Reflections

When I showed up at work on August 29, 2005, I wasn't expecting anything all that different from the usual. But within 48 hours, I'd been asked to coordinate incoming information from various media and government resources regarding a Hurricane named Katrina, to try to determine the most appropriate response for United Way in Seattle, particularly if evacuees did end up coming to our region.

Of course it didn't happen on the level that we initially expected. And as things 'calmed' down in my office, I joined everyone else watching CNN in complete and utter disgust...at our collective inability to do anything but watch CNN in complete and utter disgust.

Fast forward to January 2007: I was on the board of directors for Seattle Works, and was asked to join the first group of volunteers being sent out of King County by the organization. The destination? Biloxi, MS. The reason? The local Hands on Network affiliate was recruiting other HON organizations to send volunteers down to help in the rebuilding efforts from Hurricane Katrina. (Katrina, I thought? Wasn't that, like, two years ago?) After initially hesitating, I decided it would be an interesting trip to a part of the country I'd never visited.

I was horrified by what I saw. You can view some of the photos here (you need to sign up for a Kodak account), and read our blogs here. I swore I would return.

Fast forward again to January 2008: Thanks to Seattle Works, I did return, this time to New Orleans. Unfortunately, the experience with our host organization and base site soured the experience somewhat, but it was still inspiring and sobering. Whether we were working at the "school" (you could hardly call it that) or helping at the animal shelter, we all understood the magnitude of what had happened. And more importantly, the magnitude of what wasn't happening. Twenty-eight months had now passed, and several areas still looked as if the storm had occurred mere days ago.

Then, in October 2008, I brought a third group down, again to New Orleans, but Seattle Works hooked me up with a different host organization--Katrina Corps. They'd had good success placing groups with them, so I thought it might be a good change of pace. I wasn't disappointed. Not only were we set up at a quality project to help establish a community arts center at a school all but forgotten after the hurricane, but the project coordinator and field director made sure we had a chance to see the devastation of the Lower 9th Ward as well as experience the true spirit and magic of New Orleans. To a person, each of us fell in love with it.

So much so, that 5 of us returned again last week, this time on our own (with Katrina Corps, but without troubling the great people at Seattle Works to organize us). Again, we had challenges with our host site and the project logistics. But I look past that now. Having mediocre food for lunch or having to leave one job to help with another site midway through the day...those things are relatively minor inconveniences to me. I help where help is needed, and that's a sense of spirit and giving that I so appreciate about each and every person I've had the privilege to volunteer with down here.

What I think I've finally realized this last time, is that in order to see the change I want to see, and help achieve what I perceive to be the most basic of goals--getting people back into their homes, period--I need to be here for more than 5 days at a time. I mean, I knew that. I really did know that. But when I look at the photos from this latest trip, and see what it still looks like just blocks away from the levees, I desperately want to know that things are happening to help get people home. I want to see improvement, and experience hope alongside opportunity, and I don't have any sense of that in my current 'role'.

I don't expect everyone to understand how I feel, and I don't expect people to react the same way as me. A vast majority of people in the country have moved on from this. Quite frankly, a lot of former residents of New Orleans have moved on from this. But there's still a neighborhood there, a community there, without services...without schools...without coherent and consistent hope and opportunity. We may have moved on, but they can't. And if I can help house by house, block by block, to get these people back into their homes, get their children back into schools, onto playgrounds, get these families back into their churches again, then I need to do it.

"Because it's all I can do."

Live from Nashville

This was an excellent day. We pulled into Nashville around 1 PM, and promptly found our way to the Musician's Hall of Fame and Museum, located just blocks away from the Convention Center and Country Music Hall of Fame, but in one of the most nondescript places you can imagine. If you didn't know what you wanted to find, you could probably miss it. I guess that's part of the charm.

The exhibit itself was pretty impressive. The museum is divided up into different cities like Memphis, Detroit, etc. I had no idea how many musicians have been involved on hit recordings for people as diverse as Jimi Hendrix and Frank Sinatra, or Elvis Presley and Elvis Costello. They also have a music school, which I think is a cool idea.

After checking out the MHFM, we walked a few blocks up to Broadway, got some decent BBQ (on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it 6+) at Jack's, then had a few beers at Rippy's while chatting up the bartendar who had just moved here from Greenville, SC. All in all, it was a good afternoon in Music City, USA.

We checked into the hotel, took a quick nap, then headed back into town the hard way. Instead of getting back onto the interstate and going back the way we came, we decided to head down Dickerson Lane right outside the hotel. After all, we could see downtown straight ahead, how hard could it be? :) Hmmm. Needless to say, we had some issues. It wasn't that bad, though. The funniest part was having to cross two different bridges over the Cumberland River--twice.

Now it's back to the hotel, and a good night's sleep before heading to Memphis for the Rock & Soul Museum and couple of nights to hang out on Beale Street. Nice.

Near death on Memorial Day

While Ryan is up visiting his grandmother about a mile up the road, I need to share this little episode from breakfast at the Waffle House this morning.

When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? For me, it was a little while ago, listening to Mamie the waitress talking to what I can only assume is a regular customer, and going through the list of 'who's died lately...and what they died of'. I know my behavior was completely inappropriate, particularly given the fact that it's Memorial Day, but she pretty much decimated her entire family tree within a couple of minutes 'with just a few leaves dangling in the breeze'...I lost it. A combination of waffle and grits lodged in my throat for a good 30 seconds while I tried to breathe.

It's going to be a good day, hitting Nashville and the Musician's Hall of Fame!

