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Published: March 7th 2006
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Chillin'
This poor panda is homeless, and yet seems to have a smile on its face. It is symbolic of the sights I see here. Today was quite a display of contrasts: outdoors building a fence to indoors taking appointments; outdoors shooting wildlife photos to indoors at a smokey bowling alley. I loved it.
1. Volunteers Rock!
Today, I had the privilege of hanging out at the nearby bowling alley in Diamondhead with the AmeriCorps staff. They meet there every Thursday night to chill and have fun. I was shocked to see some of these 40 twenty-something people walking around with bowling bags! Well, at the bowling alley, I spoke with several people who were so proud of the corp and the young people (high school and college kids) for coming to town and truly providing the type of assistance that residents really need to start to get their lives back on track through volunteer hours mucking houses, picking up trash, and offering general assistance everywhere. One story is Josh, an AmeriCorps NCCC staff member, who saw Shirley, a 74-year-old lady who returned to her home this week and was throwing insulation out her window. He spoke with her, noted that she was elderly, hadn't been back to her house in 6 months, and could really use assistance mucking. He sent over a crew
Still Waiting for Someone to Empty It
This dishwasher, filled with dishes, is symbolic of how indiscriminate the hurricane was, but also how discrimninate the clean up process is. that afternoon, and over the next 2 days, 20 students came through and throughly mucked her house down to the studs! Not only did he receive a thank you card, but her son was at the bowling alley, and gave Josh a hug, and sent over 4 pitchers of beer to thank the AmeriCorp staff and volunteers, four of whom were from Michigan and were in attendance at the bowling bash. Another man was just gushing with pride over the continued and constant support the volunteers have provided, and bought them 6 pitchers of beer, especially since he served under the GI bill and was so well taken care of by the government that he wanted to show his appreciation. The bowling center's manager announced over the loudspeaker that the AmeriCorps staff and volunteers were in lanes 1-4 and that the beer was given to them in appreciation of their hard work in the community by these two gentlemen.
2. Go with the flow is the order of the day.
I started my day off building a fence, followed up by taking appointments for case work with the Salvation Army, and finished at a bowling alley. Some of
Nature and Humans Are Back
This blue heron is just hanging around, probably hoping for a free meal from the fishing vessels, mostly shrimp boats, at the harbor, which was nearly destroyed. these things were just going with the flow. During the day, I added a stop at the temporary library, drove around the NW side of town and near the bayou, finally took some artistic photos, saw the Gospel Singers of America share their talents, observed the Pass Recovery steering committee discuss their direction for helping the townsfolk, and hung out in a smokey bowling alley in Diamondhead with the AmeriCorps volunteers and their hangerson. What a go with the flow day. It was grrreattt, as Tony the Tiger would say.
3. Shock & awe still abound.
This afternoon, I met two very special ladies. One is Brittany Proby, an 11th grader at DeLisle School, the combined high school and primary public school for both Pass Christian High School students, and all the elementary and middle school students in town and the neighboring county area. She was finishing training for a big track meet this Saturday. She is a sprinter, and runs all the relays, and told me that she hopes to get a scholarship to SMU (Southern MIssissippi University). She's got lots of energy, and is very excited about finishing high school and going to college. However, she
The Harbor
This harbor is one of the lifeblood pieces of the town. Without a dock for the shrimp boats, the fresh fish would be coming from another county, and the small businesses that survive with the shrimpers would not come back. said that they lost all their track equipment, training gear, and uniforms. So, she introduced me to her coach, Patricia Barr, who coaches the track team, girls basketball team, and teaches special ed at the high school. This wonderful lady was so happy to hear someone take an interest in the kids and their sporting needs. I only hope that I can help make her wishes turn into reality. She did not know who to turn to for assistance with the kids' athletic needs, and seemed to be shocked that someone would take an interest, and in awe that there is support available in town. This sentiment was carried forward by Lou who initially was shocked that with all the advertising going on, someone could not know where to turn for help. However, I had just heard a group discussion saying that the usual town leaders who would be tapped for the Pass Recovery steering committee still seemed to be in shock over their circumstances, 6 months after the hurricane. But, on reflection, he could see how some residents can be so overloaded with meeting their immediate family needs that they cannot really consider something ancillary such as seeking assistance at this time.
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