One Small Treat

When your husband is in the Air Force and stationed on the Gulf Of Mexico, you wouldn't think anything could go wrong. Our two young boys and I loved the beach and it was an inexpensive way to keep them entertained during the hot Mississippi summer.

Those idyllic thoughts are oh so wrong! Late August 2005 proved how wrong those thoughts can be. When your husband calls and tells you to pack, you and the boys have to leave, leave without him, leave and go as far north as possible. You start to get an idea of the worst, but unless you have lived through it, I do not think you can ever be fully prepared.

I vaguely remembered reading the evacuation preparedness material and tried to follow those instructions. I packed and loaded the boys in the car and we headed north. Listening to the radio, I was able to get a little more information and more instructions, but the traffic was so bad, I was afraid if I stopped anywhere for more supplies I would never get back on the road.

It took us sixteen hours to get 163 miles, exhausted and low on gas, we stopped in Meridian, MS to try and find shelter. By then the storm had hit the coast, there was no power, we could not get gas, we could not get cash, nothing. It was so hot, humid and I could not run the car's air conditioner because we were so low on gas. So we sat, me and my two little boys, no cell phone, no friendly faces, no idea if my husband was still alive and very little food in the parking lot of a Walmart.

Even though I tried to remain stoic for the sake of my boys, the look of desperation on the faces of the others stranded there made me very afraid for our safety. Every now the police drove through the lot and once they put us on a list somewhere for available space in some seemingly imaginary shelter, but other than that I chose to not engage with anyone else, every now and then I would overhear some tidbits, but it was painful to hear of the towns on the coast that were washed away and it only increased my worry over my husband.

Finally on the fourth day after the storm, a bit of hope, the Walmart opened up, they were only letting a few people in at a time and we had a little food and water left and I was hoping the cops would come by and tell me I could get into a shelter, so I chose to wait to go in. The following day, I had to go in, we went in and for the first time in almost a week, we used a normal toilet, washed our hands and faces in clean running water and could enjoy the cooler air. My poor little boys had been such troopers, keeping their promises to their dad to be little men, I hated that they had to grow up so much in such a short amount of time. From playing in the sand on the beach to feeling afraid sharing the meager shade of a tree in the parking lot.

As we left the restroom, my heart sang, an ATM! Then it sank, it was out of service, the storm had left so many of them in the south with out connectivity. So with what little cash I had off into the store we went.

A case of water, some canned meat that wouldn't need refrigerated and a loaf of bread, as I stood in line and took stock, I prayed that I had enough cash as debit cards were not working at the check outs either. Then I looked at the cart in front of me, so much luxury in that cart, soft drinks and treats, spices, laundry detergent, for a moment I hated the woman pushing it, then she spoke, her voice broke my reverie.

"Your little guys are being so good! You must be so proud of them, goes to show how hard you work at taking care of them!" When I answered, I don't know what came over me, maybe the fear, the loneliness, her kind voice encouraged me and within minutes she knew my whole sad story. Just as I stopped talking one of the boys pointed to the M&M's and asked so sweetly if they could have just one treat. I turned away from the women and cocked my head so my son's wouldn't see my tears and told my kids that I was sorry. I wasn't sure I could afford everything in my cart as it was.

When I turned back, the woman was checking out, seemingly uncaring, we were just a little blip in her radar and even though it seemed she didn't care, just talking to her helped, I felt a little better. As she walked away without looking back, I stepped up to take my turn and a miracle happen, I had enough money, just enough that I only received thirty cents in change, but enough.

Then boys and I left the Walmart and headed to the car that had become home and just as I reached for the door handle, another car pulled , along side me, scared me for just a moment then I realized it was the woman from the checkout line. She got out of her car and proceeded to unload a cooler with ice and cold drinks in it, she gave me and my boys each a bottle of cold water from it, she unloaded most of the groceries she bought and told me that we needed them more than she did. As she unloaded them, she handed me one small bag and said to open it first, inside there were three bags of M&Ms, as she said moms need treats too. Also inside I found a twenty dollar bill. She told me she wished it was more, but it was the last of her cash. We parted with her telling me where to find an old payphone and how to make a collect call to my family in IL.