Thursday, Aug. 28th--Last day of Work; Superdome Day

A true kaliedescope of a day.
We began Thursday with everyone looking to return to their duties in the hope that they would see their tasks to the end. The weather report called for a very hot, humid day. I anticipated our most severe day for temperature and I was not wrong. One young man told me the first time he stopped sweating was at 7:00 pm!!
But Thursday was also "evacuation" preparation day. The adults had decided on Wednesday evening that in light of the precarious situation with "Gustav" and with the tone of the people with whom we worked and were in constant contact we determined a contingency plan was necessary. This morning I arranged for a check out of our current hotel here in New Orleans for Friday afternoon and a check in at the Holiday Inn in Jackson, Mississippi on Friday night. That should get us safely away from New Orleans should a major evacuation be called for in this city.
But the last thing this city and its residents need is another hurricane. I refer you to www.nola.com for a couple of stories dealing with the third anniversary of Katrina to see how ill prepared the city's infrasturcture is in the event of such a storm.
Our work day was very successful. Work on three homes that had begun earlier in the week was completed. A group of 12 boys assisted Helping Hands by delivering a trailer load of drywall to various locations (12 x4 x w sheets). In the midst of one delivery they helped a neighbor resident move some of his new appliances into his house. A fifth group worked in a house that had been gutted but required a mold remediation substance to be sprayed on the studs before renovators could move in.
It was during our lunch break that we received a request that would bring the reality of being a resident of New Orleans to life. I was asked to put together a group to travel to a home for handicapped children to assist its custodian in barricading the windows to scure them in the vent of a hurricane. About ten of us traveled to the home and it was startling to see the building with all of its windows shielded by the time we left. We also took a few moments to go inside and chat with the youngsters, though most were non-verbal. The facility was going to be evacuated on Friday. What a task that will be!!
Our work was completed! We knew the boys and girls would be diligent in their assignments and that they would be tired from both working and practicing each day. The adults had really looked forward to surprising the entire group with the news that they were going to the Superdome to see the Saints play the Dolphins. But there was no surprise. Some of the boys had been informed beforehand and they had shared the news with others, so five months of careful planning proved to be for naught.
What a site the building is. I think the Saints lost but the game, in my mind, came second to the experience. I have been to the dome and to Montreal's Olympic Stadium; to Candlestick Park and Oakland's Coliseum as well as Kansas City's stadium, but I have never seen a facility like the Superdome. A 70,000 seat stadium with acoustics that would allow for a truly rocking time if filled with partisan fans. The air conditioning was on, but considering the outside temperature I can now imagine what it must have been like for all of those thousands of people who were 'housed' in the Superdome during the hurricane---with no AC!!
The article in today's local newspaper must have been read by at least 2 people. At one of the worksites a neighbor came by with a cooler of Gatorade for the workers and said he had read the article and wanted to thank the group for the work it was doing. At the Superdome I had just directed the students to their entrance and three of our adults made their way in another direction to their entrance. A man came forward and asked: "Are y'all the football team from Canada?" We said yes and he responded by thanking us for coming and lending a hand. Each of my interactions today concluded with: "We will pray that you will be saved from yet another disaster."
I won't have time to write tomorrow so I'll let ou in on what I know. We will depart our hotel at 2:00 pm and make our way to Baton Rouge. Just north of that city we will be joined by the bus from Archbishop Hannan--the 3rd team in the scrimmage. We will both then receive a police escort to the football stadium--not for safety reasons, rather just to ensure that we arrive on time for the game. After all this is Friday Night Football!! Livonia will have shut down as a town as of 5 pm and everyone will head for the stadium. I am looking forward to see how they approach the event. As strangers from a far away land we are quite a story. How we fare on the field is less important than how we represent our school, city and country. We will take great pains to represent all of those constituents with great pride.
I encourage you to look up www.nola.com for the article written about the team and our visit.
I will have more time to post on Saturday so keep an eye out.
God Bless,
Coach Hughes