John Stocks: On the road to the Gulf

The latest from John Stocks of McFarland, who's been keeping us posted on efforts to help friends and family in the Gulf region. He left Wednesday with a vehicle and trailer full of supplies, en route to Jackson, Miss, and Slidell,La.

It has been two days since my last report. It is early Thursday morning in Mount Vernon (southern Illinois). The relief effort has begun in earnest. Commercial and military trucks full of heavy equipment, piping of all sizes, pumps, food, water and shelters are streaming down I-57 toward the Gulf Coast.

MOST FAMILY MEMBERS FOUND

Percy Ewell, his son Randall and his wife and Henrietta's daughter Wanda have all been located. They are in shelters in Hattiesburg, San Antonio and Houston. Sisters Debbie Ann and Henrietta are in Atlanta. We are still waiting to hear from Henrietta's son Sterling and his wife.

MIRACLE OF THE WEB

My friend Bill Christofferson writes a blog on www.WisOpinion.com. He posted the plight of the Ewell family. It turns out that a dear friend of Lois Ewell Phipps was searching franticallly for her family and punched her name into the Google search engine. Behold, Lois' name came up in Bill's web blog. The women emailed Bill and Bill put her in contact with me and in turn I put her in contact with Lois. Here is one of her emails to Bill.

I am trying to get in touch with the Ewell's they all know me. My nameis Gail Lang Anderson and I'm known as Lois's "white daughter" I am in TX now but live in Covington, LA and will have power in about a week. Everyone of them can come to my house when I get back home. I can't get through to the hotel because of phone issues.

Gail has since connected. A bright light in the Ewell familes' ordeal. The Milwaukee-Google-Texas-Mississippi Connection.

THE ROAD SOUTH

My Green Bay brother in laws came through with a large covered trailer, large drying fans, a dehumidifier and other equipment for drying out my brothers' house in order to prevent mold and mildew after the flood. It will take me another day to get to Jackson and then another half day to Slidell. I will be in Jackson late this afternoon.

MIRACLE OF MONEY AND BANK WIRE TRANSFERS

Many contributions have come in through the generosity of so many of you. This allowed us to wire money to the Ewells at the Comfort Inn yesterday.

MIRACLE OF THE EMAIL NETWORK OF FAMILY, COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS

After emailing some family, a few colleagues and some friends, there have been many offers of money, clothes, and many other forms of assistance to the plight of the Ewell's, my brother's family, my father and his wife. To all of you we are immensely grateful.

MIRACLE OF THE TREO

None of what we have accomplished so far would have been possible without my handheld TREO. We are grateful to the NEA for the use of this equipment.

MY BROTHER'S FAMILY

It would be hard to know if my brother was under any stress but I know he is under a lot. He, his wife and three children are scrambling to repair their home which flooded during the storm. Adam has removed out all the carpet, sheetrock and furniture that was damaged in the flood. The home appears to be ok structurally. He is working seven days a week trying to bring Charter Communications back online in Louisiana. Becky shuttles the children between her parents in Gonzales, La and their torn apart home in Slidell. Almost a two hour drive. Gas prices are outrageous.

Thank the Great Spirit, the insurance adjuster showed up yesterday.

FATHER AND HIS WIFE ARE SETTLING IN.

My father and his wife are settling in[With John and his family in McFarland.] We all know it will be a while before they can return to their home in New Orleans. They have arranged for their medicines and will registered with FEMA. Loss of income is a growing challenge. They have secured an internet connection and are gathering information through the web. The three dogs and two cats are a bit disoriented but very well behaved.

THE MCFARLAND FAMILIES

Please distribute this out to the growing networks of family, colleagues, friends and blessed strangers that have been contacted and offered help to our family. We can't keep track of them all but we are eternally grateful. We keep reminding ourselves that this is a marathon, not a sprint.

John Stocks

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Regarding the "marathon not a sprint" comment: So far, people have contributed and written checks directly to John Stocks, who has promised to account for all of the expenses and provide information to donors. I spoke to him last night as he drove through southern Illinois, and we agreed to look for a non-profit, tax exempt organization that would handle contributions. That would allow people to take tax deductions and, in many cases, qualify them for matching contributions from their employers. More on that as it develops. Hope to have something soon.

If that doesn't matter to you and you want to give now, send a check, payable to John Stocks, 5608 Chestnut Lane, McFarland, WI 53558.