Driveway Diplomacy

Just two weeks ago I arrived at Pass Christian, MS, stubbornly choose to live in my truck and only a few nights ago night, when the temperature dipped below freezing, did I move into one of the converted bunk rooms in the church. Smart move! Several of the groups I got to know are leaving in the morning and other groups are arriving. I shared 'mucking out a water logged home the past two days . . . Which is a great way to bond with eight college guys.
Mike Zimmerman the volunteer coordinator has been helping me get acquainted with the many steps necessary to make this massive effort work. He is good at it and I only hope I'll be able to be of help to him and this community. The leaders of the varied groups are 'semi-organized' and anxious to cut through the red tape to get the job done. An example of 'Driveway Diplomacy' was our meeting with an elderly couple in their temporary trailer home. They own valuable property and want to avoid putting into the hands of the casino operators. Mike and another coordinator arranged the meeting and within an hour the couple-agreed to a long term plan to allow the property to be developed as somewhat of a retreat center that would allow potential donors to be invited to observe first hand the massive destruction and many year effort that will be needed to bring it back to some level of normalcy.
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Ms Althea

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I spent today at her home, Actually she has two homes, both drying out after being inundated with six feet of water and buffeted by 150 mph winds. I had been working at establishing a rapport with her after being told by her wonderful friend and neighbor that she wasn’t going to allow ”Just anyone to go through her stuff.” Perhaps 90 percent of homes that can be rebuilt have undergone the ‘mucking’ process. Ms Althea was one of the last holdouts.

Lyn and Gary Cheslek paid us a visit and Althea threateed to start charging if I asked her to pose for any more photos. . . but she did allow me to take her to God's Katrina Kitchen for lunch. What a beautiful lady!She learned very quickly that we felt as guests in her home and as volunteers were there to help her through the process

Our crew of five college students and their professor had been assigned to “(muck out) the house which simply means removing everything down to the bare studs and the six inches of muck that has seeped to the floor. Finishing the muck out process and stripping the walls fell to the next group . . . a dedicated group of volunteers from Louisville, Kentucky

Imagine, if you can, thinking for five months about your every worldly possession slowly deteriorating into a soggy mess and finally taking the bold step of prying open the front door to begin the task of reclaiming memories from the past 83 years.The highligt . . . looking through the foot locker of her grand daddy a veteran of world War 1 (one that is). Including his helmet, dog tags uniform, gas mask and much more It was also exciting for me!

She learned very quickly that we felt as guests in her home and as volunteers were there to help her through the process.

The Story: Breaking Through

My job, along with a crew of ten: Remove debris, after looking for valuable possessions.

The family decided to"Ride out the storm. . . .The worst decision I ever made" the father told me. The incoming surge of water forced then into the attic and when it kept coming he was forced to kick a hole in the roof and along with his wife, two children and two dogs clung to the chimney until the water receded and they were rescued.

Welcome to the Dad-Cam Blog!

KATRINA
AND DAD-CAM.COM

What do we have in common?

Katrina is well known as the hurricane that devastated much of the Gulf Coast. Dad-cam (aka Dad Feets, aka Don Wierenga) is much less known as the web-site which normally is fired up this time of the year to report Spring Break action from South Padre Island, TX.

This winter, starting Jan.2, 2006 I'll be reporting from Pass Christian, MS. where I will offer my services to this small community nearly wiped out by the hurricane.

My goal will be the same: From the perspective of a Dad (and Grand Dad) give an honest appraisal of the action that surrounds me. One big difference is that this year I hope to be part of the action. My assignment is not clear. But stay tuned . . . .!