Single dad Larry Parish was devastated when a blaze consumed his mobile home. His plight has touched a chord in the community.
By CARY DAVIS
Published July 12, 2003
On Thursday morning, fire destroyed Larry Parish's rented Moon Lake mobile home and so much more. He and his 10-year-old daughter Bonnie lost everything, and they didn't have much to begin with.
With no renter's insurance and a job that barely paid for life's essentials, how would Parish recover from the catastrophe? How could he, a single dad, continue to support Bonnie?
He was filled with despair. Bonnie's sadness was compounded by guilt: On Thursday morning she lit incense to mask the smell of her puppy's accident, ashes fell on the couch, and within minutes, everything was gone.
On Friday, thanks to an outpouring of community support, despair turned to hope.
"Now there seems to be a little light at the end of the tunnel," Parish, 50, said Friday afternoon from a motel room provided by the Red Cross.
Dozens upon dozens of calls poured in to the offices of the St. Petersburg Times, the local Red Cross, a thrift store and a Port Richey bank on Friday. People, rich and poor, donated what they could: cash, clothes, furniture, appliances, toys and makeup for Bonnie, even a free place to stay for six weeks.
By 4 p.m. Friday, a Larry Parish fund at Colonial Bank in Port Richey held $1,100 for the family. Thrift Depot on Ridge Road in Port Richey sent workers to pick up a donated 27-inch television. The thrift store set aside storage space in preparation for all the promised donations.
"It's been a great afternoon," said Jackie Basak, manager of the Port Richey Colonial Bank branch, where Parish is a customer.
The bank, she said, kicked in $750 to the fund for Parish and Bonnie. A sign on the wall invited customers to donate. By day's end, boxes in the lobby were filled with clothes and food.
"This really makes you appreciate what you have," said Basak, "and want to reach out and help others."
A Times story about the family's loss sparked interest from around the Tampa Bay area and beyond. One woman from Louisiana who read the story on the Internet sent an e-mail to the paper asking where she could send money. That was one of a dozen e-mails to the paper offering help. The paper also got more than three dozen calls from people interested in donating.
Randy Young of Shady Hills - a disabled, single father who lost everything in a fire several years ago - called the paper to offer a spare bedroom for six weeks.
"I don't have much," said Young, 48, "but I know what this man is going through."
Parish, who was at work fixing mobile homes when the fire broke out, was overwhelmed by the support. One man dropped by Parish's workplace and handed him a check for $100. The gesture brought him to tears.
"He didn't know me from Adam," Parish said.
On Friday, he and Bonnie visited the charred remains of their mobile home on Coree Avenue, just south of State Road 52 in Moon Lake.
Bonnie apologized again for the fire, he said.
"It's hard to hear," he said. "It was just an accident."
Bonnie said the community's help lifted her spirits. On Friday, one Moon Lake woman gave Bonnie some makeup, hair ties and clothes.
"They're helping me and my dad get a better place," she said. "Now I have things to play with."
- Cary Davis covers courts in west Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6236, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6236. His e-mail address is cbdavis@sptimes.com
How to help
Anyone interested in helping Larry Parish and his daughter may call:
The Red Cross, at (727) 862-8685 in Hudson, for information about the family.
Colonial Bank in Port Richey, 9431 U.S. 19, at (727) 847-0043, for information about monetary donations to the Larry Parish fund.
Thrift Depot, 6538 Ridge Road in Port Richey, at (727) 815-8107, about donating furniture, clothes, etc.
