PO Box 1980

I experienced Hurricane Floyd in September 1999. Our damages were few, but we were told it would be five days before electricity and water were restored. I was frustrated about being so inconvenienced (imagine, I was missing my favorite TV shows!), then I got in my car and took a long ride around Pamilico County. I saw people whose houses were flooded, who had trees in their living rooms, who had no place to go but a public building like a school. I was jolted back to reality by what I saw. As long as my world was intact, I wasn't aware what other people might be going through. This used to be my drinking thinking. The moment I realized this, I drove around seeing people I knew. I asked them if they or their neighbors needed any help or a ride to the store. I left my phone number if they changed their minds. I substituted some TV time for volunteer time. It is so easy not to care, but so much more rewarding if I can. I'm embarrassed about how self-centered I can still be. All it took to jolt me out of it was a hurricane.