Palmdale Mercy Mission Arrives in Florida

A mercy mission organized by federal aviation workers in the Antelope Valley reached its destination Friday when weary truckers delivered more than 40 tons of relief supplies to South Florida colleagues who lost their homes and jobs to Hurricane Andrew.

In an anticlimactic finish to a bruising, three-day cross-country run, two freight liners quietly pulled into this makeshift military encampment 12 hours apart; a third truck with about 22 more tons got lost somewhere in South Florida but finally arrived at 8:30 p.m.

There were no brass bands or cheers when the first 18-wheeler arrived at 3 a.m. and the second in midafternoon. But throughout the day volunteers, some of whom had lost homes, sorted and distributed the supplies.

More than 160 FAA workers were forced out of their houses by the hurricane while scores more, who work as air traffic controllers at this commercial airport, suffered lesser damage to their homes, cars and property.

“I’m just giving a hand,” said Mike Nunez, 37, a Federal Aviation Administration employee whose house near the airport, and office at the airport, were leveled. “I could be at my house trying to clean it out, but it’s no use. So I’m here instead.”

After the Aug. 24 hurricane, FAA workers at Tamiami issued a call for help, and employees at federal aviation facilities nationwide answered it. FAA installations from Raleigh, N.C., Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Mo., responded with truckloads of supplies, according to relief coordinator Al Osborn.

But no one responded quite like the folks in Palmdale, who with the help of local Air Force employees spearheaded an effort to collect supplies from well-wishers throughout Southern California, Osborn said.

Rather than the quantity, it was the quality of the supplies that made the California mother lode special, he said.

“We’re just continuing to discover how wonderful this load really is,” Osborn marveled. “I see stuff here I didn’t even know came in cans.”

It was well into the evening, and volunteers around Osborn continued to battle stifling heat and swarms of mosquitoes to put the goods away. In a nearby tent, set up amid the ruined remains of several airplanes, one FAA employee whose house was destroyed had come across an unexpected treasure--hair spray and cosmetics.

“Finally,” exclaimed Kelly Barth. “Somebody remembered we want to feel like ladies again!”

Among the goodies hauled in by the truckers were the usual staples--canned goods, clothes and toiletries. But also included were teddy bears, suntan lotion and insect spray, hair-care products and clotheslines.

“The shipment from California was the most thoughtful one we’ve gotten,” FAA air traffic controller Charles Robinson told a fellow volunteer.

James and Frieda Goins were the first members of the Palmdale convoy to reach Tamiami Airport.

“Let’s put it this way, we didn’t waste too much time,” James Goins said when asked how he crossed the country in just 52 hours. “We didn’t want them waiting on us. We wanted to wait on them.”

Canvas canopies were erected near the wreckage of dozens of planes to house the goods as they were unloaded. The area soon became a sort of impromptu bazaar, where hurricane victims went from one carton to another selecting canned foods, baby items and other necessities.

Some of the “shoppers” were unconnected to the FAA.

Ana Lopez, 19, heard about the relief effort through a friend and stuffed her car trunk with food and formula for her infant son and daughter, who played among the cans nearby.

“The roof went off my house,” she said in Spanish. “This will help a lot.”

Other items were brought to those who couldn’t pick them up at the airport.

FAA volunteer Greg Gish, like a modern-day Santa Claus, left the relief center with a flatbed truck loaded with supplies and spent much of the day zipping from place to place making deliveries.

Most of the distribution of the supplies will take place today.

As she took a breather late Friday, Carolyn Brown said there was a silver lining to Hurricane Andrew’s horrible wrath, one that taught her something about the better side of human nature.

“We’re all on the same level now,” she said. “We’re all helping each other, and learning to accept help from each other. It has brought us closer together.”