Charlie

You all know how devastating Hurricane Katrina was, the death and destruction, and how many thousands of people were displaced.  Among those displaced were the sister-in-law of my friend Brian and her family.  They live in Metairie and had several feet of water in their home.  Wanda, Charlie, and “Little” Charlie moved in with Brian and Vivian until they could get back in to assess their damage and begin repairs  

Little Charlie was 14 years old at the time and was a ninth grader at Jesuit High School in New Orleans.  Jesuit, like every other school and business in NOLA, closed for the duration. Since he had always gone to Catholic schools, they began looking for a Catholic school for him. St Joseph in Jackson said of course he could come, at full tuition.  Since they were still having to pay his tuition at Jesuit, they looked for another option. St Aloysius in Vicksburg said that any student displaced by the storm, who had been a full time student at a Catholic school, could attend tuition free. Problem solved. Except… They were staying in Florence which is about 60 miles from Vicksburg.  They didn’t know how they could go twice a day to get him to and from school.

At that time I was still married.  My wife was a teacher at one of the public junior highs in Vicksburg.  Her school was just around the corner from the Catholic school.  Vivian called Bob’s wife Beckey and asked if they knew anyone in Vicksburg that Charlie could stay with during the week.  Beckey called us and asked if we knew anyone. We talked about it and felt this was something we should do. They needed help and we were in a position to help them. Stephen was in college and his room was not being used. Charlie went home on weekends so if Stephen came home it wouldn’t be a problem.  We asked Lee and he was okay with it. So we called Vivian and said we’d do it.  He could stay with us. 

When his mother and aunt brought him, we loved him instantly.  He was the nicest kid.  He fit right in with us. Lee was particularly happy to have someone to keep him company.  He rode to and from school with Torey (my ex).  It worked out perfectly.  He became like part of the family to us. And we became a second family to him.

He stayed with us until Christmas break. Jesuit opened back up and their house was repaired enough that they could move back in. The day he left we all cried!  

We’ve stayed in touch over the years. I still see him a couple of times a year.  He went on to graduate from Jesuit with highest honors, earned a full scholarship to Georgetown University, got his Bachelor’s and an MBA, and is a very successful businessman now.  In 2019, I attended his wedding and we have celebrated the births of his 3 beautiful children.

Every time I see Charlie’s parents they still thank me and tell me what a blessing we gave them  I tell them that we got the real blessing.  We got to know a wonderful young man who’s like another son to us. 


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