Nawlins!!!

[openmike48]

Last week on Saturday, I made the LONG (VERY LONG) drive to New Orleans to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. It was a great time for self-reflection, thought, prayer, meditation, and to bump some Talib Kweli in the deck (music is good for the soul!). I was grateful for the drive and the time to just be with me? Did I mention the drive was LONG?!
I arrived and met some friends at Camp Hope. I base camp operation placed in the heart of St. Bernard?s Parrish that serves as a mission launch site for all the volunteer efforts in the surrounding areas. There where people there from all walks of life and from ALL over the United States. I met one volunteer who found the information concerning the camp online and decided to drive down alone. It made me appreciative of the fact that people really DO care and have it in there hearts to give.
We spent most of the time restoring a home that was severally damaged and had already been gutted by an earlier team. We demolished the walls off of the frames (of the entire house) and then did the OSB and paneling over the entire structure. I?m not saying I could build a real house now, but I definitely could build a doghouse!

The most fulfilling part of the trip came from 3 conversations I had while there. I got so much for my personal life out of these conversations, but since this is BODYBUILDING.COM I?ll try to relate those conversations to that!

1. I had a conversation with a man and his daughter about the impact of the storm on his life. He and his wife were separated prior to the storm and he explained to me how chaotic it was during the evacuation period. As he explained it, there were certain Parishes that weren?t allowed to evacuate across bridges that were closed quickly enough and were, as a result, made to stay and ?weather the storm.? He said that if he would?ve been detained in that situation he would?ve been shot because he would NOT have allowed his daughter to not be safe. It was SO moving.
MY LESSON: People ALWAYS tell me that they had to do something for themselves. ?I have to make this change for me.? Etc? Etc? Try making a change for someone else sometime? for your children, for your spouse, for those who care about you and want you to be around and healthy for their sake, for those who need an example to follow. Selfless changes are often more motivating than we think. Be willing to sacrifice or achieve for someone other than yourself.

2. The women whose house we were restoring lost her son a few weeks after the storm to kidney disease. Soon after, she found out that she suffered from it as well. I told here I was so sorry for the struggles she has had to endure and she stopped me mid-sentence and said, ?Don?t feel sorry for me. I am so grateful to be here and God has done so much for me.? She even bragged about her FEMA trailer and how it was so great to have, because it allowed her to be back home again. She also had managed to lose about 40 lbs. to help her through her health struggles. Such an inspiration.
MY LESSON: There is always something to be grateful for. If you are struggling with your goals, try and look for the little victories. They might not be huge, but they are STILL victories. The positive attitude can determine if you give up or if you keep moving forward, so look for every opportunity to be encouraged with your progress!

3. The women who lived next door to the house we were working came out several times while we were working and told us to stay off her lawn, to be careful around her house? etc.. etc? The volunteer coordinators told us that they ALWAYS have problems with her. She seemed pretty unpleasant at first. I decided to talk to her and figure out what she was going through. The first thing she told me was that she had lost her husband a few days before Katrina hit. Since then she has been alone. She said he was her partner and she has been the same since his death. She cried a bit and really opened up to me. I could see how alone she was. Ironically, several of her family members live very close to her, but don?t make an effort to visit and take care of her. To most, she was just the mean neighbor. But after one short talk and a hug, I discovered a pure-hearted woman who has had so much to fight through and just needed someone to listen.
MY LESSON: It is SO important to have a support system. We are not meant to achieve anything difficult alone. Don?t try it alone! Especially, when there are people who truly will help you, who will listen, and who will be a support. And also, don?t always assume that those people who are willing to do that for you are the ones you THINK should do it for you. It might be someone different than you suspect?

MY OVERALL LESSON: The human being is a VERY resilient creature. We can survive disappointments, fight past regrets, start anew when we fail, and adapt to things that seem impossible. I had met 3 people that had dealt with struggles I can?t even imagine, but yet were STILL in the fight. When we?re tempted to stop pushing we need to realize that we are capable of surviving, enduring, and doing far more than we THINK we can do. My trip helped me to realize that in such an amazing way.

Go to New Orleans and volunteer! It will help so many and ultimately? it?ll help you! God bless!

[luckyclover]

New Orleans is the **** hole of humanity. Everyone had a chance to leave the city well in advance(was plenty of public transportation). Dont believe everything you see on tv. Those who stayed were there to either loot or protect their homes from the looters.

[Dirk Diggler]

I hate to say it but fu<k that. The MS coast got it worse and didn't cry about it. The people still trying to get money were bums before the storm.



My neighborhood.

[Reservoir Dog]

Thats very commendable. Respect.

[luckyclover]

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

I hate to say it but fu<k that. The MS coast got it worse and didn't cry about it. The people still trying to get money were bums before the storm.



My neighborhood.

Exactly.

[papasandbeer]

Originally Posted by luckyclover

New Orleans is the **** hole of humanity. Everyone had a chance to leave the city well in advance(was plenty of public transportation). Dont believe everything you see on tv. Those who stayed were there to either loot or protect their homes from the looters.

hey man, thats some pretty rude **** to say.

that is all.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by papasandbeer

hey man, thats some pretty rude **** to say.

that is all.

