Today was one of those days, mostly like the others we’ve been going thru, stressful, and frustrating. Then you see something that touches you, a “live” video in the Facebook group Texarkana Cheers & Jeers. The next thing you know differences fade and we are people caring for each other again, we love Texarkana.
The video posted to the Facebook group Cheers & Jeers, a freakshow where good things happen, shows an ill elderly couple being tossed out of their home and all of their belongings being stacked on the street. The Witherspoon’s are on a fixed income, the husband, Rodney suffers from COPD and is on oxygen 24/7, the wife, Sherree, fresh from surgery on her leg Monday at UAMS Little Rock, while simultaneously undergoing treatment and fighting stomach cancer. They have no local people or transportation. This was rock bottom as they watched employees of the mobile home park stack their life on the curb. This seemed to be a hopeless situation.
As they sat in the shade at a neighbors house across the street, their neighbor began to video live on her Facebook feed. Sara Finn was pleading for help from anybody, and a lot of people came to help these folks that they had never met before. I mean a LOT of people showed up.
When I arrived at Oakwood Mobile Home Park in Nash Texas, there were more than a hundred people there already with pick-up trucks pulling trailers everywhere, one person brought a big rig, there was a Uhaul truck and people of all races, genders, or whatever working to get these people loaded onto the trucks to at least get out of the weather. They boxed what they could, I saw Jeremy Matherly there with The Warfighter Community and everybody was loading up trucks, and everything the Witherspoons own was off the ground before the sun was down.
While this was going on, one of the volunteers on site arranged to get the couple in a local hotel for the weekend, and then a man by the name of Roman Larry sounded off in the comments. Mr. Larry stepped forward with a vacant house in town and offered to let the couple live there, but that deal fell thru because of a contract with a realtor, so the couple is still looking for a home but will be in a hotel until we can get theM housed. If you can donate any amount to this cause here is the LINK.
If you can help with a donation for this sweet couple, please… DONATE HERE.
Yes, even though not sick from COVID 19, this pandemic has far-reaching effects and a lot of our neighbors are struggling. Financially, mentally… circle the wagons a little bit, check on each other. A message, text, better yet a phone call.
What happened today was sad, and it was beautiful. Once we get past the colors of skin and all of that other minutia that makes each of us a bit little different, beautiful things happen. I am so glad that I got to be a tiny part of this thing and that I was able to witness what these amazing people, our neighbors did today. The Witherspoons are still in desperate need if you can make a monetary donation please DONATE HERE.
I am proud of Texarkana, not necessarily just the city, but I am so very proud of the people that live here.
Posted by Jeff Easterling on Friday, July 17, 2020
