A couple of updates.
First, there have been several good stories on NPR coming from BSL.
Here is a quick list. Listen at your leisure.
Second, I got a note from a stranger who lives in the area who saw this thread and wanted to thank me for my concern and my help. Wow. That was a nice surprise. It was a nice letter and also included some tips on what to expect and I found that very helpful. The whole letter was very encouraging. I may or may not meet this person in BSL, but I will be thinking of them. Thank you very much.
Next, we had our planning meeting last weekend. I got to meet the other five members of my team. There are three men and three women. Two younger, two my age, two older, one of each sex. What was the name of Noah's dinghy?
I am the treasurer and one of two designated drivers. We fly Saturday morning Seattle to Houston, Houston to Jackson. We're expecting a van in Jackson. We've been instructed to top off the tank in Hattiesburg, even if we're not low. The whole idea is to place the minimum load on the local environment. It's not exactly Leave No Trace camping, but I will be very conscious of it. We'll be buying our own groceries before we get to town, and any supplies we may need.
I have been told that there's a Wal-Mart and a Home Depot within about 30 miles. That will come in handy as we have decided not to pack any tools. The only gear I'll be taking is my own personal safety gear, hat, gloves, goggles, masks, respirator, boots, etc. Anything else toolwise I'll get on site, or in Gulfport, 30 miles east.
Speaking of which, I want to take a minute and acknowledge my employers. They have been uniformly generous and supportive of the whole project from day one. In fact, when this was all happening, they announced they'd match any employee contributions. Nice.
When I asked for the time off for this project, I intended to take a week of my vacation time to do so. It's my time, I figured, I'll just have a coastal "vacation". My boss says "Oh no. We'll cover your time." Nice. Unexpected and nice. And tools? Here's the company credit card. Use your judgement. Bring receipts. Wow. My administrative costs are zero, so you can bet his help will be placed directly on the hurt. Class. It's this kind of personal generosity that inspires my loyalty. Thank you, all of you, at work. Those who will be picking up my slack, those who will be paying the bills, and to those of you who will be patiently stockpiling your problems to ambush me with upon my return. Just kidding. I am indebted to you all.
We will probably be spending a lot of time mucking out houses. For those structures still standing, the water damage from the storm surge ruined the remaining contents of their spared homes. I heard talk of drywall hiding sopping insulation. It's all got to come out. Once it's down, and dragged out of the house and to the curb, FEMA will take it away. We've also been told that some lumberjack duty may await us. Boss said I'm clear to get a couple of chainsaws if I see fit. I respect a chainsaw. For those jobs where it's the right tool, nothing else will do. Well, nothing you can buy at Home Depot. Ammo Depot, maybe, but that's not my bag.
I had my doctor followup today, set two of three in my hepatitis a/b series. My arm's sore.
I'm using this thread as my main journal at this time, but I will be taking a camera and posting the pics at my blog. I'm sure I'll get a couple here too. I will be taking pencil and notepad for my non electronic journalling onsite.
I'm feeling kind of scattered now. I'm gonna go home and finish packing. See you all tomorrow.