HumpDay

We pick up a few new members on the Tools Teams: Drew (driver), Ashley & Liz (both assistants). The three are all from Americorps, and hit the ground running with tools deliveries, and are up to anything that is asked of them.

The day goes pretty well, although we need a few items (ball hitch for Big Red, supplies for 'No Parking' signs which will be used in the new tools area that we're moving to because of growth, and other miscellaneous things), so I drive into a nearby town (Slidell), which has a higher elevation so most stores are still open. Find a couple of Walmarts, AutoZone (tire plug kits), and a mobile home company that happens to have the correct sized ball for the trailer we will be pulling with Big Red (2 5/16 ball, and a 2" receiver). The trip takes me a couple of hours, and when I'm heading back, all tools deliveries have been made, and all teams are fully operational in the neighborhoods.

I drive around some of the neighborhoods to see the conditions that the teams are working under. I am again amazed at how many cars I see, and how much debris is still everywhere. There are a few trailers in the front yards of some homes, which is where the homeowners are allowed to live while gutting & reconstructing their homes. There are boats down many of the streets, and even homes which have been pushed into the middle of the street that you have to navigate around to get through.




There are also advertisements on many street corners, selling gutting or re-construction services. I am amazed at how much work is still left to be done, and it is obvious that the gutting of homes in St. Bernard Parish will easily go on until at least December 2006, and possibly beyond that. I've heard rumors of a goal of 5000 homes gutted by June 1 exists, but it's not clear how they will actually get there that quickly. Either way, there are ~26,000 homes to be gutted, so it will take quite a while to finish.

A few more random shots I toook while cruising around...