It's the truth, I went through the damn storm.

[AGirlLikeMe]

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

It's the truth, I went through the damn storm.

Weird, so did I, and I'm not aware of this transportation you are talking about. As I recall they threw everyone in the Superdome cuz they took too long to declare it an emergency and by that time it was too late to get them out.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by AGirlLikeMe

Weird, so did I, and I'm not aware of this transportation you are talking about. As I recall they threw everyone in the Superdome cuz they took too long to declare it an emergency and by that time it was too late to get them out.

What did I say about transportation? Anyone who has an ounce of sense would leave N.O. for a hurricane. They didn't get the amount of damage Mississippi did, the picture I posted is a perfect example.

[Geno]

St. Bernards Parrish was the only place I got shot at while trying to get people who were too stupid to leave to someplace that food and water was available. It was also the only parrish where the people I drug out were giving me **** for taking so long. Like I didn't have anything better to do than drag my ass down there and bump a god damned rescue boat off every kind of flotsam in the world to get to them.

Yes, red cross volunteer for three years (since I met bamagirl) and yes, FEMA qualified. Of the seven whole boats that made it down there the first week, mine was the only one that never had to be repaired.

[luckyclover]

You dont need anyone to declare somethings an emergency when their is a storm bigger then your state coming right for you. Those that got rounded up into the super dome were the main ones looking to loot.

These are people that never had to work for a thing. Their whole lives they have been given hand outs by the government, while they steal and sell drugs. There are plenty of jobs in the city of New Orleans, but these people choose to depend on the government while the tax payers carry the load. Helping people that wont help themselves is pointless and only makes the problem worse.

Im not sorry for a single person that stayed their, they got what they deserved. I dont feel bad for the hard working people that left either, because guess what they will work hard to get back what they lost and dont look for pity and dont need it either.

Like said above, Mississippi got hit worse, but did you hear them whining? Those that have worked for what they have will pick up and continue on. While those who feed off the system will look for pity and hand outs.

[NukeDukem]

Do you guys realize that there are actually people in this world who can't just hop in their car and drive away to safety? You know those people who use public transportation? If no one with a car is nice enough to come and get them, they are ****f*cked.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by NukeDukem

Do you guys realize that there are actually people in this world who can't just hop in their car and drive away to safety? You know those people who use public transportation? If no one with a car is nice enough to come and get them, they are ****f*cked.

The majority of posters in this thread experienced the storm and are not relying on television.

[NukeDukem]

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

The majority of posters in this thread experienced the storm and are not relying on television.

Right, Long Beach MS got F U C K E D by the storm surge, no doubt. But the OP posted about going down there to help people out, and immediately got 10 negative reponses about how those people got what they had coming, how they were stupid for not loading up their lexus and leaving town, etc.

[Geno]

Originally Posted by luckyclover

You dont need anyone to declare somethings an emergency when their is a storm bigger then your state coming right for you. Those that got rounded up into the super dome were the main ones looking to loot.

These are people that never had to work for a thing. Their whole lives they have been given hand outs by the government, while they steal and sell drugs. There are plenty of jobs in the city of New Orleans, but these people choose to depend on the government while the tax payers carry the load. Helping people that wont help themselves is pointless and only makes the problem worse.

Im not sorry for a single person that stayed their, they got what they deserved. I dont feel bad for the hard working people that left either, because guess what they will work hard to get back what they lost and dont look for pity and dont need it either.

Like said above, Mississippi got hit worse, but did you hear them whining? Those that have worked for what they have will pick up and continue on. While those who feed off the system will look for pity and hand outs.

While not always true - your picture is not far from correct.

I've been a volunteer first responder in three big storms and so far the ones who gripe about your help being too slow or too little is about right.

bamagirl and I bought a ****load of water, blankets and toys during Hugo (got a car practically destroyed as well) and were in a school in Mobile, AL. The ones who wandered in before the storm were mostly nice, polite and thankful. The ones who came in after their **** had been wrecked were mostly rude, disrespectful and very critical of the things we had on hand to provide them - even though there was plenty of food and water. The food we had wasn't good enough (even though it was better than what our soldiers in the field were eating), the drinks we had on hand weren't what they "needed" (no booze), etc.

I beat down a couple guys who couldn't be civil and the rest of the rowdy bunch (as we called them) decided they would hold their damn tongues until we left five days later.

[Geno]

Originally Posted by NukeDukem

Do you guys realize that there are actually people in this world who can't just hop in their car and drive away to safety? You know those people who use public transportation? If no one with a car is nice enough to come and get them, they are ****f*cked.

I'm just recounting the experience.

Some are thankful, some are not. I actually offered to take some of the St. Bernard bunch back to their roofs. No one took me up on that offer.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by NukeDukem

Right, Long Beach MS got F U C K E D by the storm surge, no doubt. But the OP posted about going down there to help people out, and immediately got 10 negative reponses about how those people got what they had coming, how they were stupid for not loading up their lexus and leaving town, etc.

