Gulf Coast Works weblog

Sue is a friend of Bridge To Biloxi (an FOB2B), but more importantly, she’s a friend of many, many people on the Gulf Coast. She’s made numerous trips down to the Biloxi area and she’s going again in just a few weeks, using the very clever tactic of offering to get “bumped” from her flight in exchange for a free ticket for yet another trip to Mississippi in the not too distant future.

What’s most important to learn from Sue however is why she’s compelled to go again and again…it’s a lesson that will ring true for many of you, and it just may inspire a few others who have not yet gone. She writes:

To the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast:

During my most recent trip to volunteer in Biloxi, a Bay St. Louis resident told me that while the work of volunteers had made such a difference in helping the Coast to recover, it was difficult to accept so much help for so long. It was then that I realized how exhausting it must be to maintain a constant state of gratitude to strangers. The toughest part of accepting help is in not being able to reciprocate.

Don’t worry. You already have - more than you know.

Thank you for teaching me that after losing every earthly possession it is still possible to give of yourself to those who have lost more,

Thank you for showing me the difference between bravery and bravado and that simply waking up to face another day can be a singular act of courage.

Thank you for teaching me stoicism and patience in the face of hardship and unrelenting delays.

Thank you for showing me that Red State/Blue State differences disappear when our fellow countrymen are in need and that homelessness has no color.

Thank you for showing me that living in a FEMA trailer can take your dignity only if you let it.

Thank you for teaching me how petty my complaints are when so many have so silently borne so much.

Thank you for teaching me that grace is possible in situations that we lack an adequate vocabulary to describe.

Thank you for reminding me that good manners and politeness count and that affluence does not always equal breeding.

Most of all, thank you for allowing me to help in any way I can.

And one more thing, when I take pictures of the ruins of the Gulf Coast, I mean no disrespect. The photos help me to tell your story when I go home to people who still don’t comprehend the scope of Katrina and the unbearably slow pace of recovery.

I am forever in your debt.

Susan Cambria, Orange, CT

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 7th, 2007 at 9:43 pm and is filed under general discussion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.