I have so much to tell you all! This happens to be my first blog {SORRY} of the entire trip, so I will be covering as much of my week as possibly.
Sunday, January 9th-Wake up call
We began our day with some normal, "up-North" breakfast (pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, omelets, etc.) on Decatur St in the French Quarter in New Orleans after deciding that not to wait on the very huge line that snaked outside of the popular Cafe Du Mond's doors. Tummies full, we broke into our scavanger hunt groups and began the adrenaline rush. Our list consisted of a range of activities which included (but was not limited to) being very friendly to complete strangers, visiting certain hot spots in The Quarter, and tasting beignets.
We then got hit with a painful, yet inspiring look at New Orleans. Just as described in countless articles, about 80% of the homes have been repaired. Unfortunately, that number does not seem to be accurate when you take a look at the Lower Ninth Ward. Apart from the twenty or so homes funded (and apparently built) by Brad Pitt, there were very few homes that have been rebuilt. None of the homes in the Lower Ninth were in good enough condition to need only repairs after sitting in eight feet of water (minimally) for over a month. As a result, the Lower Ninth had been completely bulldozed and consisted of huge plots of land which were once known to hold dozens of homes. Every so often, there were piles of debris or a set of cement stairs--a symbol of what once was.
Monday, January 10th-Work Day # 1
Booker! As described by some other blogger, our morning began with delegation of duties and picking our sites. I chose Mr. Booker's house and was fortunate enough to meet him on the first day. He's a 71 year old, inspiring homeowner who is very knowledgeable about construction and home repairs. He actually built the majority of the scaffolding that we stood on in order to remove the siding from the right side of his house. Just saying...
Prior to beginning to work on the exterior of his house, Mr. Booker pulled us inside to give us a tour of his very beautiful, but damaged home. We learned about his family, and his story. He showed us all the damage that Katrina itself had done to his house. Booker's house hadn't even been flooded, but suffered severe water and wind damage. The entire guest-house/back-house was destroyed and pulled away from the main house, leaving a gaping hole in the wall of one of his rooms that he covered with a giant slab of wood. His rooms were filled with the personal items of loved ones that he hadn't had the time to sift through or the heart to discard. He showed us pictures of his son who had passed due to the violence in New Orleans and his daughter who was away looking after her sick mother.
Mr. Booker let us see the collapsed backhouse from the inside and told us that he was very eager to tear it down but was still waiting for Road Home to give him the money to help pay for the demolition. He said they had finally sent him the paperwork declaring that part of the house unsafe and offering to help pay for it to be removed. He's still waiting for the check to arrive (5 years later)...
We walked outside having heard and seen the full extent of the damage--knowing that the road to recovery was a very long and trying one for Mr. Booker. For a moment, I felt useless and lost and so I picked up a hammer and did the one thing I could do to help. We began by prying the siding off the areas that we could reach and removed the nails that had been holding the siding in place. After lunch, we reinforced the scaffolding in the areas that were weak and began building more scaffold in order to access more siding that was impossible to reach safely with a ladder.
To my surprise, Mr. Booker worked alongside us the entire time, teaching us how to do things properly as we worked. He was very willing to answer any questions we had, which was fun. We spoke of his life and his youth. Mr. Booker told us that he played football and that he sang in a group called Swiss Movement that opened for The Temptations. This little fun fact is what gave away his age. I had to ask. He then shocked most of my group by stating that he was 71! Seventy-one and climbing up these scaffolds without a care. Seventy-one turning seventy-two tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 11th-Happy Birthday Arthur!
Our workday got off to a slow start due to the absence of our very energetic homeowner. He had explained to us that he would not be able to work with us again until Thursday, since he had to take care of his mother who has Alzheimer's. It took a while for Duncan Duncan Duncan to bring us the supplies we needed to continue to build the scaffold, but once he did, there was no stopping Team Booker! We learned how to use a staple gun and practiced our hammering like there was no tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 12th-"I wanna be on ya team"
So, apparently, Team Booker really did an excellent job talking up Mr. Booker because by day 3, 3 more people showed up to work at his house than Darryl (boss-man) had intended to have. Boo yaah!!! We reinforced and added to the scaffolding by cutting two by fours a length of roughly 116 inches to lay across as our floor. We also used this length for our banisters; so that we wouldn't fall off the scaffold ("ya know?"). I learned that certain people are afraid of unstable scaffolds, while others aren't and that some people can't keep their tools in their hands. I also learned that some people are amazing with a hammer, while others work best with a staple gun. Oh yeah, and that dust can find its way to your eyeballs despite a pair of prescription glasses and a set of safety glasses! GOOD TIMES.
Thursday, January 13th- Art Team--Intruder Alert! plus paparazzi
Today we began by making sure the flooring was in place and ripping off the last of the siding that was within reach from the scaffold that we had installed. Once that was done, we began cutting insulation and placing it within the gaps of the house. This required plenty of teamwork, since we had to measure and cut the insulation, then stuff it along the side of the house between levels (floors) in the scaffold.
