Page 28 - Priorities #67 2017 Spring

We worked Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm on Ms. Mary and Ms. Sharon’s houses. Each of us performed tasks we had never done before: installing baseboards, putting up insulation, and priming or painting.
fship. Most saddening of all was the conspiracy theories that arose after the flooding. Many people believe a le- vee was bombed to direct flooding away from a wealthy district and into the impoverished 9th Ward. In addition, we learned how the environmental damage and neglect in the decades before the storm exacerbated the damage. Wetlands which normally should act as a natural barri- er are currently the fastest disappearing land masses on
28 the planet. They have been ravaged by pesticides, dams and global warming. A large port was built, displacing thousands of acres of wetlands and channeling floodwa- ter directly into the city. Visiting the 9th Ward and the breached levee made everything we learned real for us. By the end of that day we were enchanted by New Orleans and dedicated to do our part in helping the community. We couldn’t wait for our first day of building and repair-
ing houses!
After Father Martin’s fortifying prayers each morning
we set off to work, packed lunches in hand. We worked Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm on Ms. Mary and Ms. Sharon’s house. Each of us performed tasks we had never done before: installing baseboards, putting up insulation, and priming or painting. Ms. Mary required insulation to be installed underneath her house which meant that the majority of us would be in a small crawl space, cleaning out chicken wire and nailing in insulation boards. Some of us were hesitant to do some of the more dirty jobs at first, but by the end of the day we were all tired, sweaty, and covered in paint, dirt, and caulking.
One rainy day we worked at Ms. Sharon’s house. Ms. Sharon was struck by more than her fair share of bad luck over the past ten years. When the storm hit, her home was flooded with eight feet of water, forcing her and her fami- ly to move into a FEMA trailer park. Soon after the hurri- cane, her husband died of a heart attack and while she was living in the trailer, she fell and was paralyzed. She was able to move back into her house about three years later and since then has recovered, but her house was flooded twice. Amazingly, she wasn’t angry at her misfortune. On the contrary, she felt blessed and grateful that she was able
to recover each time. We replaced Ms. Sharon’s baseboards that were damaged in the second flood. The work was tricky but Father Martin, master carpenter, led the way and we soon got the hang of it. Ms. Sharon couldn’t have been more hospitable. She baked pralines for us all day and Mr. Molak kept us sugared up with ice cream and goodies. By the end of the day we were well fed and quite proud of our handiwork.
After each day of hard work we enjoyed the city’s unique nightlife. We went to Mardi Gras parades. We had fabulous meals of crawfish, barbeque, hot dogs, po’ boys, king cake, and beignets. New Orleans is one end- less stream of parades, live music, dancing, and partying. There is no distinction between spectator and performer at a Mardi Gras parade. We all screamed and cheered at the magnificent floats as performers on the floats threw beads and goodies to us. One evening we visited Rock and Bowl, a bowling alley with live music. The most unique expe- rience was an airboat ride on the bayou. That night we watched the sun set on the bayou just a couple feet away from a 500 pound alligator named Big Al. We witnessed an alligator chomp down on a pig leg and each of us got to hold a baby alligator that our boat driver grabbed out of the water.
Reflecting on the journey, I realize that this trip has taught me important things and reinforced Priory values. I was impressed by the rich culture and tremendous resil- ience of the New Orleanians after everything they had been through. We saw this culture in the live music, the delicious food, and the incredible Mardi Gras parades. We saw re- silience in the wonderful people like Ms. Sharon who in- spired us to work hard and always have a positive attitude. Overall, the trip taught me to leave judgment behind and view the world with an open heart, to have resilience in my own life through my own suffering and rebuilding, and to reach out as part of the community to help those in need.
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