Recovering from Rita

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Friends:

I am sitting in the Barnes and Noble in downtown Fort Worth.

My mom and her friend, Tracy, just moved into their rented house. Because of this, there is no land line, no cable, and no Internet connection. With my cell phone working only sporadically, it has been tough being "away" from the world.

This morning, we watched hurricane coverage on local news but it didn't give much news on Louisiana. Then we watched Diane Sawyer on ABC and we were able to hear more news of Louisiana. Their coverage was not as good and continuous like CNN. I miss cable news!

I am so heartsick over the devastation that Rita has caused in Louisiana and Texas. On the heels of Katrina, recovery is going to be hard and slow. I don't know how much more Louisiana can handle! We still have 2 months left in the hurricane season. It officially ends November 30! I pray that we will be spared any more hurricanes.

This morning, I received a call from Shelby Smith of Tipi Tellers. She is so awesome. She arranged a paying gig for me at the Fort Worth Public Library. I told Louisiana stories in the Discovery Children's Theater. What a gorgeous space. The stage looked like a circus castle. She also put me in touch with Tom McDermott, a fabulous storyteller/musician from this area. He is a minister at the breathtaking United Methodist Church just 2 blocks from the library. Tom hired me to perform a story on Sunday morning, during their services.

My husband, Antonio, surprised me by showing up at the library. I had Soleil and Eliana with me. Tsagoi and Shelby took us out to eat at Angelo's, a place with delicious, finger-licking barbecue.

Tonight, the Methodist Church had a benefit for Hurricane Katrina survivors. They had three stages filled with performers. We attended the children's stage and enjoyed the antics of Mister Mark, a fabulous children's performer who kept us up and moving. Then we were treated to Nancy Burkes, an incredible ventriloquist/puppeteer/storyteller who had us in stitches. Tom McDermott closed out the evening with a partcipatory story and fun sing alongs. It was the perfect evening for our family. It felt good to laugh and have a good time with my family.

We found out that Fort Bend ISD schools are reopening on Tuesday. Soleil's school, St. Agnes, reopens on Thursday. We will try to get back in time but it all depends on the availability of gas.

Thank you to my friends around the world who read this blog. It means so much to me and to my family that so many people care about us. Please check out my website, which is being updated by my cousin, Heidi Hafner http://www.hafwebndesk.com. She has been incredible in helping me troubleshoot email problems and keep my website up to date. In the next few days, you will be able to link to my blog right through my website. Thank you, Heidi, from the bottom of my heart. You rock!!

Until next time...

Much love,

Dianne