Hurricane Ida has blown through and left us for the most part unharmed. Our neighbors in Louisiana were not so lucky, and as I write this there are still rescue efforts happening on their southern coast. We are hearing the horror stories now, but as surely as day follows night, next to come will be the heart-warming stories of neighbor helping neighbor and stories of amazing generosity.
One such story from hurricanes past that stuck in my mind was “Mattress Mack.” Do you remember? Hurricane Harvey was the worst rainfall disaster in U.S. History. Harvey, like Ida, was a Cat 4 hurricane that hit the Texas coast on August 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey was directly responsible for 68 deaths, the largest number of direct deaths from a hurricane in Texas since 1919, according to the National Hurricane Center. Another 35 deaths were indirectly attributed to Harvey, making the total closer to 103.
As with many times of disaster, it brought out the best in people helping their fellow citizens. One of most notable acts of kindness was that shown by furniture businessman Jim McIngvale, also known as “Mattress Mack.” McIngvale opened the doors to two of his massive showrooms in Houston so they could become shelters for those affected by flooding.
“Mattress Mack” managed to shelter some 1,000 flood-evicted people, not counting National Guard personnel helping during the flood who used the stores as a crash pad. He made sure these people were supplied with three meals a day. He also sent out his trucks to help rescue those stranded by the flooding.
McIngvale estimated it cost him $30,000 to $40,000 a day to keep his stores open to shelter fellow Texans. “We can afford that; what we can’t afford is to cause these people to give up hope, we gotta give them hope. This is what my parents would have done,” he told a CBS news crew.
Roberta Lee was one who took shelter in his showroom. “For him to open his door and say: ‘If you are affected by the flood to come in,’ and I mean you had people wet, you had people dirty. Who does that? You have to see it to believe it. It’s real…He has a heart of gold,” said Lee to CBS.
Another man told an NBC news crew, “Politics can talk about race and creed and religion and all that stuff all day long, but here’s proof right here that none of that matters.”
As with many times of disaster, Hurricane Harvey brought out the best in people helping their fellow citizens, and Hurricane Ida will no doubt bring out the same. Examples of heroism and kindness will be seen aplenty as Louisianians and their neighboring states will come together to remind us that we are all in this together. “Mattress Mack” is known as a businessman with a big heart, and he is a shining example that, as divided as we may be, in times of need we remember what really matters.
Christina Pierce is the publisher at Hattiesburg Publishing, which produces The Pine Belt News and Signature Magazine.
