So, this is turning out to be almost diary-like.\u00a0 I hope it’s still interesting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Day 2 – Saturday The home we were working on was a single family home.\u00a0 <\/span>Driving up the block, there were still a number of FEMA trailers in yards, a few homes that were obviously already cleaned up and others that obviously hadn’t been touched.\u00a0 <\/span>You could see the water line on the outside of the houses.\u00a0 <\/span>The line most obvious was where, we were told, the water stayed for a number of weeks – a level a few feet below where it had peaked at the worst of it.\u00a0 <\/span>The line was usually around 5 ft off the ground.\u00a0 <\/span>As we were ‘briefed’ by our co-workers, the other thing I quickly noticed was the search party markings made right after the storm on every house.\u00a0 <\/span>(there are pictures of these in the links below)\u00a0 <\/span>The first thing I always looked at, out of morbid curiosity and fascination, was the bottom section, which told how many dead were found in the home.\u00a0 <\/span>The vast majority of the homes we drove by had a “0”, but ours said “Dog”.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The family’s dead dog was still in the house, wrapped up in a blanket on the bed in one of the bedrooms.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Early in the process of getting everything out of the house, a few people worked together to carry the blanket and dog out of the house.\u00a0 <\/span>We would later bury him (?) out in the back yard under a tree – with someone fashioning a nice little site and even finishing it off with a “Good Dog” on a paver stone marking the site.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Before we could bury him, we had to clear a space in the back yard – which was a landscaper’s nightmare.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Another thing you typically notice driving down these streets was that people’s yards had been left untouched since the storm as well – something like 18 months.\u00a0 <\/span>We needed to tackle at least a part of that in the back before we would be able to bury him.\u00a0 <\/span>Dan became the “weed wacker man”.\u00a0 <\/span>\ud83d\ude42\u00a0 <\/span>He went to town clearing the back yard with a weed wacker for whatever it could handle and then hand tools for whatever the trimmer couldn’t handle.\u00a0 <\/span>As the day went on, others joined us in the back yard.\u00a0 <\/span>Slow, but effective.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Before he started on the landscaping, Dan started working on a shed in the back yard.\u00a0 <\/span>As he started on the yard, I took over on the shed and ended up spending most of the rest of the day back there.\u00a0 <\/span>We needed to strip out the shed just like we were doing the house, down to the studs.\u00a0 <\/span>The owner of the home must have had either a hobby or business working on small engines.\u00a0 <\/span>There were 5 lawnmowers and a ton of small engine parts in and around the shed, in addition to all the pieces and parts in the shed.\u00a0 <\/span>I expected to find critters here and there, and we came across mostly geckos and cockroaches.\u00a0 <\/span>The mother lode was in the cabinet that we dragged out of the shed.\u00a0 <\/span>There must have been a nest or something because I left a trail of cockroaches as I dragged the cabinet from the backyard to the front.\u00a0 <\/span>Eventually, we were able to finish the shed – after cleaning out the contents and tearing out all of the ad-hoc shelving and cabinetry.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I need to mention again the great job the Pohlad folks did with organization.\u00a0 <\/span>They dropped us off and left us with all the supplies we needed, including snacks, water, etc.\u00a0 <\/span>They also returned for lunch with Subway and more snacks.\u00a0 <\/span>Something I hadn’t thought about too much was the bathroom situation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Obviously there were no functioning facilities on-site, so we needed to make a few runs throughout the day.\u00a0 <\/span>While that might have been no big deal here at home, in New Orleans this is complicated by the fact that many of the local businesses have yet to re-open.\u00a0 <\/span>So, we had to find a business that would accommodate us.\u00a0 <\/span>Luckily, there were a few around.\u00a0 <\/span>On the trip I went along on, we stopped at an area mini grocery store.\u00a0 <\/span>While we were waiting our turns we were able to chat with a few of the locals doing their shopping.\u00a0 <\/span>The one gentleman I spoke with was a pastor in the area – who chatted with us for a little bit and let us know how grateful they were that we were down there helping.\u00a0 <\/span>Hearing is story and offers of help for us was very humbling and gratifying.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I can’t remember if there were two or three generations in the home, but there was at least one younger boy living in the home.\u00a0 <\/span>Some of the things that really resonated with me personally were:\u00a0 <\/span>All the toys left in the house.\u00a0 <\/span>I have two boys.\u00a0 <\/span>Knowing how they would feel having to leave all of their toys would just be terrible for them.\u00a0 <\/span>One the wall of the kitchen, there was a sign taped to the wall for “Spelling words”.\u00a0 <\/span>I don’t know why this was something that stood out – it just seemed like a reminder of those everyday things that were disrupted.\u00a0 <\/span>And the fist tanks.\u00a0 <\/span>Someone in the house had a few fish tanks set up – which is also something I have a passion for.\u00a0 <\/span>Seeing all the parts strewn about and broken made the effort more personal for me – silly, I’m sure…<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n One great thing about the day was that we were able to finish the house.\u00a0 <\/span>We cleaned out the entire house and the shed and got the yard back to a manageable level.\u00a0 <\/span>A job well done.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n After getting back and cleaning up, our organizers had evening events planned for us.\u00a0 <\/span>I signed up for the jazz club.\u00a0 <\/span>Little did we know that it also involved a walking tour that would be taken on the way to the jazz club.\u00a0 <\/span>Ouch.\u00a0 <\/span>Between the heat and being beat from the day’s work, I could have done without a walking tour, but the jazz and the food were fantastic.\u00a0 <\/span>A few of us were also able to stop by Caf\u00e9 du Monde<\/a> on the way back for some really good beignets.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Thankfully, they’re open 24 hrs.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>First day of real work.\u00a0 <\/span>Hop in the vans and off to the work sites.\u00a0 <\/span>We lucked out today with a non-typical low humidity day.\u00a0 <\/span>It was still pretty hot, but not having humidity was a tremendous help.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n