Christmas Just About Here

Check out this photo to the right. I had it under Pic of the Day the past few days, but I couldn't get it to post at the right size (and I think I'm still having that problem over there). I had to post it here, though, so that you could see it better. It's a FEMA Trailer decorated for Christmas. I spotted it in one of the neighborhoods in St. Bernard after leaving a house the other day. Whoever lives there, props for making the best of a "not so great" situation, and staying in the spirit of things.

I'm writing this post as I pack and do a few other things to get ready for my trip to Connecticut for the holiday. I'm finding more and more that I'm squeezing two and three things in at once. Not complaining, that just seems to be reality these days. I love to write, but I definitely don't have as much time for it. Starting and running St. Bernard Recovery Corp. dominates most of my time and energy (Erin, friends and family can probably attest to me being consumed by this in a borderline annoying way). It's interesting how earlier in the year I was so much more into writing, to the point where I was buying and reading books on non-fiction writing, how to write better, I bought and re-read some of my favorite books from college writing classes. I was really into it, believing that writing almost every day about my experiences here was my calling. But things have changed, and I've adjusted. I was busy a lot and working and volunteering, getting my hands in on lots of different things, especially when I was really engaged helping out at Camp Hope. I always found time to write, though. Now, not so much. I think my calling now is more about doing than writing. I'm good with that, as I think that is what is meant to be.

Here's another photo to check out. I took this this morning at a school that houses volunteers most weeks. An outfit called the Gathering, which is faith-based, takes in 20 to 30 volunteers who come in from out of state, houses them in this school and puts them to work at different houses. One of the Gathering's team leads, Aaron, calls me when he needs to find some extra work. I had a couple of houses for them to go to this week. I'd go to this school, which is completely gutted, to meet them as they eat breakfast and get ready to head out to the houses. Seeing scenes like this kind of remind of my Camp Hope days, which was also a 'gutted out' school. 28 months later (sounds like a movie title) and I still see things that make me think it's just a few weeks after Katrina hit.

Had a pretty big scare this morning, by the way. I'm flying Southwest up to Hartford tomorrow, a 6:30 a.m. flight. Southwest has that first come, first serve boarding process so it's imperative to check in online as soon as possible once your flight is 24 hours away. I set my alarm for 6:20 a.m. so that I could get up, turn my laptop on, and be ready to click "Check-In" right at 6:30 and get my 'A' Boarding pass. Well, I got up at 6:20 no problem, only after powering on my laptop, I laid back down on my bed, thinking I'd just rest there for a minute while it warmed up. Next thing I know, I'm waking up, in a fog, wiping my eyes, everything black, and it's 7:35 a.m.! "Jesus", I screamed, "just great!". Miraculously, I still got an A for both legs of my flight, even my first one at 6:30. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

SBRC Holiday Party A Big Success

We (St. Bernard Recovery Corp.) had our Holiday Party last Wednesday, December 12. Over 25 families from St. Bernard Parish, 100+ people in all, came out for a night of great food, Santa Claus, Christmas Music, gifts, raffle prizes and so much more. We had our challenges, as the chef that we recruited to come down from New York and cook (volunteering his time) got sick on Tuesday and was out of commission. Thankfully, Erin's mom, who had come down from New York for the party, was there to save the day. With help from a few others, particularly Santa, Rita led the cooking and we had tray fulls of great food to serve. Turkey, spiral ham, pasta, salad, yams and sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce filled up everyone's plate.

The party was a big success, a full three hours of smiling, laughing, lots of picture taking and hopefully a few memories. And every family and child left with a gift. My dad came from Florida, along with two friends, and some other volunteers I've gotten to know this year attended as well. Hopefully some of the pictures below tell a good story.

AJ Rumblings

I had a chance to take part in something pretty fun and special at Andrew Jackson Elementary last week. The school asked me to sit on a committee with three other teachers and interview candidates for Student of the Year. The students were all fifth graders. The interview portion is just one part of the selection process. Grades, extracurricular activities and a writing sample also are factored in. But I’m pretty sure that the sit down with us was probably the toughest part for the kids. Not by our doing. We, of course, asked a handful of straightforward questions, using the same ones for all 40 kids, and tried to make it as light an atmosphere for them as possible, talking them through the process. Still, and understandably so, most were pretty nervous. They’re 10 years old, I could only imagine how I might have been at that age. I’m sure the same. We had a couple of hams who loved it and went on and on, but just a couple. They were definitely all very cute. Not being a dad yet, this was a very new kind of day for me. I’ve spent a lot of time at that school this year, and have been around the kids a lot, but never for seven hours straight (that’s how long it took to get through all 40 interviews) in one room and under those circumstances. A handful of them, maybe a third, brought up Katrina or something related to it. And some made mention of their living situation, if they’re still in a FEMA trailer or if they have some sort of unusual set up, like other family or friends staying with them out of need. These kids down here really are amazing, given all they’ve had to deal with, go through, soak in and adjust to. I was lucky, I got to talk to and listen to 40 of them in one day. It was special.

Speaking of Andrew Jackson, they also invited me to the Faculty Christmas Party this past Saturday night. It was at the home of one of the teachers. I went, and it was nice to see all of them able to have fun and let loose a bit outside of the school environment. I’ve been observing them a good part of this year in pretty difficult, often stressful, crowded situations (AJ still has over 1,500 students), and it’s not easy, what they have to deal with. Seeing them all able to dance, karaoke, joke, laugh, play games (led by the principal, no less) and sing was enough to put a big smile on my face. They didn’t think I was having a good time, but I was.
The husband of one of the teacher’s couldn’t get enough talking to me after hearing what I’m doing. I hate bringing these kinds of things up, as it sounds like self-boasting, but I feel like I should simply because I want to point out how appreciative and grateful so many people here are. He must have thanked me 20 times and told me how it was because of the help of people like me that St. Bernard is coming back. There was one thing in particular he said to me that I will spare this space from, but I believe him, and I believe it all makes a difference. There was just something about being at a holiday party, with all that good spirit, and hearing some of those things that made it a really nice night. That, and seeing the teachers act silly like some of the very children they teach.

The more I read of and saw Brad Pitt and his Make It Right project last week, the more impressed I was. The guy just gets it. It’s one thing for a volunteer or someone who has been here awhile to feel and talk the way he has, but for someone with his life and schedule and distractions, to really get it the way he does, just blows me away. His presence and project here are nothing but a huge positive for this area. If you haven’t already, make it a point to visit www.makeitrightnola.org