A Bunch of Progress

Sorry that I haven't updated this in a while - it's not productive to wait this long because there's been so much that I'm afraid this post will be long-winded, and boring. It's been difficult convincing myself that administrative, operational and logistic details of Camp Premier are anything anyone would want to read (much less do!) Argh. Bear with me as a sort this out...

First, I made my first trip back to civilization last week. I returned to Baton Rouge for almost 18 hours to claim three weeks of unopened mail (oh yeah, I got guilted into working Saturday also). The trip alone was eye-opening. Anyone reading this who's worked at this camp may find this sentiment familiar. Returning to traffic, stores, people, work and bureaucracy is a surreal experience. I had forgotten there was a real world out there where people had electricity, Sonic or even indoor plumbing. Today I cheated and drove to Metairie so that I could buy some new glasses (I lost my only pair in a debris pile), and I went to Burger King. Good grief, how good it was to have a vanilla shake. Ten minutes later I felt guilty because I did.

Anyway, so in Baton Rouge I got my first thank you card from a St. Bernard Parish homeowner, who wanted to thank my husband and me for all of our hard work. I'm glad I had that point of confusion to laugh about so that I didn't just break down and cry when I got it. Not that I want anyone reading this to think I'm some sentimental twit, but living here, sharing this grief and celebration and facing these daily challenges has left me occasionally fragile.

Just yesterday, I was calling this place my home.

This week, we completed about 170 houses with about 60 teams. I think we're around 350 now. Those volunteers reading this who were here when we were a one bus operation should know that now we're reliably scheduling and dispatching about 20 buses/day. Next week, it's going to be closer to 40, maybe even 50 as we have about 1100 HfH volunteers arriving, along with the 200 or so Samaritan's Purse and 60 AmeriCorps NCCC. I think we're scheduling for about 100 teams. This is after a bit of fanfare (and confusion). Probably you've read in the news about President Bush touring the area (I think he missed us. I had a funny idea about a where's the President post. I would walk along the French Quarter and take photos at Café Du Monde, the River Walk and Bourbon Street, but that would take time and effort of which I have none extra to give), and then Franklin and Billy Graham are here, and even broadcasted live from Camp Premier this past Wednesday night. All of a sudden, we seem to be getting a lot of federal support - this just hours after we had to tell 600 HfH volunteers that Camp Premier couldn't provide housing for them - and promptly called them back after we got a different story today. Argh, the complexity of a fragile partnership between the federal government, the parish government, service and volunteer organizations.

I hope the tone of this doesn't leave the wrong impression. I've received encouragement from volunteers who've assured me that they felt productive, and they're surprised at both the accommodations and the amount they've been able to accomplish. Federal employees have been asking us how we're doing what we're doing. Where's our SOP? What's been documented? I don't know if they want to tell us how we've been doing it wrong or (more likely) how the heck have we been able to do what we've done so far. I choose to believe the latter, because it makes me feel as though we're doing something right. I've even heard this organization proposed as a model. Heh, that just makes me laugh. Still, it's cool.

I don't even know if I have a point right now (I definitely shouldn't be trying to write this). I just wanted everyone to know that volunteers are coming and it will be steady for a while. It's a cool thing to see how much this has grown.

Sorry for all of the parenthetical asides. Writing was never my strong suit (did I just use a cliche? woops, sorry for that also), and I'm just kind of journaling right now - although this is not supposed to be a journal. I promise, I'll do better next time.

Soon, I'm going to do a post on how awesome AmeriCorps NCCC is and how they are the organization that has ensured the continued success of this operation. Until then, just trust me on that one.

If you're still reading this (I feel sorry for you), I did find the Gold Star Diner and talked to BJ, the owner. He plans to open a week from today, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I want to go eat there (I don't care what's he's serving) and then take a nap.