My Relief Trip™ Reflections: Part 2

Signs of America
Originally uploaded by Jules Verne.

Many times I heard people say this past week, "and this is in AMERICA," insinuating, of course, that such tragedies don't happen here in our golden country. At least, if they happen, they don't sit for so long, months later still looking like the most elaborate Hollywood set for a disaster movie ever seen. Many people I spoke to, both before and after the trip, were under the impression that things were getting pretty well cleaned up. And why should they think any differently? With the media moved on to bigger, better, and less tired news stories, many in our country are left in the dark concerning the dismal reality on the Gulf Coast. A friend of mine, who lives down there and is an active part of the restoration, shared with me the general timeline that people down there are operating under. The first phase, the emergency phase, is approximately 30 days and entails an accounting of all persons involved in the tragedy, both the living and the dead. The second phase, the clean-up phase, takes 10 times the amount of time as the first; or 300 days, or about 10 months. We are now 2 months into this phase. So why were we surprised when our group walked into houses that hadn't been TOUCHED since the disaster? It was a like a haunting perfect preservation of that day, which while squinting in the bright sunlight, was hard to even imagine. The third phase, rebuilding, is estimated to take 8 to 10 years. This is just the beginning, folks, and your fellow countrymen still need you. At the very least, they need you to not to forget about them. Keep them in your prayers. I dealt with it for 7 days; they were dealing with way before I got there and are still dealing with it. The lucky ones are living in a FEMA trailer on their property. And everyday these residents wake up and see the devastation all over again. Imagine the depression that must settle in after days, weeks and months of this. I'm asking that you remember, pray, and ask questions. If the media does not give you an accurate picture, then seek out answers, if only out of respect for these Americans. Whatever you do, don't assume that everything is getting back to normal. It couldn't be farther from it.

My Relief Trip™ Reflections: Part 1

Pre mud-out, bedroom

Pre mud-out, facing kitchen

Post mud-out, facing kitchen

Post mud-out, outside

I’m back from Mississippi a little more tired, a lot more aware, and tons more blessed than when I left. I am going to try and post something about the trip everyday this week. It’s too hard to try and put it all together in one, so you guys will get sputterings of my post-trip thoughts in the form of stories, lists, and pictures. Here’s my first, non-commital, non-deep entry. I realized about halfway through the week that a new vocabulary set had now become commonplace in my everyday speech. Here’s my dedication to key words and phrases I used/heard more this week than I ever have in my life… and some for the very first time ever.

Katrina cough (common side effect of all the dust and mold on both residents and volunteers to the area)
Mud-out (see above; complete cleaning out of a house including all debris, drywall, flooring, duct work, nails… all the way down to the studs, leaving it ready to be rebuilt)
Muck-out (which is it anyways?)
Where’s my crowbar? (I quite possibly have never asked this question before in my life.)
Insulation (swam in it on Monday)
Fiberglass (all over my person after said “swim,” including my eyelids. Ouch.)
Devastation (everywhere)
Destruction (less popular alternative to “devastation”)
Ew, water! (the smallest amount of polluted water found in any house was a cause for announcement... just don’t spill it.)
I hate gnats (they swarmed and ate us alive)
Immaculate (our goal)
Flexibility (our theme)
FEMA (people either love ‘em or hate ‘em… mostly depends on if you have your trailer yet or not)
Triad (in this case, a group of 3 white 15-passenger vans travelling together; we had 3 triads. ours was also known as the "Troy-ad" due to the inclusion of our fearless leader, Mark Troyer)
Blessing, Hope, Thank You (words spoken many times over by the residents we served)

Harry Potter and Mississippi
It's about 1:30 am and I just got home from seeing the 4th installment of the Harry Potter series brought to life, The Goblet of Fire. And in about 2 hours (that's right, TWO), my alarm will sound signaling it's time to head off to Pass Christian, Mississippi for My Relief Trip™. Sounds crazy I know, but missing the Potter premiere before I left for a week was not an option; and I don't regret it (go see it now!) Forgive me if I don't write more but I must attend to my "nap." I would greatly appreciate all your thoughts and prayers for us this week. Happy Thanksgiving. I'll catch you on the flip side.

My Relief Trip™
It's similar to "My eBay," "My Yahoo!" or the myriad of other personally customizable nuggets of your life. I've read on many people's blogs about their own experiences with the hurricane-ravaged areas of our country. This, however, is My Relief Trip™.

On November 19-26, I will miss Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh for the first time in my 28 years and travel to Pass Christian, MS with a group of approximately 70 students and faculty/staff from Asbury College. A handful or so of other "community members/alums," including 3 other Cre8tive Group-ers, will also be a part of the team providing relief to this hard hit area. I'm sure I will tell you much more about My Relief Trip™ in the upcoming weeks. However, I first wanted to share with everyone pictures of the area. As you'll see, it was a beautiful town, with a lot of gorgeous, old southern mansions.

Before & After Pictures of Pass Christian, MS

Wilmore to the Pass: Operation Restoration, Official Site

Creepiness Continues To Reign

Nude photos lead to arrest
Police say man used hidden camera to photograph woman
By MICHAEL W. HOSKINS
Staff writer, The Johnson County Daily Journal (Indiana)

A clock radio in a Greenwood woman's bedroom and bathroom was doing more than telling her the time or playing tunes. The woman's personal trainer is accused of giving her the digital clock radio with a video camera inside as a gift and recording more than 400 images of her, police said. Will Lenzy, 57, of 720 Woodale Terrace, Apt. 16 in Greenwood, was arrested Tuesday on charges of voyeurism with an electronic device, a felony, and harassment, a misdemeanor. Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner said Thursday his office is reviewing the case before deciding what charges to file. This could be one of the first crimes of its kind in Johnson County and one of the few reported in Central Indiana, Greenwood police Chief Joe Pitcher said. "It's eerie," Pitcher said. "Who knows where those images may have ended up." The two met at Bally Total Fitness, where Lenzy was a trainer for the woman, according to a probable-cause affidavit. Lenzy helped her move furniture and gave her the clock as a gift, which he then used to record images of the woman in her bedroom and bathroom during the next four months, the report said.

Now, I'm not criticizing this woman for accepting the clock without question. How would she know this guy was a pervert—and a technologically gifted one at that? But an alarm clock is sort of a weird gift, unless it was special in some way (also mowed your lawn or cost $200 or something). So, because people have to go on and be all psychotic and crap, my advice is this: just don't trust people. Particularly people you meet at the gym. In fact, you better not get a personal trainer at all. If you do and they give you some housewarming present other than like, cookware or a blanket, question it immediately. Take it apart and study its functionality if necessary. When it turns out to be harmless, throw said gift away because you have no idea how to get it back together. Unfortunately people like this are going to turn us all into paranoid delusionals. Luckily I already have some experience with that.