We began our day by stopping at the Katrina Memorial. Since I saw it in April, they've cleaned it a bit and resealed it from moisture. I can tell because some of the items I remember are no longer there - and there are new pieces in the box. As we drive over to the Parker home to begin a sanding/dusting/painting day, I look at the clock and thermometer in the vehicle. At 7:40am, it shoes well above 80F. Clearly this isn't accurate. I mean, it just CAN'T be, right?
(The blurry photo I've pasted below shows 90F inside the Parker home ... at 8:25am.)
By 10:30am, we take a break from our taping work
and drive to the village to cool off. The village is air-conditioned and right now, that's a bigger draw than anything else found there (water, power, snacks). The thermometer says something like 96F.At lunch, Bill spends some time getting to know Edwin and Susan Britt who now run Volunteer Village for the Salvation Army. (The photo is Edwin with Ling and Bill outside the high water mark at the village.)
Ling sinks into a couch and catches up on email. I keep trying to motivate myself to eat lunch, but it's just too hot for that. In fact, it's too hot for anything. It's a lot like when you're not feeling well - you decide that you need to focus on anything BUT not feeling well, and then you find that's all your brain will allow you to do.
We return to the Parker home and find Art, a local electrician, is installing plugs, switches, and plates throughout the house. During a break, I learn that Art was doing this work before Katrina and afterwards, he has worked with all the recovery crews on an as-needed, on-call basis. He also tells me that calls are coming slower and slower these days. I'd *like* to think that there's less need for his services due to work being completed, but the truth is that there's less need for his services because work is dwindling off. Nearly 2 years after Katrina, in this area at least, you've either started to rebuild, or you maybe aren't going to. I don't know who is in charge of making these decisions - or how they go about contacting the home owners - but I wouldn't want that job.
We return to the Parker home and find Art, a local electrician, is installing plugs, switches, and plates throughout the house. During a break, I learn that Art was doing this work before Katrina and afterwards, he has worked with all the recovery crews on an as-needed, on-call basis. He also tells me that calls are coming slower and slower these days. I'd *like* to think that there's less need for his services due to work being completed, but the truth is that there's less need for his services because work is dwindling off. Nearly 2 years after Katrina, in this area at least, you've either started to rebuild, or you maybe aren't going to. I don't know who is in charge of making these decisions - or how they go about contacting the home owners - but I wouldn't want that job.
I also took a look outside the living room windows and reminded myself of how cool - by comparison, anyway - April felt when we were planting these trees.
After we knock off work for the day and take our showers, I drive the team to Aunt Jenny's for some catfish and, more importantly, some deep fried dill pickle slices.
As the dish arrives, Ling and Bill both are hesitant, but after a few chips, they both admit they could easily clean the plate.
After stopping to admire the view in the back of Aunt Jenny's,
we head back to camp - full of great food, tired from a VERY hot day, and looking forward to hopefully accomplishing a lot tomorrow.
As the dish arrives, Ling and Bill both are hesitant, but after a few chips, they both admit they could easily clean the plate.
After stopping to admire the view in the back of Aunt Jenny's,
we head back to camp - full of great food, tired from a VERY hot day, and looking forward to hopefully accomplishing a lot tomorrow.We have a couple of fun things planned for Wednesday - a breakfast tradition that each team has experienced, and a special lunch session with a local friend of mine to hear the contrast of Katrina in Mississippi vs. Louisiana. It should be a heck of a day, so I'm not gonna feel too badly about not having loads to write about today. Tomorrow will be VERY educational for all of us.
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