On Tuesday, my mission rip continued and marked our first day of work. I have tried to included quotations from some of the characters I have met. Consider them representative of the speaker's personality.
The day started exceedingly early. Breakfast was served at 6 am in conjunction with a message from a local preacher who speaks every morning. Fortunately, I had been forewarned about him. The man may very well possess every negative Souther Baptist stereotype. In his message he actually speculated that God initiated Katrina because we volunteers had been wavering in our faith and needed to be put into service. I will not begin to comment on the theological framework that could produce that insight. Amazingly, I kept my mouth shut in real time as well.
Our van left promptly at 6:45 am. I was so covered with sunscreen and bug spray that I seriously questioned if an insect bite could reach my skin. As I type this, it appears the excessive precaution worked.
Our van was loaded with the five volunteers from the day before (myself included) plus James Williams (JW, not professional wrestler Jimmy Garvin though that is his real name.) Of our six workers, three were namd James. This Jamdes was raised in Jacksonville, FL, and lives in Smyrna, TN. He was a huge blessing. Though he is a white collar worker by day, his father was a carpenter and he often assisted his father as a child. He was also tall which added at least one row to every wall we sided, Plus he was just great company.
On route to our work site, we could see the area had been ravaged by the hurricane. We were in the heart of the tidal surge where waves ranged from four to twenty-six feet high. We saw where boats (some salvageable) had floated into trees and people had cut themselves out of their roofs to evacuate. A new addition to the restoration is the “Katrina Cottage”. They have emerged relatively recently and ae being marketed as "a dignified alternative to the FEMA trailer."
We arrived at our site in nearby Pass Christian, Mississippi, and joined a crew of eighteen. Our site is part of a “blitz.” This means that the entire structure has been erected in the past two weeks. As you can see from the picture, it is elevated ten feet off of the ground in the event of another natural disaster. Most of the houses volunteers work on look similar to this one. Presently, there are seven homes being worked on by my group alone.
We became the first crew from Central Baptist Church of Bearden to merge with volunteers from other churches. This was due in part to our crew missing Monday’s shift on account of the Franklin Graham Festival in Knoxville.
The night before, a man named Kevin from White Pine, Tennessee (wearing a black “Christian redneck” (and proud of it) shirt) approached us and informed us that he had signed on for a month. He lamented that this week marked his lowest number of volunteers and that our five-man skeleton crew would fit nicely into his team. We were sold (he had me at "White Pine") and we received approval from Jocelyn to work on his team.
I thoroughly enjoyed Kevin. He ridiculed everyone’s work just like a real construction crew chief, but without profanity and in a knowingly "loving" manner. His personality and voice greatly resemble Larry the Cable Guy. For instance, he came down a ladder and after loudly breaking wind asked, “Chan, what did you say? I know you said something.” He lived up (down?) to his t-shirt from the previous evening. We engaged in banter throughout the day, each ridiculing the other's work. I was obviously being facetious as he was a great leader. He kept the crew on track and made the day far more enjoyable. (Note: The real Kevin is in the next photo with the residents of the house. He is the one who is not Vietnamese.)
The owner of the home at 334 Hunter was named Trong Van Phan. He is a father of seven and has one grandchild. He had lived in Mississippi for ninteen years working as a fisherman until evacuating to Birmingham when Katrina hit. Members of his family came by and served us egg rolls and rice pasta for lunch. The food was amazingly good. The trip is known for adding weight to volunteers. One man said that it made him “fat as a handsaw.” That expression was new to me.
I was also impressed by the woman’s woven Asian sun hat. I do not know if I have ever seen one live. If Americans were concerned with practicality, they would be popular here.
The group
subdivided shortly after we arrived. I was in a group of eight responsible for siding the house. Due to a mild case of acrophobia, I joined the ground crew with JCI, HEM, and a Dandridge resident named Jerry. Jerry had the most crucial job of the entire operation. He was the “cut man.” He operated a variety of saws and cut them to the specifications we gave him. Without the correct sized wood, there would be nothing for anyone else to do. This is a photo of my cohorts on the ground crew hard at work.
I got to know HEM a little. He is retired from the local social security office and now travels with his wife as his health and finances allow. My favorite line of his on the dayconcerned his decision to partake of the dewberries (very similar to blackberries) on the lot. He opted to eat them even though he was sure they would give him “the trots.”
JCI also had several good lines. In correcting one of Jerry’s cuts, he explained straight-faced, “We want a trapezoid, not a parallelogram.” Later in the day, when MLM was seeking his yellow hammer, he responded, “A yellow hammer is a bird..the state bird of Alabama.” As usual, he is correct.
Our scaffold crew was comprised of MLM, JW, occasionally Kevin, and a grizzly looking man named Don. They took measurements and when we created the lumber they needed, they nailed it to the side of the house. This is a picture of Don (left) and JW shortly after we began. You can tell by a photo at the end of the day how much progress was made.
Don was awesome. He has worked at Camp Ba-Yo-Ca since 1987 and full-time since 1992. He drives the bus and makes balloon animals for the children. He did that at the local church we are staying at on Sunday. My favorite Don moment came at the end of the day. Determined to get one more row of siding on, he mounted a ladder atop an unsteady scaffolding. He turned to me and asked, “Daring, ain’t it?” It certainly blurred the line between bravery and stupidity but Don came out of it unscathed.
We were better equipped than any group MLM has led. Not because of our talent, but the resources at our disposal. We had access to our own tool unit and a lift. This made our efforts far easier. Due to my relatively young age, I did much of the lifting, so the machine to the right saved me a great deal of trouble.
What did I do you ask? JW elected me point man. I learned a lot of construction jargon and I think point man means the untalented guy who runs errands for his more talented group. Actually, I set up the scaffolding, helped Jerry cut all day, and yes, ran errands. A lot of errands. It was nice to work on a project where I could visibly see the progress as we worked. Though I love preaching and teaching, the results are seldom visible immediately.
We worked until five o’clock. The weather was very cooperative (ironic, considering the cause of our trip). Gulfport weather is quite chilly in the morning and warm in the evening. It was sunny yet breezy all day. The fact that the home is being built on ten foot beams benefitted us as it provided a shady place to work. We got as much siding done as can be done at this point. An inspector also came by and approved the wiring which opened the door to drywall tomorrow. Don’t get to excited for me.
After work, I ate at Applebees. On the way, I past the World’s Largest Rocking Chair at 11451 Canal Road, in Gulfport. It stands 35 feet tall and is constructed from southern pine. Evidently it is a Gulport landmark.
The meal was great as usual. The potato skins were better than in Knoxville and I received a half-priced appetizer before 10 pm. Were I to rate Applebees by state, Mississippi leads Tennessee and Georgia in that order.
While there, I witnessed a strange confrontation. There were two sets of friends sitting at the bar. Both groups were more than a little tipsy when the subject of standup comedians came up. One man noted that he had once been one while someone from the other group doubted his claim. So, the drunken man performed his standup act. Thus, I received free “entertainment.” The act was well polished. It was just not overly funny.
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