9 years ago . Lost everything-millionaire to zip. Did I whine about it? Rely on you to support me? Wait on handouts? Well..no. I went to work, and worked hard. Now make 75k/year, home on lake with wonderful wife and family, respectable investment acount. That is the American way. What the hell is wrong with thewe deadbeats and the politicians and do-gooders taht cry on their behalf? Oportunity is everywhere in this great country. Why do all the residents of less fortunate countries risk it all to comne here? I have no sympathy for those who exist on the dole at the expense of those who get up and find a job and go to it every day.
I do not wish to appear hard hearted; however, there are too many unknowns in this equation for me to be able to gin up anything more than curiosity.
[1] How old are his eight children?[2] Did he know where his eight children were before Hurrican Katrina hit?
[3] How consistently has he contributed to the financial support of those eight children? Obviously, he is not contributing now, if he is unemployed.
[4] How many mothers are involved in these eight children?
[5] How long had it been since he had seen any/all of those eight children?
[6] Is he legally married to his "wife"? And, if so, did he ask FEMA to pay for a reunion with her? If not, why not?
[7] Is this the equivalent of the MSM story about cannibalism after 2 or 3 days when "they" had only MREs and water?
I am willing to be sympathetic ... but ...
Welcome back!
Probably with their mamas.
The traffic is horrible here too. Lake Charles is getting back to normal but we still have a ways to go.
Here's a little hurricane poetry for you.
'Twas the night before Rita
When all through the state
Not a gas pump was pumping
Not a store open late
All the plywood was hung
On the windows with care
Knowing that a hurricane
Soon would be there
The children were ready
With flashlights in hand
While bands from the hurricane
Covered over the land
And mamma with her Mag-Lite
And I in my cap
Had just filled the bath tub
For flushing our cr*p
When out on the lawn
There arose such a clatter
I sprang from the closet
To see what was the matter
The trees on the fence
And the neighbor's roof torn
Gave the fear of us dying
In this terrible storm
With a little wind gust
So lively and quick
I remembered quite clearly
Our walls weren't brick
More rapid than eagles
Her courses they came
And she whistled, and wafted
And surged all the same
Off shingles! Off sidings!
Off rooftops! Off power!
Down trees! Down fences!
Down trailers! Down towers!
In the center of Texas
She continued to maul
Screaming Blow Away!
Blow Away! Blow Away All!
As wind ripped and tossed
The debris through the sky
I peeked out the shutters
At cars floating by
So go to the safe-room
My family did do
With a portable TV
And batteries too
And then, in a twinkling
I heard on the set
The end was not coming
For a few hours yet!
As I calmed down the kids
And was turning around
Through the window it came
With a huge crashing sound
A tree branch it was
All covered in soot
The wind blew it smack-dab
On top of my foot
A bundle of twigs
Now lay in a stack
And my living room looks
Like it was under attack
The wind - how it howled!
The storm - very scary!
Myself and the family
Were all too unwary
The dangers of hurricanes
Are serious, you know
They are taken for granted
As Rita did show
With the winds dying down
And the danger beneath
I noticed my tool shed
Was missing its sheath
So I grabbed my last tarp
And nailed it on down
Then I got in my car
And I headed to town
The traffic was awful
And stores had no ice
My five gallon cooler
Would have to suffice
Generators were scarce
Not one left in town
There were trees on the roads
And power lines down
FEMA was ready
With people to work
Electrical companies
Came in from New York
And in the midst of
This peculiar routine
Another storm emerged
Named Hurricane Stan
I sprang to the car
And gave my family a whistle
Then away we all went
Like a Tomahawk missile
You could hear us exclaim
As we drove out of sight
"Fare well to this place,
CANADA seems just right!"
Thank you. Well said.
Me, either. After the hurricanes, most Americans really loved the stories about families being re-united and in permanent housing with schools for the kids, etc. And many gave money to make it happen.
This guy is a loser. And a free-loader. There are many more deserving people to help than this sorry excuse for a man.
< [2] Did he know where his eight children were before Hurrican Katrina hit? >
If he knows they're OK, how come he doesn't know where they are.
Hmm...mothers willing to say they are OK but not WHERE they are? Me thinks Larry is not a nice dude.
Your right! Sorry I missed that one. LOL
It is about time someone pointed out that many, many people suffer terrible financial reverses in their lifetimes. Many people lose everything they have when their house burns; many young women with children lose their husbands ... whether to disease, accident or as casualties of war.
People from the beginning of time have had to start over ... and, often, start over again. Many of the evacuees of Katrina began picking up the pieces of their lives the day after the storm hit. It has been slow going, frustrating and very difficult.
Praise God that not all people are like ol' Larry. Bless those who are trying to make the best of their very bad situations.
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