Monica Bommarito, 31, has been worried about her 9-year-old son, Michael, since they lost their home to Hurricane Katrina. He acts like the man of the family, assuming responsibility for his 2-year-old brother, Daniel, and his mother. HeÕs more protective and consoles ÒMomÓ when, rarely, she gives into tears.
Bommarito and her boys flew to Sterling Park a week after the hurricane wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast. The boysÕ father, Bernard Bommarito, stayed behind to deal with destruction of their Gulfport, Miss., home.
THE BOMMARITOS, who lived in New Orleans until a year and a half ago, owned a house a block from the beach. Their house is still standing, even though many neighboring homes and businesses were demolished. But a 20-foot surge took its toll.
Bommarito grew up in New Orleans, so she is familiar with the hurricane season. During the periodic evacuations, the family drives three hours north to a relativeÕs home in Jackson, Miss. They knew this storm was going to be bad, but Bommarito said she was shocked to learn it had destroyed her community and the city she had called home for most of her life.
Bommarito said she realized the intensity of this storm when rain and winds uprooted trees and created havoc even in Jackson. Like the cities and towns along the coast, Jackson lost its electricity and water. ÒIt kind of had an eerie feeling to it, to be so far off the coast and lose power. É It was rather surreal,Ó she recalled.
AFTER A WEEK in that situation, she decided to take her boys to her sisterÕs home in SterlingÕs Newberry Condominiums. Southwest Airlines provided free transportation.
They moved in with her sister, Megan Moss, 18, and her former stepmother, Rebecca Welch. Megan, a senior at Douglass School in Leesburg, told her guidance counselor, Joyce Brown, about the situation and Brown spearheaded relief efforts.
Welch, smiling with an air of excitement, said she is astonished by the amount of contributions. ÒToothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, you wouldnÕt believe it.
Bommarito said she was grateful that she and her boys had a place to go. Michael is attending Guilford Elementary School. His mom said he has a high IQ and participates in the gifted-school program.
HIS MOM SAID her husband also saved her wedding dress, with some damage, a collection of elephants, pictures and her grandmotherÕs Last Supper picture.
Bommarito said she was in a fog for the first couple of weeks after the storm. Now that her mind is clearing, she and her husband are trying to decide what to do next. She is a holistic practitioner, who co-owned the business, Alternative Wellness Solutions, with a friend. Her husband helped run a cab company with his uncle in New Orleans.
She said they will either settle in Virginia permanently or move to Louisiana. Michael said he did not want to return to Mississippi. ÒI donÕt really know why,Ó he said.
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