A plethora of Buttermilk Oat Pancakes
An overabundance of Bacon Strips
A giant bowl of sliced Bananas and Mandarin Oranges
Buckets of Tofurkey and Tofu-Sausage
Boxes of Annie's Cereal
Pans of Sweet Potatoes and Fruit (leftovers)
Starting at 5:30 am this morning was hard (I had to be up at 4:15 to shower and do my morning rituals) and doing all this without first having coffee was even harder. I am normally a morning person, but not quite to this extent. I've been going strong now for about 21 hours. :)
I signed up for rebuiling duity, working with a local family in getting the first floor of their house into a livable condition. The family came back only days after katrina (the father works for the postal service) and stayed on a cruise ship docked on shore. A few months later they moved into a FEMA trailer parked in the front of their home, but when that was taken away a couple of months ago, they were forced to move into the second story of their home. (At that point the house was still bare (after being gutted) and conditions were very poor. The family even had to hang plastic from the walls and ceilings so that they could cook without debris falling into their food. Their home saw about 8 feet of water for at least 3 days straight and when the insurance company would only cover about 8'' from the ceiling of the first flood (most of the damage to the house happened below that mark) the family was forced to scrape by with what little they could afford.
Linda (the lady of the house) had so much energy and reminded me of some of the people back home. She was glowing from head to toe. We were instantly informed that we were now her adopted children and that she would take care of us, because now were family. (I almost started crying, to think that a women that had barely met us, she didn't even know our names, was already calling me son made me feel really...WARM inside) Linda explained that we could not leave the worksite because at the end of each block you would only find drugs or hookers, (if we needed any of these things, she would be happy to walk with us to the corner) but that she would be happy to get us/drive us to get anything that we needed. A crew of about 18 (I don't remember the exact number) started working on shutters, doors, the floors in the kitchen and living room, and painting. My team had the kitchen in which we had to lay a sub-floor so that the room was at an elevated level so that the whole floor was flush (or at least as close as we could get it.
I got to use a number of power tools and ended up having a few special tasks. While we waited for more plywood, a select few of us tackled an even bigger (and at some points nastier) task. A giant pile of garbage had accumulated over what looked like weeks in front of the home and now that a dumpster had been delivered we were to move the pile to the garbage. A few hundred pieces of lumber, drywall, beer bottles and trees later we had accomplished our goal. This gave me an extra boost of energy to get back to work on the kitchen. Seeing this accomplished goal (which took 6 of us on "Team Ernesto" about an hour to dispose of) made me proud that as one person, in one team, I could have an actual impact in the lives of this family.
Laying bamboo flooring was a lot of fun and after getting over the initial hump of starting the first few rows a sort of assembly line had formed, each person knew their task, each person was comfortable giving and receiving instructions (some more then others) so that we could accomplish our goal. Each person pitched in what talents they had, each person gave what they could and we got a lot more done than I had expected. We hope to have this home completed at the end of our week home. How nice it would be to have their kitchen and home back so that they could have their first REAL thanksgiving in over three years.
Tonight after a lovely dinner a few of us (13) went out to several different bars to check out the live music and culture. The french quarter was great, the live music was awesome, and the people were all so jovial. It was great to see such a vibrant night life knowing all that is happening only minutes from downtown. My night ended well, even after the incident with the drunk man that wanted my twisted fruit Clif Bar. He repeatedly reached for my fruit and made grunting sounds, at which I stood my ground and finished my treat. I think I am now addicted to these yummy servings of fruit. (apparently its not the best thing to replace these with all your fruit servings) I recorded a few minutes of the jazz music, and if I can figure out how to post those I will too.
Now I am exhausted, sick, and excited for tomorrow.
Until then, Peace.....P.S. OBAMA 08'!!!
Ernesto
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