have at least thirty ready and had two days to get them to the disaster site. They predicted Marco two days before it hit land, so there was plenty of warning. The company had the mobile homes piggyback loaded on railway cars and awaited word to move them out. Then they arranged for trucks at the drop-off location to transport the mobile homes to Texas.
Fitzpatrick had been surprised and relieved how well the company was living up to the agreement. And, they were continuing with their services. He made a mental note to call them on Monday and thank them again for their services. He needed to do it before Harper did and then bragged about it.
“ The turnaround time has been great. Whenever I have called, they had them on the road and here in a couple of days. I’ve had the lots monitored, so I could anticipate when they would be needed and get the people in the homes sooner, rather than waiting a couple of days more.”
Fitzpatrick nodded. “I know they promised they would have mobile homes ready, so I am glad you are getting them when they are needed.”
Stan nodded. “From what I have found, we are only going to need twenty more after the next two deliveries. I have let them know and they said it would be no problem. I just got that report worked up. I can get it for you tomorrow.”
“ Okay. I can pick it up from you tomorrow. I know you’ve given me updates on how things were going, but I wanted to see for myself and make sure the supplies were coming in.”
Just then, a young woman came in with a tray, which held a glass pitcher of ice water, two glasses and several chocolate chips cookies on a plate. She smiled as she sat the tray in the middle of the table. Fitzpatrick thanked her, then watched as she walked out, closing the door behind her. He poured himself a glass of water and took a long drink, then grabbed a couple of cookies and began eating the first one.
“ I’m glad you did. It is always better to see it first hand. Although, I do have a question.” McClelland grabbed two chocolate chip cookies and stuffed them in his mouth.
“ What’s the question?”
“ What’s with the media crew? We have had a lot of them down here for the past month. They are finally tapering off now, thank goodness. I have never seen so many of them get in the way. I finally had to ban them from some areas.”
Fitzpatrick laughed. He knew very well how tenacious the media could be. He knew they served the public, but it was often a fine line between of them being a service to the public and being annoying to the work going on around them.
“ Well, to answer your question, I decided to get a little credit for myself. When I first came down, the media knew I was here. They filmed the team that had come down, along with the other agencies. I heard they broadcast this all over the U.S. I suppose to show the numbers of people that was here to help the people here. Mainly, they focused on the rescue and recovery, which is only right. This time, I arranged for a camera crew to come along. I decided I would give them a first hand view of the recovery and then give my side of the story.”
It was Stan’s turn to laugh. “I take it Harper is at it again.”
“ Yes he is. I come up with an idea and he takes credit for it. I do something and he takes credit for it. Of course, he never bothered to come here, see what needed to be done and offer help, but he gets my report and runs with it.”
“ Can’t blame you for doing something about it.” Stan leaned forward, got another cookie and looked at Fitzpatrick. “You know, he is going to have a fit when they show the tape on television, especially when it has you in it.”
Fitzpatrick nodded and smiled. “Yes, I know. But, that is what I want. I want the public to know that it was me and the rest of the crew who was the biggest help here, not him.”
“ A couple of local senators from Texas came here for a visit and wondered why Harper hadn’t come down
Fitzpatrick had been surprised and relieved how well the company was living up to the agreement. And, they were continuing with their services. He made a mental note to call them on Monday and thank them again for their services. He needed to do it before Harper did and then bragged about it.
“ The turnaround time has been great. Whenever I have called, they had them on the road and here in a couple of days. I’ve had the lots monitored, so I could anticipate when they would be needed and get the people in the homes sooner, rather than waiting a couple of days more.”
Fitzpatrick nodded. “I know they promised they would have mobile homes ready, so I am glad you are getting them when they are needed.”
Stan nodded. “From what I have found, we are only going to need twenty more after the next two deliveries. I have let them know and they said it would be no problem. I just got that report worked up. I can get it for you tomorrow.”
“ Okay. I can pick it up from you tomorrow. I know you’ve given me updates on how things were going, but I wanted to see for myself and make sure the supplies were coming in.”
Just then, a young woman came in with a tray, which held a glass pitcher of ice water, two glasses and several chocolate chips cookies on a plate. She smiled as she sat the tray in the middle of the table. Fitzpatrick thanked her, then watched as she walked out, closing the door behind her. He poured himself a glass of water and took a long drink, then grabbed a couple of cookies and began eating the first one.
“ I’m glad you did. It is always better to see it first hand. Although, I do have a question.” McClelland grabbed two chocolate chip cookies and stuffed them in his mouth.
“ What’s the question?”
“ What’s with the media crew? We have had a lot of them down here for the past month. They are finally tapering off now, thank goodness. I have never seen so many of them get in the way. I finally had to ban them from some areas.”
Fitzpatrick laughed. He knew very well how tenacious the media could be. He knew they served the public, but it was often a fine line between of them being a service to the public and being annoying to the work going on around them.
“ Well, to answer your question, I decided to get a little credit for myself. When I first came down, the media knew I was here. They filmed the team that had come down, along with the other agencies. I heard they broadcast this all over the U.S. I suppose to show the numbers of people that was here to help the people here. Mainly, they focused on the rescue and recovery, which is only right. This time, I arranged for a camera crew to come along. I decided I would give them a first hand view of the recovery and then give my side of the story.”
It was Stan’s turn to laugh. “I take it Harper is at it again.”
“ Yes he is. I come up with an idea and he takes credit for it. I do something and he takes credit for it. Of course, he never bothered to come here, see what needed to be done and offer help, but he gets my report and runs with it.”
“ Can’t blame you for doing something about it.” Stan leaned forward, got another cookie and looked at Fitzpatrick. “You know, he is going to have a fit when they show the tape on television, especially when it has you in it.”
Fitzpatrick nodded and smiled. “Yes, I know. But, that is what I want. I want the public to know that it was me and the rest of the crew who was the biggest help here, not him.”
“ A couple of local senators from Texas came here for a visit and wondered why Harper hadn’t come down
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