September 07, 2005

• A big spa bath?
• /going to hell
• Do you know them at all?
• By offering your home as shelter for this couple, I would say that you have already made it a comfortable and welcoming place to stay. Clean towels & linens, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and your kind hospitality... If you know them personally, you could to cater to their interests a bit more.
• Are these friends, acquaintances, or strangers that you've adopted? There are plenty of cool ideas that would work well for friends, but might be weird for a stranger. Like random silliness to put them at ease, that kind of thing. And good for you, Mickey. Thanks for opening your home.
• I would think that after being cooped up with so many strangers, that they might value some time on their own. So don't break out the Boggle just yet -- let them chill on their own, if that's what they want. Just be tuned in to that possibility.
• They are close friends who have visited us before. He was a groomsman in our wedding and has known my husband for many years.
• I agree with the Capt (funnily enough), give them time to feel that this is a place they can just relax, and not have to be the 'perfect guest'. Be on hand, but leave em be a bit too. Oh, and some nice cheese and beetroot butties.
• Yeah I'd say take down any decorations in the room and take them shopping to get some blankets or whatever they'd like. If you plan on hosting them awhile they'd want to make the spare room feel like theirs. $0.02 :)
• Especially get rid of the singing fish.
• Do you have any old pics you could get duplicated for them? They might appreciate having something solid from their past. I imagine they are just happy to have a quiet place to stay at first. I think though that losing old photos would hurt bad - I know I would be upset about that in particular.
• Oh, and for sure welcome any proffered help from them (after Day One) in things like meal preparation, errands, etc. - nothing worse than feeling like you're just in the host's way!
• car keys in the fruit bowl? sorry
• ooo fish tick has a good point - make sure they know where the vacuum cleaner is by the 3rd day (~^)
• The obvious is just plain ol' hospitality. If I showed up and found a fully-prepared bedroom, an emptied closet, a place for my stuff in the bathroom, dinner cooking on the stove and an open bottle of wine on the table, I'd feel like I could relax. And I'd even offer to do the dishes. If they're friends and appreciate teh goofy, you could do something like make a low-key pajama party out of their first evening there. No big production, just everyone sitting around in their jammies eating and drinking wine. Maybe a cheesy '80s movie on the tube or old Cyndi Lauper LPs playing in the background.
• Nah, The Water Boys...
• ??
• When I entertain any guest, I always assume they will arrive at my home with nothing. I've usually extras of all toiletries, (toothbrush, paste, soap, pit stick) but you may want to pick up a couple 'back to school' packs that have the basics, divided men and women's kits. They may want to be rid of anything they will bring along with them. As they are close friends, I expect they may be comfortable with a gift of some pocket money. They may not have been able to visit an ATM recently. Don't underestimate the feeling of security knowing you've the means to pop out for a beer at the local if you want to, rather than having to rely on your hosts' fridge. One last thing to give them - privacy. My closest friend has the rare gift of knowing just when to shut up and leave me alone, which is why they are my closest friend.
• Jesus, you goddam communists are always so keen on giving stuff away to poor people "FOR FREE" - rather than making them work for every hint of luxury, the way GOD intended. NEWSFLASH PINKOS, AMERICA WAS NOT BUILT ON "FREEDOM". ... wait a minute ...
• *stops playing banjo . . glares at quidnunc . . spits chaw*
• I'm possibly going to be in the same boat next week, hosting two friends who have lost most of everything as well. This is a good thread for me, as I am at a loss for words. But my house is open to them. Copies of photos are a great idea, especially of their wedding. Also, since we all used to work in a record store and they've probably lost their thousands of cd's/albums, I've offered to burn anything they want for free (or offer to download on his laptop).
• More seriously, It's fantastic that you guys are opening your hearts and homes. Long live a country full of people of such compassion and love of neighbour!
• Board games. Try Cranium or Apples to Apples.
• Munchkin.
• So, they arrived last night and had dinner ready when we got home. It's our turn tonight. They have a suitcase of clothes between them, and not much else. The picture idea was excellent. We went on a trip to Hawaii with them last year, so a few photos of them went in the guest room. They loved it, and also mentioned they'll need copies of ours, since theirs are likely under water now. I also set out a bag of basic toiletries for each of them. Today they're headed to the local Red Cross to see what assistance is available for the short-term. Both seem resigned to having lost it all and having to start over. So I put a box of Kleenex in the bathroom for the teary moments.
• Presumably the Red Cross or one of the aid groups can refer them to counselling if they need it, but if not maybe you could ask around to find someone professional they could talk to if they needed?
• I don't quite know which Katrina thread to post this to, but this seemed like the best place (it's a reader letter to Heather of dooce.com): "Dear Heather, I just returned from the Austin Convention Center after working all day with Katrina Evacuees. Austin is hosting 5,000 people and all I can say is that after seeing what 5,000 clean and safe evacuees look like, I can’t even begin to imagine what the Superdome or even the initial arrival at the Astrodome looked like. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that in Houston, whenever a family finds each other or is brought together, they ring a bell — chants of “More Cowbell” have been heard. I thought that might make you smile. Cheers, A faithful reader…. Melissa"
• That is awesome.
• sweetness. thanks minda25.
• More cowbell! :) As far as Mickey's friends... it might be a little late, but I would specifically have suggested NOT buying one of those back-to-school kits. They could be helpful in an emergency, but more comforting might be to take the peeps out to buy all the things that might be in a back-to-school-kit, but actually IN THE BRANDS THAT THEY WOULD PREFER. That would be, like, 100% more welcoming. (Nothing that I actually used ever came in those kits when I was a teenager, even though the kits were cheap; for me, in this situation, it would be immensely comfortable to be able to use "my" shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, etc.) If they even need that stuff. Aside from that, what are their hobbies? Do they read? Help them get library cards, maybe. Do they want to start working? You might be able to help them find the temp agencies in the city (usually in the Yellow Pages under "employment"). Do they have some favorite meals? Maybe they could show you how to cook them; for some people, this would be diverting and great fun, especially if they love to cook.
• Oooh, sorry about the caps. In some places I use them in place of italics and they usually look OK; here they do not! (preview, preview, preview, verbminx.)
• verbminx, I do understand what you're saying about the brands, and I went with the good stuff at the drugstore for that very reason - not a prepackaged set of sample sizes, if that's what you pictured. I picked out 2 travel bags and filled them with things I'd want to use. And they were very grateful and teared up, which made me tear up - oh geez! Here I go again. For any other evacuees that may be reading this thread - my houseguests visited the local Red Cross office yesterday and received some cash to help them along the next couple of months. It doesn't sound like much, but they'll definitely be able to buy some groceries.
• Hope and Compassion in Arkansas By someone we all know and love.
• MCT bringz it.