Dottie

"Thank you"! It's been said more than once by me (directed at the other adults on the trip and at the students); by you the parents (directed at me and at the other adults); and by the residents of the various communities we visited (directed at any of us in sight). But there is one other person to whom we must all direct a very hearty THANK YOU, and that is Dottie Bourgeois. Dottie, and prior to Dottie's everpresence, her daughter Darby, served as our guardian angel in many ways.

Prior to us setting out, and particularly in the week leading up to March 8th Dottie was on the phone with me almost daily. She was attending to our comfort at the Holiday Inn; she was scoping the various establishments at which we could dine and she was bartering with various owners over deals for us on meals; she visited several of the locations we were to visit to be sure of the directions and to ensure that we afforded ourselves enough time to get from point A to point B; she was present at each of the job sites every day and brought our lunches to us --- having picked them up at the central Catholic Charities location; she ferried my nephew Brian all over to ensure he had sufficient footage for the documentary he will produce; most importantly she was there whenever we needed a question answered or we were seeking advice. Not to diminish Darby's involvement...Darby was my initial contact in Louisiana and she found the Holiday Inn for us and negotiated the incredible rate and made sure that we awere all located safely on the same floor. It was when Darby could no longer give the time she had hoped that Dottie filled that void.....And Dottie did all this while being a resident of a community an hour away from our hotel!!!

Dottie is a robust redhead whose family home was in the direct line of Katrina. While the property she shares with her husband--reverently referred to as Deacon Don--did not receive structural damage, they both had to spend several weeks here in Port Perry with another daughter while all the trees and debris were cleared from their land. Her presence in our our midst gave us a daily reminder of who we were serving and the immense gratitude that was showered upon us. She knew many of the people in the various communities outside of New Orleans proper that we visited and this allowed our communication with those groups to become more personal.

Sylvia Skrepichuk will tell you of her first encounter with Dottie. Having been directed to pull into the visitors rest stop some 10 miles inside Louisiana, Sylvia exited her car to be met with a huge hug and tears from Dottie who sported a sign on the rear windshield of her car reading "Canada"! Dottie had maps for all of us; directions for the bus driver to the hotel and to his parking location; directions for us to the Catholic Charities headquarters and a REFLECTION!!

She gave each of us a copy of the reflection and Tom Partlow read it to the students as we drove into the city. I can't do it justice by describing it but at some point all participants' parents will read it. She addressed the students on the patio later that Saturday evening and gave everyone very clear and stern instructions as to which areas were safe and which were not.

Some of the extraordinary things she did for us during the week were: she made sure the groups had treats on several of the days at the worksites; she kept us all stocked with juice and milk (at her and Don's expense), she taxied Brian to a restaurant to fill a "Po-Boy" supper order on Thursday night and she added 50 pieces of fried chicken to the order; she was at the bus each morning to ensure that Jim, the driver, knew the best route to take to our locations.

And she prayed with us at each of our masses and she and Don partied with us at the Simon's house on Friday afternoon. At the conclusion of the week Sylvia and two of the students presented her with a token of our appreciation but whatever we had given her would never have repaid her for all that she did. If parents want to thank someone for the safety of their sons/daughters and for the smoothness of the trip please think of Dottie!!

Dottie is a deeply religious person and I believe the following anecdote is not an exaggeration.

In the closing scene of the broadway production of Les Miserables is a line in a song which is: "To love another person is to see the face of God." I believe that for six days Dottie saw the face of God in the 68 people in our group.

Thanks Dottie, we love you too!!!