It Looks Just Like a War Zone

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In the face of furious criticism and ridicule, Philadelphia proved through the week that it has a thick skin. It showed, as well, remarkable powers of recuperation. The community rallied with a dramatic outpouring of spirit and resources for the fire victims. Food and clothing by the ton poured into churches and collection centers. Department stores handed out vouchers that amounted to gift certificates. Supermarkets, restaurants and private citizens came forth with everything from fried chicken to pizza. One anonymous donor sent $100,000 to St. Carthage Church for its homeless "to rekindle their hopes." Developers were already drawing up plans for reconstruction of the houses at a cost estimated at $80,000 each. While Pennsylvania legislators in Harrisburg introduced bills seeking $5 million to $10 million in state aid for the homeless, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it would cover 70% of the emergency rent (up to $550 per family) for the displaced families.

For many victims of the burnout, the healing will take a long time. Most had lost not only the practical hard goods of existence but the small, irreplaceable mementos and icons of a lifetime. Inez Nichols had recently installed new carpeting and bathroom appliances in the home she and her late husband had bought 27 years ago, but knew she would miss most poignantly what had been the only existing pictures of her mother and spouse. Nadine Fosky, 22, "lost, quite simply, everything." Clothes. School papers. Her special Buddhist chanting scroll. She anguished over it all -- even over the very special scent of her house. Said she: "Someone said that a house takes on a certain familiar smell of a family over the years, and that once it's lost it takes years to get it back."

Edith Benson, 74, already had troubles enough, with her husband seriously ill in the hospital. The fire severely damaged her home, destroying, along with much else, a new hospital bed bought to appease her acute arthritis. Like many of the victims, she declined to blame officials. "In a way, they did the best they could. I don't fault them. I just feel sorry for people like myself. There's nothing else to do but pray."

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