Katrina: Aftermath (Part 3) (413 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.8 on 5 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Goose <goosehkr at hotmail dot com> (View user info) at 2005-10-04 12:44:37 EDT
I was part of a relief crew that went down to Louisiana in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, which I announced on uber at http://www.ubersite.com/m/74377 . This is the second part of the story of what happened on the way down and in the disaster area itself.
Part 1 - http://www.ubersite.com/m/76034
Part 2 - http://www.ubersite.com/m/76152
Sunday, 04 September 2005
Today was our first day on the job. Our boss woke us up at 4:30 in the morning after a remarkably uncomfortable night. It was the first time I had slept since we left the DC/Metro area, and we were fitting 10 people in a 6-person RV. I spent the night in the shotgun seat in the front, which actually tilted back and wasn't so bad, I suppose, compared to the floor. I still wound up with a stiff neck. We were out and about and hiking down to the mess tent before the sun was up.
The mess tent was one of three structures that had already been built, the others being a small clinic and the commandant of the camp's staff office and sleeping quarters. The mess was staffed completely with locals, since they were trying to put as many people who had lost everything in the hurricane to work as they could, and the cooking was fantastic. As an almost-lifelong northerner, I had never been exposed to real Cajun cooking. As the whitest mick on the planet, the spiciest food I can handle is roughly potato, so I was a little worried at first, but it was (thankfully) the first time I was able to appreciate the use of spice as a flavor enhancer, not as a "sweet Jesus my mouth is on fire water water water!" reaction provoker.
By 5:30, the sun was starting to come up, and the temperature was already hitting 85 degrees. We moved up to where the first tent was going up, and the process of laying down the floors was explained to us. First, a tent measuring roughly 100 ft. by 50 ft. was raised, and then the floor was laid underneath it. The flooring started as rows of 14 ft. long 4"x6" beams laid out two feet apart the entire length and width of the tent. Then, 4'x6' sheets pf plywood were laid on top of the beams, flushed, and then screwed down. We also met up with our other crew, a group of Hispanic guys from Indiana. The idea was that the first day would be spend learning how to finish the entire process by doing it ourselves, and then as the week went on each of us would each be put in charge of local crews.
As soon as we got into the flow, it took about 90 minutes to lay down all of the beams, and then two and a half hours to finish the plywood. Each tent covered about 5,000 square feet. This particular camp was scheduled to have 250,000 square feet of tent space, devoted to National Guard barracks and field hospitals. Also, keep in mind that there had been a little rain in the area lately, which means that all of the wood was waterlogged. A 14' beam normally weighs in between 45 and 60 pounds. The wet ones weighed 75 to 80. The temperature the first day hit 105 degrees with, and I wasn't even sure this was possible, 115% humidity. This was going to be a long trip.
Fourteen hours later, we were released for dinner, and I ate the greatest meal I have ever had - Louisiana shrimp etoufeé. We went back to the camper, each took a couple of hits out of the bottle of whiskey I had brought along (remember, I'm Irish) and passed out.
Monday, 05 September 2005
Our boss woke us up again at 4:30, and we limped down to breakfast. Down there waiting for us were the local crews we would be taking charge of. They were all black men, aged anywhere in between 20 and 35 years, and they were eating as though that hadn't had a scrap in a week. It turned out that that was actually the case. On our way out, everyone grabbed a couple of bottles of water, and we set out for the site.
The first to go down was a skinny kid everyone called "Toothpick". He was on John's crew, who were working one tent down from mine. Straight out of a Three Stooges routine, one of the other members of his crew put a beam up on his shoulder and turned to his left, and caught Toothpick directly in the throat with the corner of the wood.
I don't remember the Three Stooges bleeding quite as much, though.
The second to go down was actually one of our people, the ones I had come down with from DC - Amelia had managed to get an infection in one of her fillings, and timed it just so we were miles away from medical care. She worked through it though, which I thought was pretty goddamned impressive.
On the crew I was supervising (well, I say supervising - I was still carrying stuff around, except this time I was the one telling people where it went), we had a guy that everyone called red. He was one of the older guys, and he was absolutely hysterical. If you've seen Robin William's "Live on Broadway", think about the voice he uses when describing the swamp voodoo psychic. That's how this guy talked; I wanted to bring him home with me.
We worked until it got too dark to line up the screws that were keeping down the flooring. We had worked our asses off and managed to finish over 200,000 square feet of flooring. We all headed down to the mess, and then the local crews were paid for the day and they disappeared into the night. We were told to report to the clinic at 0530 and to get plenty of sleep, because we were moving tomorrow. Rumors began to instantly circulate about where we were going. We spent our last night in Port Allen lock throwing the football, and teaching the Spanish guys rude English slang. I think the one I was most amused by was "Kadunkadunk - you know, junk in the trunk." It became their mantra for the next three days.
TBC
User Reviews
Submitted by kimmy02721 (user info) at 2005-10-21 12:54:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
admirable.
Submitted by Bizantine (user info) at 2005-10-20 13:41:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2005-10-19 21:53:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
How'd I miss this? And when are you going to continue it?
I ordered crawfish etouffee in New Orleans. I like a good bit of spice, but being in Cajun country, I was tentative. I was told it's just a *little* spicy- complete with the inch-between-thumb-and-forefinger sign. WRONG. En fuego. They must be laughing inside every time they describe heat to a tourist. It was still delicious, though.
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-10-05 08:08:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Comment.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-10-04 16:15:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment