Update on AFA's Help

Date: Fri Sep 16, 2005 9:12 amSubject: THANKS From Mattie Sue ...From: msathan@aol.comFriday, AMRick Jordan is here with the AFA truck, at last, we are consolidating materials to send east with him intoMississippi, the heart of the devastation. We have been wonderfully inundated with an amazing outpouring of needed supplies. THANKS THANKS THANKS. We probably have most of what we need now except daily stuff like paper towels, toilet paper, computer paper, computer Ink (HP DeskjetPORKCHOP-style black and color ink cartridges) I think we have more coffee than Columbia! And some of it is delicious. If anybody sends any more coffee, could it beCool Brew Toasted Almond -- on, no, that's from the NewOrleans Coffee Company, I wonder if that will be possible to get). THANKS EVERYBODY! We still need people. The first waveof volunteers are pretty close to burnt out from almost-round-the-clock work. Nothing is perfect, but it's looking more and more organized. Instead of simply reacting, we are starting to be able toplan. We have experienced rescue workers on the way (so far, we're long on sweat and enthusiasm and short on disaster experience). One plan at this time is to send every bird home in a better cage than it came in. You'd be amazed at what had been thrown together to get these birds out. A cage that falls apart is a lost bird, and I lost a parrotlet trying to take it down from a high hook still hanging over toxic soup yesterday. We'll have to go back and try to capture that bird today. The military, local police, and highway patrol remain very, very helpful in getting us in. Actually, yesterday, we had one van break down, so we had only two vehicles and we could hardly get out as the highway patrol officers called us over and over to come back for other animals. Then, of course, probably after having to drive off road around standing water (there are still addresses we've been asked to reach that we can'treach),
(Edited by PPN)