From Branson, Missouri...

Sorry I've been negligent in posting on this site the past few days.  I just haven't had the heart to write much. We have been in a "waiting" or "holding" pattern for days now hoping to hear from one or the other of the adjustors to determine if wind or water took our home out.  It's been six weeks since the storm hit and we all are simply waiting, which is difficult.  We cannot make any permanent plans until we know whether Texas Windstorm insurance is going to pay for the house.  We will start the rebuilding process as soon as we know.

No businesses that I know of other than Seaside Lumber and Parker Lumber are able to work at all on the Peninsula at this time and jobs are scarce where people have had to go to find temporary housing.  Entire lives have been uprooted and changed and honestly, now that the newness has passed, no one seems to care very much, sad to say.

Many of our neighbors are now running out of saved money and need some help now from all of the government agencies and charitable groups that are supposed to step forward at times like this. So far The Salvation Army is the only agency that I personally know that has offered anything to the Bolivar Peninsula residents and that has come in the form of gift cards, food, clothing, and some housing arrangements.  Even this is hard to accept because you have to be where they are to accept the offer and no one is living on Bolivar with a few exceptions.

We are told that FEMA is working on establishing "planned communities" of modular housing for those without homes at all, but they are not approved for the Peninsula at this time.  They are approved for Jefferson, Orange and Chambers counties, and the city of Galveston.  We need for Galveston County as a whole to be approved so we can go home.  We could take the RV there to our property if we had water and power and were permitted to be there.  Perhaps we could be of more help to others and to ourselves.

FEMA has not done for Hurricane Ike victims what it did for Katrina and Rita victims and there are no known explanations other than the one a FEMA rep gave to me early on.  He said, "We are not going to be handing out money or housing like we did in Katrina because we made too many mistakes."  DUH, we did not make those mistakes nor contribute to them!  In fact, Texas as a whole, took literally thousands of those evacuee and cared for them as best we could, often without any appreciation being shown.  If I write a little angry, it is because I am.  We need to be told something constructive and given a timeline of some kind in order to plan our lives.

Entergy Texas is making progress is getting the power back on and the water department is working on getting water to the different areas.  One man in my group site just reported that the ferry will open again for residents' use in about 14 days.  The ferry running is huge to all of us because that is the only way to Galveston Island without driving all the way around the other end of the county, which is about a two-hour drive.

Ted and I plan to leave Branson in the morning and start toward the Peninsula. We have had a wonderful visit here and know in our hearts that we are far more blessed than many of our friends.   Now that it is cooler there, we can stay in the RV at Martha's house in Beaumont for a few days until we hear more.  There is also hope of getting into some type of housing while we build.

If any of you are interested and want more information about the Hurricane Ike situation, I belong to a wonderful group mostly made up of property owners and residents and everything pertaining to the Peninsula is covered on this site.  It is a Yahoo group called Bolivar_Peninsula_Group, and you have to ask to join it.  I have hesitated to write too much about the hurricane or the aftermath for fear of boring you guys.

Another body was found yesterday lodged against the North Jetty, which is within sight of our home.  A man had been working on his father's home in Crystal Beach and decided to take a break to do some flounder fishing and snagged the body.  Every time another one is found, the families of the missing get all excited and start up with the emails and phone calls.  Rumor says this one is in such bad condition that they don't know if it is male or female.  Imagine that being your mom or dad or child.  I can't!  I continue to work with these families as best I can and pass on any information that comes to my computer.

We do appreciate your words of encouragement, thoughts, and prayers, and know one day we'll be able to look back on this time in our lives and remember it not so harshly.  (Pam - I don't remember if I gave you the address we are using as you asked, but it is still Post Office Box 323, Port Bolivar, Texas 77650.  The mail is taken to Winnie, Texas, and we get it there from time to time.)

Until the next page turns,

Brenda