Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

On Saturday morning, my wife and I went through the closets and the kid’s toy box. We ended up with a small pile of clothes, and a bagful of game & books. Instead of taking our typical trip to the biggest Goodwill on the east coast, we thought they probably could use clothes at the Astrodome.

We checked the Houston Chronicle website, and called their editor to get an address. Neither was helpful in finding a place to send clothes. We checked NOLA.com, and couldn’t find anything there, either. However, we did notice people all over the country offering space in their houses to displaced citizens, and we found a handful right here in Tampa Bay.

Mark and Danielle Hassan live in Wesley Chapel. By leaving their information online, they offered to share their house to a family in need of a place to stay. So I called.

Danielle answered the phone, and told us that a family from Gulfport had taken them up on their offer. After thanking them for being so generous in opening their home to strangers, I asked if maybe they needed some clothes. “Oh, goodness, yes,” said Danielle. “Fantastic,” I replied. We had pants and shirts for the parents, and toys for the kids. She told me they had an eight year old girl and a boy of seven. I immediately apologized and explained that we had a few toys, but not many kids clothes. Our girls are not even close to the right size.

And then it struck me. Uh… the adults there may not be the same size as us, either. I asked Danielle to give me the family’s sizes. She asked me to hold and summoned Rachel to the phone. Rachel is the mom from Gulfport, and with a tremble in her voice she began to thank me and tell me how wonderful everyone in the community has been to them. Someone else was bringing food to their new home that very evening, and other support they had received made them feel so very welcome in Tampa. I offered inadequate words of support and encouragement, but really did not know what to say.

Rachel gave me the rundown of everybody’s sizes, and of course the family was not a physical match. But I couldn’t just tell her that. Not now.

So we called our friends, and knocked on a neighbor’s door. We had never actually met our neighbors, but they are only two doors down, and noticed they have a young boy and girl. My wife and I went over there, hoping the kids might have outgrown some things, and not yet sent away. Cindy was only too glad to pitch in. Wanting to do something, but not knowing exactly what she could do, this gave her an opportunity to help. Plus it let her avoid the hassle of a yard sale. She and her husband Travis brought over six bags full of children’s clothes, and some shoes for the parents.

Other friends began to get our message, and started donating. The Girl Scout leader gave us two boxes of clothes. Sue and Ray C. left eight bags for us to pick up. Ray Blade brought some shirts to the gig Saturday night. Jim and Susan met us Sunday with three more bags of garments, including a bagful of interview-ready dresses for Rachel.

Now fortified with a truckful of items, we were ready to deliver the stuff.

Robert and Rachel lived with their two children in Gulfport, MS. Awaking to news that Katrina’s winds were 160 mph and now headed their way, they considered evacuating. But it was really too late. The interstate was backed up, and they would likely be stuck in traffic for at least four or five hours. So they stayed home and Robert secured his parents place and his own.

Just eight miles from the old coastline, Katrina hit the house with high winds and a strong storm surge. A tree crashed into the roof, busting it wide open. Their parents place around the corner, built on five foot stilts, had a water line seven feet high inside. The water and winds subsided, but the entire town was without power, and drinking water was sparse. They found a nearby hotel, and went there for a night to look for other options.

Using the hotel’s computers, they looked for another solution. Rachel’s family once lived in Tampa, so they looked there for a place to stay. Robert found Mark’s offer online, called him up and drove his family south.

We got to Wesley Chapel on Sunday afternoon. Mark, Robert and the kids met us at the driveway with hugs and overwhelming appreciation. The seven year old boy DJ asked “Is this all for us?” I told him it was and he thanked us over and over, and wanted to know what bags he could help carry. We got all of it in and piled in the living room. Danielle (host) invited us in and we learned of the Gulfport family’s plight.

While DJ found the bag of toys, dolls and games, eight year old Danielle told us of the family photos that somehow were left in place at her grandma’s after the storm left that waterline and moved or destroyed nearly everything else. Robert got a call from a Gulfport neighbor, and tried to figure out how to find an open bank branch. Rachel, seemingly constantly on the verge of tears, could not stop telling us how overwhelmed she was from all the support they were getting from all Floridians.

I called Danielle today to let her know I was going to publish this story, and got her permission to use her full name. Robert, Rachel, DJ and Danielle have gone through all the goods, and grabbed everything they could use. The rest has been packed, and Robert is taking it to Gulfport on Tuesday to distribute to other folks up there. He’s got one day to check the damage at his place, grab anything he can, and check on other relatives. They hope their extended family will join them soon in Tampa Bay.

My wife and I still have our small pile of clothes. In addition, our friends who were not around on Saturday have begun to call with more bags of clothes. We plan to find another family in a similar situation, and deliver to them. If you have clothes and toys to donate, I may be able to pick them up. If you know of a family in need, please let me know. I imagine we’ll be ready to do this next Saturday.

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