PS--After last night's Cleveland-Orlando game, I need to know--is there something wrong with Zadrunas Ilgauskas' shoulders? He seems to be unable to lift his arms above his head. How many 7-3 centers in the NBA are unable to at least challenge a tear-drop layup from a 6-4 guard? Does gravity have a greater impact on tall people?

Live from Athens, part deux

My internet connection at the hotel is weak, so I may or may not be able to finish this post. I'm sitting watching a very un-inspiring Cleveland-Orlando playoff game (especially after the excitement of the last game). Hedo Turkoglu is an overrated hack.

Starting the road trip off in Alabama this time was a good idea, even if things haven't gone as smoothly as I'd hoped. This has given Ryan and I a chance to at least catch up on our rest, and he's had a chance to see some of his old stomping grounds. Being a U of Alabama football fan myself, it was pretty cool to drive through Tuscaloosa yesterday and seeing the stadium. The campus itself was a ghost town, since classes have already ended. But it was still fun to actually be there.

My friend Allison, bless her heart, couldn't stop suggesting things that we could do. I think she's afraid we're going to be bored in northern Alabama, but we honestly needed to take it slow for a few days. And no, Allison, although I did see the exit for the Ava Maria Grotto, we decided emphatically not to stop...maybe next time. :) So we just came straight to the hotel after our barbecue plans fell through, mainly because the doppler radar looked like a brain MRI loaded with tumors.

Tomorrow, we head to Nashville, then Memphis for a few days on Beale Street. We'll be hitting loads of musical museums and trying to catch some jazz. Then we head back into Mississippi to the famous 'crossroads' to see if I can buy my soul back from the devil, and then drive down the River to check out some small but highly recommended blues bars. That's why I'm sleeping so much now. :)

Which is good, because this game is boring the crap out of me...

Top 10, version 1

In honor of my May 2009 NOLA krewe, here's my top 10 (v. 1.0) moments and phrases of our week:

10. "We ask that you just take two sandwiches. Just two, please. Is that too much to ask?"

9. "Whoa, Monsoon! Door, open, chop chop."

8. "We awright back there?"

7. "Bill's in the store...Bill's in the store!..Put it in 'park', Bill's in the store!...Marshall, Bill...is...in...the...store!"

6. The $15 hand wash.

5. Seeing Lebron James' game-winning shot live at Boondock Saints off Bourbon Street.

4. Blinding myself with salad dressing at Mona's...and proceeding to do what had to have looked like an impression of a drunk baby moose stumbling over a log pile.

3. Bill's 'shoulders of seduction' moves...coming soon to YouTube! I'll also do an 'honorable mention' here for Scott and his strip tease act. No video of that one, though.

2. Tina and the 'salsa bottle incident' at Juan's Flying Burrito. And wouldn't you know it, Ray happened to be wearing white?

1. 'I think (or don't think) there's an app for that.'

Live from Athens, Alabama

This morning in Birmingham started off much better, as first thing I took the car over to the gas station across from the hotel to fill it up using my debit card...and it worked. Then I used it again at lunch...and it worked. I'm still done with Chase, as soon as possible after I get back to Seattle.

Speaking of lunch, it was actually breakfast, Creole-style. Ryan Rye and I met up with my friend Allison again (have I mentioned that she's one of my favorite people on the planet?), and followed her up into a fairly ritzy part of Birmingham. We had to maneuver our way through the post-church crowd (and traffic cops...for the post-church crowd), but eventually we sat down to a great breakfast and some hilarity.

Eventually, though, we needed to get on the road. It was sad to say goodbye to Allison again. I don't know many people like her, so I always feel lucky to see her in person. She led us back to the highway, and we were off to Pinson and some Ken's Roadside BBQ!

Umm, not so much. We eventually found Ken's (I'd stopped there in October), but turns out they are closed on Sundays. So we took a quick picture with our mascot, Pete, and headed back out towards the Interstate...which meant we looped back to Birmingham. So after almost 90 minutes of driving, we found ourselves right back where we started. :)

Barbecue stop # 2 in Madison was also closed. *&(%$@#! Seriously? I know it's Sunday in Alabama, but church ended at noon for most people...so, no barbecue this time. Apparently, Memphis has some kick-ass 'cue, so I'm looking forward to that.

We raced thunderstorms the rest of the way up I-65, and made it to our hotel just in time to get dumped on while we ate dinner. It's sunny outside right now, but there are dark clouds all around us. Very, very cool.

For the NOLA crew, keep an eye out later tonight for the first version of this trip's top 10...been working on it all day.

Live from Birmingham

I guess I could say this isn't exactly what I had in mind. After almost not being able to leave New Orleans with clean underwear, Ryan and I managed to get on the road around 1 pm after a quick airport run, and were happy to start the 2009 Music, Mayhem, and Mischief tour, aka Two Went Out, One Came Back. We're off to a bit of a rocky start, what with it raining the entire time through Mississippi and my card getting declined at the hotel in Birmingham (apparently, Chase's method of letting customers know there might be a disruption in accessing their money while 'data conversion' is taking place is purely telekinetic). But some classic rock stations and good memories of the week gone by (a top 10 list will be coming shortly) are keeping us upbeat...if it's possible for both of us to be that way simultaneously.

After taking a few wrong turns en route, we met up with my friend Allison (one of the nicest people on the planet) for a late dinner in the Edgewood neighborhood of Birmingham, and are now settling in for some much needed rest. He's already snoring.

Here's hoping my debit card is functioning again in the morning. If not, someone's going to get a really nasty phone call.