CHRISTEN

Terry called on his cell phone. He turned Christen's name and description in to the morgue. Bodies of people who were washed out to sea are washing in every day. The local government is afraid of a dysentery outbreak. Terry and Jo went to look at a shelter that they were considering staying in for a day or two. They said people were going to the bathroom in the middle of the restroom floor because the toilets were so full. Of course, they won't be staying there. Terry said that the riots had gotten a lot better now that there are curfews and a stronger police presence.

He is finally starting to realize that he and Jo can't live there anymore. I've been trying to tell him that for a week, but with the stress he's having trouble processing what I'm saying. (Apparently he's got the same brain thing I have had this week). He finally said, "Where am I going to go to school? How will I finish my degree on time when the campus is gone? I have to move."

Coastal authorities are not issuing a mandatory evacuation, but they are encouraging people who can leave to leave. That would include me, since I'm already gone. OK, so where do I go? The news reports say lots of people in damaged areas are wandering aimlessly. They didn't report that evacuees are wandering aimlessly, too. If you go to the strip malls here in Birmingham, you see lots of MS and LA tags in the parking lot.

To update you on our travel plans, we did go south yesterday. We split into two teams. Daniel and Jasper went to Purvis. They had a difficult time convincing the police to let them through the road block. They brought the water and other supplies to mom and dad, but they couldn't convince them to evacuate. I can't understand their reasoning. When I spoke to Mom on Jasper's cell, she would only talk about me. She's been worried about me. It was good to hear her voice.

Driving south with Jenny was like living out a doomsday epic - the damage worsened as we approached home. We had gas cans in the blazer so that we could fill up before heading back north. Because of the gas shortage and because of terrible rumors we've heard, we were afraid someone might try to steal our gas. Once we left Alabama, there were bags over the pumps of most of the stations we passed. The ones that were open had long lines. We were impressed with the number of police and military who were making the drive with us. They were everywhere, thank God.

Jenny and I checked out her apartment in Hattiesburg. She spent our time there crying and processing the loss emotionally. I folded her clothes and put them in bags to take back. Her living room furniture is a total loss from water damage. Water poured down inside her walls and under the cracks below her doors. All the doors in her apartment had to be forced open and the smell of mildew was overpowering. The walls in the living room, dining room and bath are covered in mildew and black mold. She has to find somewhere to stay before classes start back at Southern. Her grad program is only a year, so they have to resume quickly. She talked to somebody on campus and found out that they are cutting holidays to make up the lost time.

Jasper and Daniel got caught by the curfew and had to spend the night at Mom and Dads. They have half my gas cans, so I can't go to the Coast until they return. I'm trying to figure out if I should even go down there yet. Terry got my important papers out of the apartment. I'd like to try to get down there tomorrow to bring Terry and Jo some supplies (if they won't leave now) and maybe even salvage something from the apartment. Terry went and checked it out. It's not destroyed, like I first thought. But it is water damaged, and he said it stinks to high heaven.