HURRICANE MAY DELAY ETSY ORDERS

Hi All-
We just wanted to note that, due to the very strong possibility that Hurricane Gustav may hit somewhere on the Gulf Coast we may have some slight delays in processing. This is not an urgent matter and will not cause a serious hold up in your delivery status - However, it may be delayed for up to an extended three days. We will also post a notice on our website www.sandycreeksoap.etsy.com to inform new orders of this before any selections are made.
The US postal service will still ship regardless of any damage to our area, and we will make all efforts to process your order and have it delivered within 5-7 days.
Pray for us a Hurricane Gustav approaches our area. Thank you - SC Soap Company


OUR LAST HURRICANE - A Short Story...

Our last damaging Hurricane (Katrina) was very devastating to our area but was not nearly as bad as New Orleans (about 1 hr 45 minutes away) and closer to the coast. I remember having to get up at daybreak - when it hit land. I will never forget sitting there in the kitchen with my husband and hearing the most God awful, unfamiliar, eerie sounds coming from outside our window. When the sun finally broke - I suddenly wished it was dark again. We saw items from our yard flying through the air with such force that staying near the window was now immediately dangerous. Tornados were touching down all over our city in combination with the strong winds from the hurricanes blunt force. By noon, we had lost our lights and began the long journey of sweltering in the south’s ominous heat... we were so miserable, the humidity was so high, it felt like you couldn’t breath... we tried sleeping that night but at almost 100 degrees, 100% humidity and no way to cool off - it was just not possible. I started to imagine what hell would be like...

Early the next morning the beautiful Bradford pear tree that towered above our house and provided serine shade and immaculate fall foliage was half laying in the yard and half on our house....stretched to its limits being bent back and forth repeatedly by heavy winds.... Looking back at the hardships of everyone else I feel guilty to have cried over our trivial damage.

Our food supply like most people’s was understocked. Situations like finding you had canned food and no can opener other than the electric one made you feel angry for not being warned earlier about the potential treat to survival. By the time we "did" know that the hurricane was definitely heading for the south it was too late. The rush was on for supplies - and a literal fight to get what you needed pre-storm was dangerous in some situations. There were no flashlights, batteries, candles, bread, canned foods, etc. on the selves. Walking into walmart and other places to buy supplies was a madhouse and to us unimaginable - because it was something we had never really faced before. No one was ready. No one was prepared for what was about to happen...

A few days later we found a plug from the closet that would operate the mini TV in the vehicle. So, we made some sandwiches went out to the vehicle to eat lunch, cool off in the AC, and see if we could catch a glimpse of the news. Even though we had been pinned to the radio every second since it hit and we knew there was grave devastation and flooding we were not prepared for what we saw... No one could be prepared to emotionally "see" an entire city underwater... not just a town, or a street, or a neighborhood.... and entire city.... and not just New Orleans - the entire Gulf Coast along LA, TX, MS, and parts of FL. Places like Biloxi’s beach had been stripped liberally to the ground. Hotels, restaurants, homes all - just gone, like they had never existed. Towns that were established around historical ports like Gulf Port, MS did not exist anymore....

When we finally got the courage to drive, and it was safe to do so after the roads were semi cleared , we ventured off to see the devastation in our own town. It was horrific, traumatizing to go through, and something I will never forget.
For the next couple of weeks I had the opportunity to work closely with organizations like the Red Cross, churches and privately funded help groups with hurricane relief aid. It was such a wonderful feeling to know I was doing something, anything to help these people. MRE’s (meals ready to eat), water, donated clothes, even personal items like toilet paper and toothbrushes were so needed and appreciated. My husband went with a disaster relief group to New Orleans shortly after the evacuation was competed and was shocked at the look and "feel" of the city.... empty, devastated and in ruin....

Now - knowing the devastation that such a powerful source can make on your life people are completely erratic trying to buy supplies and prepare once again for a possible hard hit. Last week when Governor Bobby Jindal said "don’t wait - prepare now" people looked back on those horrid memories of Katrina and took his well planned advice to heart. Now, those that see the slow familiar pattern starting to progress toward the coastline, and procrastinated on the preparations are finding that the stores are void of supplies and it is a little too late to stock up. People waiting in line for 8 hrs on a generator form Home Depot - a good example. The ones that remember the heat - and the misery....