Hurricane victims count blessings, including sweet music of kindness

Both musicians are traveling all over the country trying to find work.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MINERAL RIDGE -- Even though John Reeks and his wife, Stephanie Thompson, lost nearly everything in Hurricane Katrina, they are counting their blessings for the kindness of strangers -- many of whom live in the Youngstown area.
The couple is now staying in Mineral Ridge with Thompson's parents.
Thompson grew up in North Jackson and moved to New Orleans six years ago after a difficult divorce. "I wanted to make a fresh start," she said. "I got a position playing clarinet in the Louisiana Philharmonic, and I sit beside John, which is how we met."
They have been married a year and had just bought their house in May -- a 75-year-old structure, which they poured their money into to renovate. It was finished two weeks when Hurricane Katrina struck.
"We were in Ohio visiting family, but I went back home because I also teach at Loyola University in uptown New Orleans, which was about to begin its fall classes," said Reeks, who was born and reared in New Orleans. "This was a couple days before Katrina struck."
Reeks had been through hurricanes before and didn't think much of it until he was ordered to evacuate.
How bad it was
"I never was evacuated before and never took storms that seriously," he said. "I moved the cars to higher ground, grabbed a few of our musical instruments and the cat, and left. ... It's like one of those conversations you'd have in a bar: 'What would you take if you knew you would lose everything?' I had no idea we would not be coming back."
Reeks said he was on the interstate for 10 hours, with all lanes going in the same direction.
"When I finally was able to come back, it looked like that new version of 'War of the Worlds,'" said Reeks. "The houses looked like doll houses, you know, that you can see inside."
Thompson said they are waiting to find out if they can salvage any of their house, or if it has to be bulldozed. She said their new porch did not survive, but the old, broken-down deck did. She also said among their lost treasures are their wedding photos and her dress.
Now, as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives, they are overwhelmed with the generosity of others. Reeks said he wants an opportunity to reflect on the people of Youngstown and to get his message of thanks to the people in the area.
"When we went to a bank to open an account, the bankers handed us money as a gift," said Reeks. "The people have been so sweet, loving, gracious and kind. A local restaurant/bar called The Ice House gave us a gift certificate for dining. We went to Bob Evans, and the waitress wanted to give us money."
"People from my parents' church, St. Mary's in Mineral Ridge, people we'd never met, would come up to us and hand us a check for $100," added Thompson. "My parents live in a tiny little development, and some members of the condo association got together and took up a collection."
Seeking work
Both musicians are traveling all over the country trying to find work. Thompson was grateful to play with the Youngstown Symphony at the recent Stambaugh concert and will also join them for the upcoming pops concert at Powers. Reeks is particularly grateful to be part of Opera Western Reserve's performance of "La Boh & egrave;me" on Nov. 11, where he will be principal clarinetist, and wants to help promote the performance in any way he can.
The couple just played a side-by-side benefit concert with The New York Philharmonic, which raised $300,000 for the Louisiana Philharmonic. "Everything for this concert was donated," said Reeks. "That includes the air fare and hotels for our orchestra members, all the advertising and the musicians' time."
Loyola University was relatively undamaged, and Reeks said they plan to resume classes in January. The university and high school where Thompson teaches were not so fortunate, sustaining heavy damage, as did the building that housed the Louisiana Philharmonic.
"The water damage went up onto the stage, which was a parquet floor," said Thompson. "The big instruments, like string basses and the piano, were in the basement, totally damaged."
"The city looks like it was in an explosion, and that is basically what happened to the orchestra," said Reeks.
About the orchestra
Reeks is one of the founding members of the orchestra, which he said is unique because the musicians own it. The original New Orleans Orchestra went bankrupt about 16 years ago, so the musicians took over and created the Louisiana Philharmonic.
"We were struggling to stay alive," said Reeks. "We tried to make good business decisions and pay our creditors first, so the musicians were being paid much below standards to begin with. There has been a lot of irony with this hurricane."
In spite of tragedy, Reeks said they have learned valuable lessons.
"There are many people who did not have the good fortune as we have had," he said. "We have been blessed with a loving family to take us in and have the support of the arts community. I hope that my good vibrations will come through for the opera performance, so others can see the goodness of the people in this area.
"I also learned that if you lose everything, it is not the end of the world. I wouldn't have believed that before. But now, I have more hope than ever. I have been given a gift."