We really hit our stride today as a group. We were back at the siding at the Parker Home, assisted by great weather, and finished up one side as far as needed (we don't know the trim detail for the roof line, so we stop a few boards shy of the top) and move around to the other side of the home and start again.
Ella spends most of the day working with Doug (our first Hands-On worker) and, before long, she becomes queen of the nail gun.
I'm significantly impressed by this because I still don't have the courage or confidence to use a power tool and Ella just dives right in like it's second nature to her. (Yes, I *did* use a power saw during Week #3 '06 ... for all of about 45 seconds when I realized how much serious trouble it could get me in.)
Nate and George (our second Hands-On worker) are the two quiet teammates in the group. They make very little noise and just get the job done, silently and effectively.
Nate earns the nickname of "Chocolate Man" for his perfect timing with chocolate treats in the afternoon, just as our energy starts to fade.
Mark and I work on finishing one side of the house,
and then take down the scaffolding with Ella's help. In the afternoon, we spend about an hour cleaning out the equipment storage pod and wind up finding a few items that we could have used earlier in the week but, better than that, we made the space a little neater and allow for more room. (This probably won't last long but we won't be here when it gets messed up again.)Raymond and Lonnie are our cutters,
and they really do a great job of keeping up as we call out requests for board lengths. At every 6th board or so, the length tends to change ever so slightly so we can't just assume that a space is always going to need a board that measures 52 13/16ths (and yes, we get THAT precise). Just like Jackie Washington's home that Jim told me about in Week #2 '06, this home doesn't have walls or corners that are dead even or at perfect right angles, though it is a brand new structure. The nature of the soil, the materials, and the stability requirements for the framing don't equate to perfect walls or corners.
At 4:40pm, we decide we've done all we can on the outside (and we figure we'll leave the interior for another team).
We start to pack it in and take a team photo.
The eight of us treat ourselves to a stop at The Pub prior to heading back to camp and we decide to head to Ocean Springs for dinner. Happily, George and Doug will join us and we agree to meet after showers.
As I'm cleaning up, another volunteer shows up injured and bleeding. She was running outdoors in open-toed shoes and stubbed her toe badly. I help her clean out the wound, get some peroxide to sterilize what we can't flush out, and have her ice her foot to keep the swelling down. As I help her to a table with bandages and antiseptic ointment, she sighs heavily. "I can't remember when I was treated this well", she says. Her leader runs into me as I get ready to go and thanks me for my assistance. "These kids forget to take care of themselves because they're focused on everyone else", she sighs. "Even doing the obvious nicety pushes them right over the edge, after working so hard all day." I agree with her and thank her for helping me figure out why I'm embarrassed to accept a simple "thank you" for being here ... I consider it an obvious nicety.
The team meets up and we roll into The Shed BBQ shortly after 7:30pm for some seriously good eats. I show Ella the ceiling in the back where John made sure to document our Week #3 '06 visit and I add the first 2007 visit.
I suppose we've started a tasty tradition here.
We spend time over dinner getting to know our Hands-On folks better. George, 24,
will be wrapping up his shift here in June, at which time he'll then go to work on his Masters in Architecture.
Doug, 32,
will be here until November and then ... well, he's not sure what that "then" will be. He likes the friendships he's developed here and takes great pride in his work (as well he should).
We say goodnight back at camp, where some of us hop onto the available computers while others read. Even after the work we did today, we all seem pretty energized. It could be because the day we'll return to the comforts of our homes is rapidly approaching, or it could be the satisfaction that only really good potato salad can bring ... but I suspect it's because we *know* we did good work today - and quite a bit of it, too.
Tomorrow, Ella, Mark, Nate, and I will drive to New Orleans and go our separate ways but first, we'll have breakfast as a team at camp one last time.
No comments:
Post a Comment