Karen and I left the Compound at 3:30am. Odner followed us on his scooter, with the shotgun, till we picked up Daniel…the policeman and Luckner. We had an uneventful trip to Port au Prince with me doing the driving. We arrived in time for an hour tour of Port au Prince. The destruction and misery the people are suffering is not possible to describe. The scenes you see on TV or through the media can not convey what is on the ground, it is very disturbing to see and deeply affected me. I was dropped at the Airport the 3 hours prior required by the American Airlines . It was sad to say goodbye to Karen at the gate, only passengers are allowed in the Terminal. Check-in was fast because so few were present at that hour.

There was an aftershock while we were waiting in the terminal that knocked out the power for a few minutes. We boarded at our scheduled time and headed for Miami. We flew into a lightning storm that was really rough and we dropped about 500 feet or more a couple of times. At times I wondered if the plane would hold together. The Haitians on board were upset and when we passed the storm they said all the way to Miami “MERCI PAPA, MERCI PAPA” . They have every right to be nervous.

I enjoyed my time in Haiti, enjoyed working with Don, Ken, Jim and Carol, enjoyed the children, enjoyed helping Karen and her staff. It was however a stressful time as well and I was glad to get home.

I stayed in Miami over night and got to Halifax at 9:00pm.Tuesday. It was a nice sight to see Sandra and Bruce waiting for me.

~Dickie