Relocating Survivors
I’ve been following the TV coverage of moving the hurricane survivors out of the Astrodome, entertainment centers and church facilities here in Southeast Texas. Some have been offered temporary housing with families. Many have accepted rent free apartments for three months while they look for work, but many of the survivors were put on planes and taken to states like Utah, Illinois, Ohio and California and only told their destinations after their flights were in the air. . The “Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune” will undoubtedly be compounded by Culture Shock some of these people will experience.

I sympathize with those who have lost everything and find themselves in bewildering circumstances. Even after reaching safety and receiving basic needs of food and water, they find themselves in limbo. Although agencies like the Red Cross and Salvation Army along with hundreds of volunteers give financial help and comfort, they face confusion and dismay about where and how to rebuild their lives.

My family never experienced such a catastrophe, but there was an incident that lets us relate to some extent the trials and tribulations of those who have lost all their possessions. When Mom and Dad moved from Palo Alto, California to Los Angeles, all their household possessions were sent by moving van to the house they had rented in Los Angeles. Grandma and Grandpa A lived with the folks and everything they owned was on the van too.
I accompanied Mom and Dad and grandparents as we drove to Los Angeles a day before the van was to arrive at the Los Angeles address. After spending the night with relatives, we went to the house early the next morning and waited for the van to arrive at 9 or 10 a.m. When the van had not arrived by late afternoon, we assumed a misunderstanding about the arrival date was to blame. We voiced annoyance at the delay, but knowing the amount of work ahead of us we took the delay in stride and spent another night with relatives.

As the next morning and early afternoon passed without the van’s arrival, the folks made phone calls to find out why. Being told the van was on its way, it became a matter of exhibiting patience while we speculated on the reasons for such a delay. Toward dusk, we saw a large van from the moving company come down the street and being driven as if the driver was looking for a house number. We all heaved a big sigh of relief as Dad went to show the driver which house to go to. Relief was quickly dispelled when we discovered the van was not the one we were waiting for.

The following day we learned that ‘our’ van had caught fire and was totally destroyed midway to Los Angeles. Years of accumulations, photos, clothing, objects of value, furniture, books, tools, mirrors, family records and things of sentimental value belonging to both grandparents and Mom and Dad was lost. It was impossible to enumerate every thing on the van.

Eventually most of the items were replaced. But the loss of photos has been keenly felt thru the years. As I research our family trees, I often recall a snapshot or an old Kodak picture and wish I could add it to our genealogy records. Names and dates were usually written on the back of the photos; what a treasure it would be to have those pictures now!