>>I would be coming from the central-west side of the State on I-20, so getting at least as far as Hattiesburg MS should be "do-able". Our friends from Gulfport have (had?) a store in Hattiesburg as well. I am hoping to contact someone there eventually. The way I see it the $$$ is worthless without the backbones.
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>True, I would recommend contacting the Red Cross to see when you might be needed. I don't know that I would just run down there without checking on where you are needed and when. I built a fairly large house a few years ago, which has 9 bedrooms and we only need three, so we have contacted the Red Cross about letting a family use our garage apartment here in Memphis. I'm told there are over 10k people here who have been displaced. I can't go down there right now, so I guess it's the least we can do. The money is needed to, so you lurkers pony up!

John,

You appear to be right about running down there to volunteer. I have been trying to do so and can't find any organization that wants people, they just want money. Maybe this is perfectly reasonable -- trained people wanted, hearts on their sleeve volunteers not needed. I want to help out (more than monetarily, which I have already done) and am thwarted at every turn. It's frustrating.

There are 30,000 National Guard troops on the way already. It must be hard to find that many available, so many being busy on a fool's errand elsewhere, but I'll shut up about that. I know we as a country are doing everything we can. We are trying to pitch in in any way we can. IMO this is an even more numbing event than 9/11. It takes a long time to absorb that one of our biggest cities has basically disappeared underwater. It's Biblical.

Mike