Gene Taylor's Visit January 10, 2008

What an amazing day we have had. With our home visits, our visit from Congressman Gene Taylor, to the tornado watches and torrential rains - we survived :)

Gene Taylor was amazing. When he got here, he stopped to talk to everyone - he shook hands with all the students and was very grateful that we were here. He made everyone in his presence feel important. Some of the locals were here and they seemed to even feel his warmth and acceptance. What a special, sincere charisma this man has.

It was wonderful to hear him talk about the successes of the relief efforts. He talked about how amazing the local fire and emergency medical services were when they responded; how the reserves were life savers; how the members of the community (who you would never think would be community responders) were instrumental in the recovery; and how the volunteers to this area have made such a difference in the recovery efforts - even now, even us. People who were so selfless. He talked about how this was a wonderful time because everyone was able to "bury the hatchet" on things that had been separating them but now brought them together. He would refer to people in the community (in the room) to let us know that they suffered as well as him and the many people in the room (not with our group) all suffered.

As you may know, he lived in Bay St. Louis and expected some flooding in his home. When he tried to come back home, he said he was in a boat and kept having to dodge "debris" until he realized that the "debris" was the tree tops of his city! He had no idea that his home would be gone and was shocked to discover this. Not only did he have to deal with his own loss, he was responsible for so many people in his district who counted on him for help. I am amazed at his strength and courage and how he carried the burden of so many people on his shoulders. As someone else wrote, he says that he would listen to people tell their stories and when he said he understood because he lost everything himself, there was an immediate "brotherhood" that was understood. I felt so sad for him....you can tell how badly he wanted to help people, and he did. But it was also such a difficult time for him (I would think) - and still is. I truly believe he is a saint - who was meant to be a political leader and helped so many people in such a difficult time. He also has not been scared to fight for the people of the Gulf Coast.

Congressman Taylor talked about the anti-trust laws related to insurance and the flooding situation. He also talked about the fraud that went on that hurt the residents of the Gulf Coast. The insurance companies decided together that they would not pay for any homes that had insurance that were damaged by the waters of the hurricane. He discussed the frustration of the residents, who thought that they would survive because they had insurance and then got kicked in the gut when they were told no insurance monies were coming. So what else did the insurance companies do? They told them that their insurance rates would go up and they now need 3 types of different insurances: flood, homeowners, and wind insurance - which costs more than most people's mortgages do! Gene Taylor is trying to get a bill passed that these 3 types of insurance be in one insurance and it be something all people can afford.

Since insurance didn't pay - our government ended up paying - purchasing 42,000 FEMA trailers for Mississippi and 90,000 trailers for New Orleans. One interesting statistic he gave us was that in Mississippi 2/3 of the residents were homeowners who lost their homes. In New Orleans, 2/3 of residents rented their homes. What does that mean? Maybe that is why so many people from New Orleans did not return.

The government paid $16,000 for the FEMA trailers to be driven down from Purvis, MS (about 50 miles from the Coast) to the Gulf Coast region, put up a power line and set up a hose for a sewer tank. The "contract" went to one of Bush's acquaintances. What is important to know is that the cost to do this is around $800.00. Someone made a lot of money here!!! and we paid for it.

So what does this have anything to do with us, in Philadelphia? Did you know that 52% of all Americans live along coastal lines. This insurance problems is not only a problem with Mississippi. Another disaster will occur and insurance companies (with their anti-trust laws) can decide at any point if they will pay on your claim or not. It is very sad to know that the fraud and anti-trust laws can make such a huge impact on our lives.

Well, it's 6 p.m. and I have to go now - library is closing. We will be working on the health fair tonight - doing posters, etc. We are very excited about the fair. We are also going to be on the WLOX news tonight - we had several of the students interviewed. Also, will be in the local newspapers.

Take care! Looking forward to getting home on Sunday.

Norma