A-Rod showed up to meet Mr. Booker, but we put her to work. Dave Karas followed shortly after to 'make it happen'. And then, the man that everyone had been waiting for--Mr Booker arrived. He let random members of the Team Art take photos with him and let us read the cards that he had received for his birthday. We exchanged information and vowed to keep in touch. Before long, the day was over.
Friday, January 14th- Half-day?! What the ...? Errr. Bye Booker!
The day began with the news that we were only going to have half a workday, which worked for the amount of sleep I had the night prior, but not for the level of enthusiasm I had for my work site. I believe I speak for everyone on Team Booker when I say that we wanted to get as far along in the project as humanly possible before the day ended and were kind of disappointed to only be working until noon that day.
As we waited for materials to arrive, we began to caulk the left side of his house so that it could be finished with some paint. It was getting late in the day (relative to the time we would have to be leaving) and Team Booker was getting antsy, so I called him. He came shortly after and lifted our spirits. We worked pass the time that we were told to because we were all enjoying his company. He implored us to ask anything we could think of--"Anything ya'll wanna know"--and so we did. We found out more about his past and his outlook on life in New Orleans. Nikki (Nicole Thompson) asked him to name a popular song that he sang with Swiss Movement and he said "For the Moment". Look it up, it's not bad. =P
"Team Booker go hard!"-Roger
Mr. Booker let us see the collapsed backhouse from the inside and told us that he was very eager to tear it down but was still waiting for Road Home to give him the money to help pay for the demolition. He said they had finally sent him the paperwork declaring that part of the house unsafe and offering to help pay for it to be removed. He's still waiting for the check to arrive (5 years later)...
We walked outside having heard and seen the full extent of the damage--knowing that the road to recovery was a very long and trying one for Mr. Booker. For a moment, I felt useless and lost and so I picked up a hammer and did the one thing I could do to help. We began by prying the siding off the areas that we could reach and removed the nails that had been holding the siding in place. After lunch, we reinforced the scaffolding in the areas that were weak and began building more scaffold in order to access more siding that was impossible to reach safely with a ladder.
To my surprise, Mr. Booker worked alongside us the entire time, teaching us how to do things properly as we worked. He was very willing to answer any questions we had, which was fun. We spoke of his life and his youth. Mr. Booker told us that he played football and that he sang in a group called Swiss Movement that opened for The Temptations. This little fun fact is what gave away his age. I had to ask. He then shocked most of my group by stating that he was 71! Seventy-one and climbing up these scaffolds without a care. Seventy-one turning seventy-two tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 11th-Happy Birthday Arthur!
Our workday got off to a slow start due to the absence of our very energetic homeowner. He had explained to us that he would not be able to work with us again until Thursday, since he had to take care of his mother who has Alzheimer's. It took a while for Duncan Duncan Duncan
Wednesday, January 12th-"I wanna be on ya team"
So, apparently, Team Booker really did an excellent job talking up Mr. Booker because by day 3, 3 more people showed up to work at his house than Darryl (boss-man) had intended to have. Boo yaah!!! We reinforced and added to the scaffolding by cutting two by fours a length of roughly 116 inches to lay across as our floor. We also used this length for our banisters; so that we wouldn't fall off the scaffold ("ya know?"). I learned that certain people are afraid of unstable scaffolds, while others aren't and that some people can't keep their tools in their hands. I also learned that some people are amazing with a hammer, while others work best with a staple gun. Oh yeah, and that dust can find its way to your eyeballs despite a pair of prescription glasses and a set of safety glasses! GOOD TIMES.
Thursday, January 13th- Art Team--Intruder Alert! plus paparazzi
Today we began by making sure the flooring was in place and ripping off the last of the siding that was within reach from the scaffold that we had installed.
A-Rod showed up to meet Mr. Booker, but we put her to work. Dave Karas followed shortly after to 'make it happen'. And then, the man that everyone had been waiting for--Mr Booker arrived. He let random members of the Team Art take photos with him and let us read the cards that he had received for his birthday. We exchanged information and vowed to keep in touch. Before long, the day was over.
Friday, January 14th- Half-day?! What the ...? Errr. Bye Booker!
The day began with the news that we were only going to have half a workday, which worked for the amount of sleep I had the night prior, but not for the level of enthusiasm I had for my work site. I believe I speak for everyone on Team Booker when I say that we wanted to get as far along in the project as humanly possible before the day ended and were kind of disappointed to only be working until noon that day.
As we waited for materials to arrive, we began to caulk the left side of his house so that it could be finished with some paint. It was getting late in the day (relative to the time we would have to be leaving) and Team Booker was getting antsy, so I called him. He came shortly after and lifted our spirits. We worked pass the time that we were told to because we were all enjoying his company. He implored us to ask anything we could think of--"Anything ya'll wanna know"--and so we did. We found out more about his past and his outlook on life in New Orleans. Nikki (Nicole Thompson) asked him to name a popular song that he sang with Swiss Movement and he said "For the Moment". Look it up, it's not bad. =P
"Team Booker go hard!"-Roger
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