THE Katrina Cougars

Well our work detail is over, and from now on the students will will refer to themselves as #11, representing the total number of homes they have gutted. BUT all readers must note that gutting sometimes only refers to removing drywall and ceilings, fixtures , nails etc. In Many of the homes our teams gutted included, first of all, the remaoval of all of the belongings--belongings that had been sitting in the house since August, 2005. Today, for example, one group removed a motorcycle from the living room of a house; in the same house the refrigerator was elevated some four feet off the ground and was lying sideways--it was resting on the counter at one end and on the stove at the other. That groups 'pile' today had to be 25-30 feet long and at least 10 feet high..we have photos!!

Met a group from Texas today who were working on a house just down the street from us. The group consisted of about 20 people, mostly from one extended family with the youngest being 9 and the oldest, obviously, the parents. We met three of the young ones as we gathered at the 'ice cream' truck (what a treat for one of our breaks), and the little guy said in a Texas drawl "Is it rue y'all finished eleven homes?"

Had a team supper on the patio tonight (po boy sandwiches or pizza) and then shopping time in the River walk area or the Market area. Coach Hughes opted for the Market area because that's where Cafe du Monde is with its Cafe au Lait and Beignes!!! (Mr. Cicci, I got your mug)

Thought you might like to hear a bit about a ritual our site supporter engaged in each time we completed a house:
He would gather the whole team in one room, in a semi circle and thank us for our presence and our contribution. He would then suggest that we pray. He would offer thanks from the current resident for the great work we had done; he would then offer thanks from the future homeowner, because the original may not return; he would then suggest that we breath 'new life' into the house by speaking each of our names out loud, and we would do so around the circle. He would then close by leading us in the Our Father. Avery moving ritual each time.

Moms, dads and grandparents : you need to now that your young'uns are reading the blog and are seeing your comments and they are happy---I guess it relieves the homesickness if there is any. You will also be surprised to know that it has not been very difficult to have them rise at 6:00 am each morning and be on the bus at 7:15!! I wonder if the same enthusiasm will be apparent on Monday morning. After four days on the job they are pretty quick to accept a curfew of 11:00---at the bed check tonight I found two of the boys already asleep.

A public thank you to all of the adult support that has been generously given on this trip and thanks also to the parents for trusting us with your most valuable possessions--you have no idea how proud we are to have been in their presence and to have worked side by side with them these last couple of days. I think I can speak for all of the adults when I say that your sons and daughters have been inspirations to all of us!!

I'm looking forward to Friday because there is an opportunity for us to be in the presence and to speak to a man who played a significant role in one of the most dramatic events in U.S. history.
That's the suspence. I'll wrie and send photos Friday night.

Good night y'all.