The End of Our Week in New Orleans

- by Ron N.

Friday was our last day on the job site. We knew we were scheduled to stop working at noon, so we made good use of every minute. We did stop for a few minutes to take a group photo with Verna Mae (she's wearing a red shirt). After we ate lunch, packed our tools, and began to drive away, I felt a combination of peace and frustration at the same time.

The peace comes from knowing that we had made good progress on Verna Mae's home; with the exception of a few pieces, every one of the main rooms was sheetrocked. Verna Mae's daughter told me that new windows would be installed this next week and she was delighted at the prospect that they would be able to move in someday.

I feel frustrated because there is still so much work to be done in this city and the entire Gulf region. Thousands of homes are still abandoned, many of them destroyed beyond repairable condition. FEMA trailers are still the primary residence of many people. Trash piles overwhelm some of the streets. Schools and small stores are still closed and they will never reopen. The inequalities of living conditions are impossible to miss. I feel angry at my country for letting its own people suffer needlessly. Without going on a political or moral rant, I'll just say I think our priorities are a little off.

I am just beginning to get a sense of the many ways that this trip has touched me. I have reflected on my own attitudes and beliefs and learned again about the dangers of judgment of others. When I think about all the work left to do and the frustration that comes with it, I remember the Starfish story. (Read one version of it here) I know we can't do everything at once, but we can do something at once. And I recognize that we all have the ability to do something because there is one way we are all equal - we all have time.