Dear Editor,

On Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2003, a devastating hurricane slammed into Taylor County and over Perry, FL. Part of our major damage was a giant oak crashing through the roof. Water poured into our living/family room and curled up the flooring.

My husband, son and I laid out every towel we had to soak up the mess — 25 in all. Of course, power was out and our little generator wasn’t enough to run the washer and dryer.

Thursday dawned overcast but calm. As they surveyed the damage, blazed a trail through the back field to get out of our property, and started making calls for repair, I was in panic mode and needed to “get out of Dodge.”

After getting home to Orlando, our son looked on-line and found Rose City Coin Laundry in Thomasville. He called to see if it open for business. Ms. Diane Riggs assured him it was, and welcomed me to bring up whatever needed to be washed and dried.

I wrung out the towels the best I could, gathered up all of our other dirty clothes, and drove to your city, which is one of our favorites for shopping and having a good meal. Later that afternoon, Ms. Lauren L. Shea and I spent almost four hours together while I did our laundry in a clean, safe and welcoming environment. She was a comfort and a blessing.

Also, I received the same TLC at Longhorn’s, where Melony D. had taken over for our dear friend, Jim Servedio, for the afternoon. Thanks to Mr. Brian D. Tanner for a restaurant that reminds me of our former home in Wyoming.

The reason I am tardy in writing this letter is that we were without TV or Internet for 18 days.

Just wanted to share my appreciation for good service and great people in Thomasville.

Sincerely,

Kay McCullough

Perry, FL