Galveston Evacuees Return From San Antonio
By Carl Willis
POSTED: Thursday, October 2, 2008
GALVESTON, Texas -- Hundreds of Galveston evacuees who were sent to San Antonio because of Hurricane Ike loaded onto charter buses and headed home Wednesday, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Terry King waited anxiously for one of them. Her boyfriend, Harvey Damstorm, was believed to have had a near heart attack and was evacuated from the University of Texas Medical Branch. Terry feared that he might not make it.
"I was here yesterday when the first buses arrived," she said. "I was back here at 8 or 9 a.m. and I've been here all day. I'm not leaving."
King lost contact with Damstorm, but finally heard from him when he called her using someone else's cell phone. But that was days ago.
"It took me five days to find him," she said. "I just want to see him."
There are many stories of separation and loss. Now residents are returning home and many of them have concerns of their own.
That's why the American Red Cross set up Clara Barton Village, a tent city that will offer shelter, food and counseling to help residents deal with the situation.
Even as some residents pushed to get home, others worried that their arrival was too soon.
"It still looks the same," Lonnett Bolden said. "Looks like we've only been gone for two days. Everything looks the same."
"I'm just really concerned about the disease and everything on the island," Kimberly Gonzalez added. "I heard the water was contaminated."
But King can only focus on one thing -- a reunion with her long-lost boyfriend.
"I hope it comes to a good end," she said. "I don't care about the house or anything else. I just want him back."
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