It’s been a while since I posted. We had Tropical Storm Fay and then Hurricane Gustav to deal with. Early this morning Hurricane Ike blasted into Texas.  Needless to say, many of us in the Red Cross are extremely tired.  But one thing is sure, it hasn’t slowed us down.

I feel extremely fortunate to work with this organization. It has shown me the power of the human spirit.  Sometimes, that is all we have left.  Mother Nature can knock down our homes, wash away everything we own, even take some of our loved ones with her, but time after time the human spirit will prevail.

I have seen many tragedies in this job. Every client I meet has a story, usually filled with calamity and adversity.  It can at times be overwhelming.  I learned early on you can’t fix everything and until you come to terms with that, you will be in constant turmoil.  Now I try to fix my little corner of things, where ever I am. And when I am feeling tired, like I can’t go on, I just have to look across the room – or sometimes across the internet – to my fellow Red Crossers to find inspiration. More often than not, they are working longer hours than me at much harder tasks and they keep going. They have smiles on their faces. They help those in need. They put their lives on hold to pick up the pieces of someone else’s. They are amazing.

In July I went to South Texas to play a small role in the Hurricane Dolly relief effort. The days were long. The environment was hot and full of mosquitoes. I learned the true meaning of the word exhaustion. But no matter how tired or frustrated I got, once again all I had to do was look across the room. My room.

My roommate was Miss Marguerite.  Miss Marguerite is 80 years old and she is an ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) driver from Victoria, Texas.  She has what I consider to be one of the hardest jobs out there. Everyday before sunrise she and her partner were off, loading the truck with meals and snacks.  Then they drove in unfamiliar territory, with many roads washed out, to devastated areas to feed people.  All day long she fed people out of that hot, metal truck.  Late at night they would come back and unload and clean the truck. She would rarely return to our room before midnight. And the next day at 5 am, she would be at it again.  Never a complaint. Always a kind word.  That’s Miss Marguerite and there are thousands more like her within the Red Cross.

Shortly after I returned home from Hurricane Dolly, I got a card in the mail.  You guessed it. It was from Miss Marguerite. She was thanking me for being such a good roommate and telling me she would see me on the next disaster operation.

I hope I do, Miss Marguerite. I hope I do.