One of our
own lives in Texas and has been devastated by the flooding. Jean Henry Mead
lost everything, leaving her home with only her dog and one change of clothes.
Jean had been
emailing me every day to give me updates, and all of a sudden the emails
stopped coming. I waited for a couple of days because I didn’t want to
interrupt her if she was in the process of evacuating, and then I called her
cell phone.
As it turns
out she couldn’t evacuate because the roads that weren’t flooded were closed.
The water kept rising and it was up to her waist. A neighbor helped her and
Mariah (her dog) to the neighbor’s house where they slept in the attic until
they were rescued the next day; of course, by boat.
If this had
happened to me, I’d probably be whining and carrying on. Not Jean. She said
that everything happens for a reason, and hopefully she’d eventually know what
that reason is. She also said, and this is where the author in her shines, that
she has a lot of material for a new book. Of course she has; she just lived
through it and I doubt she’ll ever forget even a minute.
Her brother
is going to drive her to the house today, since the water has receded, to see
if anything is salvageable. Smart woman that she is, she mailed her family
photos to her daughter when she heard what was headed their way, and she emailed
her latest manuscript to me, just in case. Just in Case happened, and she lost
her computer, along with everything else.
I can’t even
imagine going through what she and the other people have been through. It
breaks my heart. They’re all heroes, each in their own way, and that includes
both the rescuers and the victims. Honestly? I don’t think they’re thinking of
themselves as victims, but more as survivors.
Jean sounds
very tired, and yet she’s managed to make the best out of the worst. She called
Sunday morning as she stood in a very long line at a pharmacy. Life goes on and
when faced with tragedy, we still have to do what needs to be done.
When you’re
writing your books, keep people like Jean in mind. She’s had the courage to
keep going, to try to pick herself up and move on, and she’s not out of the
woods yet.
I appreciate
the people who’ve done what they can to raise money for the flood survivors, no
matter what the amount.
Like I said,
I just can’t imagine…
Until next
week, take heart, keep praying, and thank you for the example you and the
others have set, Jean. Things will begin to look up. It takes time.
If you want to donate to the Hurricane Harvey survivors, I've added a link to the Red Cross:
