The bench stands alone

Well, we made it back from Louisiana with MOST of our stuff. We were really blessed...for the most part, our things were OK. However, we were limited on our space in the trailer/truck so not everything came back with us. The tree outside our patio was uprooted and fell (pictures above), causing our TV to break the table it was on and fall but it turned out OK. A shelf in our bedroom fell also but other than that, everything was on the walls and intact! The debris around the town was CRAZY! I had heard that it resembled a war zone but I had NO idea! The picutres of the really bad streets did not turn out since we were driving while Mike was snapping photos but we did get some decent pictures! Pretty much EVERY resendential street was overwhelmed by debris on the sidewalks and in yards waiting for dump trucks!

The drive was interesting...we went through Pascagoula (sp??), Biloxi, and Mobile...some of the worst hit places. There were canopies gone that had covered fuel stations, signs down all over the place, and buildings that had taken a beating! Two of the most interesting scenes we passed on our Interstate detour were a small motel missing it's roof and a boat that had been slammed into a building.

The drive was LONG and tiring. We had a change in plans as far as the trailer was concerned on Thursday night around 10:30. We were supposed to leave at 8 the next morning...so we got up as scheduled and started calling around for a U-Haul. We finally left around 10, got to our apartment around 7 p.m., ate some Chinese and went to bed. We decided to start our day early, hoping to finish at a decent hour and get back on the road. The only part of that which happened was the getting up early part! We arose at 6 a.m. to get there at 7. Because nothing was packed, it took FOREVER to get things loaded. The smell was pretty bad but NOTHING like we expected. Mike and I had gone grocery shopping not long before the storm and because it was still a small storm when we left, we did not clean out our fridge. Needless to say, we did not even open the fridge due to the bug/fly/maget creatures on the seal of the fridge! We decided to take a lunch break around 1 hoping it would energize everyone but because it was SO hot and humid, we still drug on. We finally finished loading, went back to Corey's house (Corey is another seminary student living in the area thanks to Sunny Side Baptist) to take showers and headed out of Louisiana around 7:00 p.m. Because of the trailer, we weren't able to drive very fast and did not arrive back in Hampton until 9:00 this morning!!! Talk about a drive!! Corey was great about driving though. The truck didn't have cruise so it was tough on Mike's knee...Corey drove most of the way with a 3 hour exception between 2 and 5 so he could get some rest! Anyway, I will end here with one last note. The title of this blog is "The bench stands alone"...my mom and Craig made me a cement bench when I envied theirs. My bench endured the long move to Louisiana in August and made a GREAT sitting area to enjoy the afternoon showers of Kenner. Throughout the storm, the trees were uprooted, siding was ripped from the building, boats were tossed to and fro, but the bench stood firm, making it through the storm with not even a bump or a bruise. Unfortunatly, my bench and I had to part ways yesterday. It was just way too heavy to load without a dolly and now, it stands alone at 824 Joe Yenni Blvd. #4. I hope the apartment complex allows the next tenant the option of hanging on to my bench as it brought me much happiness! Hopefully I will have another bench be part of my life one day, and hopefully it will bring me as much joy as my first!

In Loving Memory

My Bench