Week One and a half - the "Down Week"

I’ve had a few days to get my office workload under control but find my mind wandering while my computer slogs through backup mode or while on conference calls. Who is getting that sink removed that Emily and I couldn’t get to? Have inspections occurred on this house yet and will it be ready for the next phase by Monday? Will we be working with Jim and his crew or will another team need us more?

The next volunteer team (Bruce, Emily, Kevin, JJ, and myself) begin the process of introducing ourselves via various emails and I try to remember to give them hints may make this journey easier, but hell - I'm no expert.

While I’ve been back, I’ve noticed that there are connections that the rest of the country make that no one in Biloxi voiced while I was there. For instance, it’s pretty common for folks to make some sort of remark along the lines of “we’re spending $xxx in Iraq, but our own country can’t clean up this mess”. I see their logic … but I have to say that I never heard anything like that from Biloxi residents. It’s possible that they don’t make that connection. I think that a lot of sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters probably are benefiting from military service. It’s possibly how a lot of folks are able to afford a higher education, so the last thing they’d do would be to trash the military. Also, and this is a HUGE generalization, I’ve noticed a lot of patriotism in the area (which COULD have to do with the military base nearby). People are proud of their country, and they stand by it.

That’s not to say that I’ve found any fans of the government of Louisiana – in fact, I think it’s interesting that Mississippi residents are quite open about their lack of respect for Louisiana’s government. But again, that also makes sense. Lots of Mississippians have family in Louisiana and they weren’t allowed across state lines to help their family … and if there’s one thing you do NOT mess with in the South, it’d be family.

Something else I’ve noticed is that people who haven’t been to Biloxi don’t get why family members of the residents aren’t helping out. That’s an easy one to address and I think I can do this pretty well:
When your town has a blackout, pretty much everyone on that power grid is in the same boat, right? (If you were at OTC last year for ISD presentation, you can relate to this analogy.) So instead of your town, let’s say that your whole county … and your neighboring two counties … are all having the same blackout. Your entire family has lived in that county (or one of the other two) all their lives, and that’s the only place you’ve ever called home. So with everyone experiencing the same problems, no one is better off than the next and you all pretty much have to be patient, self-reliant, and have a strong belief that things are gonna change for the better. That’s what this is like … but on a far larger scale. This isn’t a personal tragedy; it’s a tragedy for LOTS of communities.

Anyway, I’ve added my photos, made a few editorial adjustments … I guess I can put “Week One” to bed now. Feel free to comment, critique, or ask questions. There are a million and one ways you can get involved and even just remembering that this is happening TODAY is a huge gift.