Disparity

Disparity

Monday, June 17, 2013 Point K Little Axe, Oklahoma Day 10

dis·par·i·ty  

/diˈsparitē/

Noun A great difference.

Synonyms inequality - difference - dissimilarity - discrepancy

Life in and around Oklahoma is moving at break neck speed. And crawling at snails pace. Booming. And busting. Life is standing still in some areas and whizzing past without a second glance, without a passing thought in others.

You thought Route 64 was a challenge. Experience driving on Texas and Oklahoma highways when you aren't from around here. When exits are closed and the GPS does not know it and sends you around to the same exit again and again. When there is not enough room to merge and two other lanes are merging into one and everyone is driving past the speed limit. Whoa, horsey!

Then you get on the country roads, where neighbors stop in the middle of the road and say hello or ask for directions. Wave at perfect strangers. Smile. Stop to say hello. Where there is a dedicated community man willing to drive lead to a carload of women from Virginia to see the tornado ravaged area, when there's most certainly more pressing matters that need attention.

My oldest lifetime friend oriented us to what's going on in the area. Moore is getting a lot of press probably because its the Home of Toby Keith and it's devastation can be seen everyday passing up I- 35 North. It is receiving a lot of Hollywood attention, and a lot of Press coverage. Its a middle class area from the looks of it from the highway. JCPenney's is right down the road from there. No body can forget Moore. The media and its proximity demand attention.

Then there is Little Axe. A little town. A hidden town. A poor town. Where at first pass drive through, we missed the tornado path except for the sheared off trees every where and the tarps covering some roofs. Where its citizens are composed of people like Greg. Lisa. Joy. Teen boys who drag trees across acres and acres of red land to the roadside for pick up on summer vacation. 

A self proclaimed nobody, who got a phone call from his pastor one day after the tornadoes hit, Greg was asked to cover the pastor's ringing phone. Greg did not feel qualified for that task but became the community's overnight hero. He is no longer retired truck driver, and  former trucking business owner due to disability. He is dispatcher for volunteers who show up from all over the country. He is master community networker. He knows where the hungry people are. He knows whose fence still has trees tangled up in it. He knows where the out of state volunteers are working. He knows about the victims without insurance. The ones who are OK. The ones on $800 a month disability who don't need a one time Red Cross handout of $500. (They need their life rebuilt.) Greg is the go to guy for help.

He is part of the kind presence at the church which has become more of a warehouse for bottled water, diapers, tools, canned goods, and hot meals for the hungry, than a church. It is open 9 AM to 6 PM Monday through Friday for Tornado Disaster relief. The youth center across the road is more warehouse space, with mattresses on the floor for volunteers who come here from out of state.

And life goes on as usual here in Little Axe, too. HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign plastered across a mailbox. A graduation sign with balloons marked a driveway. A hawk flew high overhead like a kite keeping watch over the church grounds. Wild flowers are in full bloom against the backdrop of green and more green.

We ministered to Greg on the side of the road. His home was hit too,  and he selflessly dedicates his time to help those without insurance. Those worse off than he. He shared his story with us. Humble. Kind. Dedicated community man, I surmised. We prayed for him for healing in his body and in his emotions. 

Then he took us to meet Lisa at Pecan Valley Junction gas station and pizza place, who made another Disaster relief station under tarp covers and borrowed trailers. 

She owns a hairdressing business, Tangled Up, there. If you are in this area, go get your haircut, washed and blow dried. Her prices are incredible. She says she lives alright, even though bills are tight as a single mom to teen boys. 

She believes people should be able to afford to be beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 sign on Lisa's shop wall

Lisa connected us with Bobbie who connected us to Margaret. Margaret is a grandmother who lost her home completely. Her grand daughter's pony was found a town away, laying down. When the horse heard their voices, she perked up, got up and only had a scratch. Margaret's children live right nearby. Two of them lost their homes. All three places were completely wiped out. Only one family home remains intact. They all live together on Margaret's land in campers. All of the kids, grandkids. Dog and pony. We went back to town and got them groceries. For all three families. God bless them and their strength and unity and give them rest, as life goes on with jobs in the city and destruction at home.

Greg explained that many of these people came here from the city, with only their truck campers, and a few clothes. They built over decades, and lost everything. Old trailers are not insurable, he explained.  Disability checks do not pay for repairs let alone replacements. These folks need MANPOWER & BUILDING SUPPLIES. They need Strong muscles who can cut down and haul trees to the road, bulldozers, Bob Cats, fence menders, builders, building materials, LONG TERM HELP. Groceries for short term. A new trailer for the long term. 

Pray that the church who is considering building 6 new homes comes through. That more builder volunteers come through. That money comes for rebuilding the many  uninsured, poor great grandma's tar paper houses and wiped out 50 year old trailers. That able bodied men, women and teenagers come through until the last place is finished and livable again.There are hundreds of unlivable homes here that still need bulldozed and rebuilt. Don't forget Little Axe, Shawnee or the other little poor towns here that were virtually wiped out in one hour's time, that will take years of dedicated effort to rebuild.

If I ever complain again, or murmur while my brothers and sisters are suffering so, please remind me

to remember Margaret, Greg, Lisa and their community and the disparity between their lives and mine. Of their lives and yours. Of their lives and the lives of those unaffected one city over. And God be with them.

Reminder posted on First Baptist Church wall