I didn't mean to direct any negative comments to the op. We have to hear how the "poor people in New Orleans East" are being neglected. In actuality most of them were on the governments payroll before the storm.

[Geno]

Originally Posted by NukeDukem

Right, Long Beach MS got F U C K E D by the storm surge, no doubt. But the OP posted about going down there to help people out, and immediately got 10 negative reponses about how those people got what they had coming, how they were stupid for not loading up their lexus and leaving town, etc.

I had a buddy in Biloxi that stayed because he was a first responder and he ruined a perfectly good hummer. A real one - not those h-2, h-3 POS's. It ran throughout though - just was so f'cked up that the insurance company totaled it. He hauled money with it a ton - he's a branch manager at a major bank.

[Krucial B]

i'm sorry but if you arent from new orleans shut the hell up seriously, i dont care if you live in lafayette or in mississippi, you dont know what you are talking about.


before every single hurricane they issue us this dumbass evacuation notice and THERES NEVER ANY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. people continue to disgrace my damn city when they have not a single clue whats going on.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by Krucial B

i'm sorry but if you arent from new orleans shut the hell up seriously, i dont care if you live in lafayette or in mississippi, you dont know what you are talking about.


before every single hurricane they issue us this dumbass evacuation notice and THERES NEVER ANY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. people continue to disgrace my damn city when they have not a single clue whats going on.

Yeah, getting flooded is SO much worse than getting wiped completely off the map.

[Jizzman]

Originally Posted by luckyclover

New Orleans is the **** hole of humanity. Everyone had a chance to leave the city well in advance(was plenty of public transportation). Dont believe everything you see on tv. Those who stayed were there to either loot or protect their homes from the looters.

Seeing as you are from Laffy I'd expect a much more sensible post.

Then again, you're from Laffy.

[Geno]

Originally Posted by Krucial B

i'm sorry but if you arent from new orleans shut the hell up seriously, i dont care if you live in lafayette or in mississippi, you dont know what you are talking about.


before every single hurricane they issue us this dumbass evacuation notice and THERES NEVER ANY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. people continue to disgrace my damn city when they have not a single clue whats going on.

I kinda thought the same thing when there were something like 175 city buses that sat idle during that whole fiasco.

Not everyone has access to a damn vehicle and it seemed those who couldn't get out were kind of fukced.

The people that we pulled out from St. Tammany were very thankful, Orleans Parrish residents were great (some of them actually stayed and helped - we were in Lafayette), Plaquamines (the first we were sent after and the first time I saw bodies since I was active duty) were great and Jefferson were kind of mixed. St. Bernard can pretty much kiss my ass although there five people we pulled from the same place who were great.

I'm currently living near Birmingham and was then as well. You, sir can kiss my ass. I was there and I will speak of my experience.

[luckyclover]

Originally Posted by Krucial B

people continue to disgrace my damn city when they have not a single clue whats going on.

No one needs to disgrace that place. You guys do a good enough job.

[edible_eye]

1.) City built below sea level.

2.) Hurricanes a part of yearly living.

3.) Flooding of area a given, eventually.

4.) City government able to coordinate Mardi Gras every year without fail.

5.) City government not able to coordinate evacuation plan when emergency rears its ugly head. In fact, evacuation plan never actually in place.

Yeah. Serious fail.

[AGirlLikeMe]

Originally Posted by edible_eye

1.) City built below sea level.

2.) Hurricanes a part of yearly living.

3.) Flooding of area a given, eventually.

4.) City government able to coordinate Mardi Gras every year without fail.

5.) City government not able to coordinate evacuation plan when emergency rears its ugly head. In fact, evacuation plan never actually in place.

Yeah. Serious fail.

Thank you, you said it exactly.

What is the point of playing tit for tat with tragedy? What happen in MS was heartbreaking, but so is what happen in New Orleans.

[openmike48]

Everyone has unique experiences it seems. Some of the responders put a WHOLE lot more effort into offering assistance than I have, so what they saw is obviously what they saw. So NO argument there.. This might be shocking, but my goal for my trip was actually to help the grateful AND the ungrateful. In my experience, sometimes people need to see that in action to eventually become the grateful type... But nevertheless, I appreciate the MS responses. It helps me realize that there is A LOT of work that needs to be done there as well. In my opinion, NO less important... Appreciate the dialogue!

[Reservoir Dog]

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

The MS coast got it worse and didn't cry about it.

You are crying about it now. Oh the irony.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by openmike48

Everyone has unique experiences it seems. Some of the responders put a WHOLE lot more effort into offering assistance than I have, so what they saw is obviously what they saw. So NO argument there.. This might be shocking, but my goal for my trip was actually to help the grateful AND the ungrateful. In my experience, sometimes people need to see that in action to eventually become the grateful type... But nevertheless, I appreciate the MS responses. It helps me realize that there is A LOT of work that needs to be done there as well. In my opinion, NO less important... Appreciate the dialogue!

We appreciate you taking time to help the less fortunate.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by Reservoir Dog

You are crying about it now. Oh the irony.

No, you are an idiot.