October 22, 2005

Hi All,
We have been having a time receiving a signal to do wireless communications, so I am at the rec center. The base is growing in leaps and bounds - we now have neighbors. When we first arrived we were pretty much isolated from the troops, but they have been adding tents, showers, hot water heaters and a road that is just a few feet from our RV. The contractors are also beginning to surround us. They plugged into the same spot we have our RV hooked up to which blew the fuse - so we ended up running the generator for about 15 hours before we could get someone from the base to re-set everything. The contractors have now been told to stay away from our power base.

Yesterday was pretty much a bust - we had to take the canteen in to get the mirror fixed. What a pain for just a tiny screw. We drove across town about an hour away over the Huey P. Long bridge. This bridge was build in the 1930's and is very very narrow and is quite high. I am enjoying the view trying to get pictures taken while Judy is driving white- knuckled, hunched over the wheel worried she would hit the side of the bridge or the cars in the other lane. We ended up taking another route home just to avoid the bridge. The repair took a couple of hours so we walked to a small restaurant and had lunch about 3pm. We finally left the dealer and headed back in time to get the center open by 1800.

Our return trip took us through the outer reaches of the 9th ward. The water line on the homes was over my head and all the houses were unoccupied and the businesses closed. Many of the structures also had extensive wind damage with roof gone or buildings flattened.

We had 3 Nat'l Guard guys stop in the center this afternoon to pick up 2 XBox systems and some games for their guys. I was told that they are still finding a lot of bodies in ward9 and that their guys are getting pretty depressed. He told me that they had passed a body several times - it was an old man who had on rain gear and was found in his back yard. They originally thought it was just a plastic tarp until they spotted the skelton sticking out from the arm hole. They also said that many of the houses were declared empty because no one answered to the shout asking if someone was home. Now families are returning to find grandma or grandpa dead in their homes. I can certainly understand how this would be depressing.

Judy and I will be driving the canteen over one day next week and feeding the 65 NG, showing movies and playing music in an effort to bring one small amount of normalacy in their day. The base chaplain stops by the center every night and he told us that when he went to Venice to cheer up the troops they were stopped on the way back (Venice was the place I wrote about earlier that was totally destroyed). The NG showed them an 18 foot alligator that they had shot. A family had gone back to their house to feed their dog instead finding the alligator in the dog house and Fluffy missing. I didn't sleep well that night and figure the family (who had taken their kids with them) had nightmares.

More and more businesses are opening up in the Belle Chasse area, where the base is located. Whenever we think things are getting cleaned up we come across an area that will never be back to normal.

On Thursday, Judy and I traveled to Loyola University which is located in a very wealthy section of towns - hugh homes with ornate entry ways, etc. I spoke with the head of the IT department who lives in the area and he said that the University survived the storm with very little damage - blown off roof tiles on the church and a few broken skylights in the sports center. They had 8 men who stayed at the University during the storm. When I asked how that went he told me that it got pretty hairy, but that saved them from being looted. Now there are approx. 400 national guard that reside in the class rooms that patrol the area and detain the ever present looters (shoot to kill is my motto for these slime balls, but no one listens to me). Judy and I, along with 3 local volunteers fed hot dogs and nachos to the 400. All the service men and women were glad to see us and came by to talk about their experience. They will be heading back home in a week and all are eager to see their families, eat a home cooked meal and sleep in a bed. I took a great picture of the statue of Christ on the front lawn of the school with a large American flag flying behind him. If we can ever get Judy's computer to pick up a signal I will send it on.

Tomorrow we head to the Seminary to feed and entertain 125 NG troops - we will be cooking brats and sausage w/green pepper and onions. Since the troops cannot drink alcohol, we were asked to bring near beer - non-alcholic beverage. Took a couple of tries but we finally found a few cases to take with us. On Monday we head back down to Venice to feed the troops, etc. I ran into a couple of guys today that were down there and they told me how much it meant to them that we drove down to give them their care packages and to take books and other items. Of all the groups they are the most isolated so I am really excited that we got permission to go back down.

Tuesday we will have family day at the base and finally get a chance to give away the household items and baby items that we have in storage. Once that is gone we will pretty much be out of the storage business.

I will be returning to Raleigh on the 29th. I wish I could stay longer - there is so much to be done and so little time to do it. Even working an 18 hour day does not put a dent in all that remains to be completed. The troops work 12 hour shifts 7 days a week with tasks that are many times more hard labor and depressing that what I do.

When Dennis Rogers wrote his column in the paper about supporting the troops there was a letter to the editor that said if you supported the troops you were supporting the war - well that person needs to come to LA and see what the troops are doing here! All the locals that I have spoken too have talked about how grateful they are that the men and women of the armed forces have come here to keep them safe and help them to recover. You cannot drive anywhere without seeing camouflage trucks, uniforms, equipment and the faces of our troops who really care and work hard to make a difference. Makes me proud to be an American. I wish you could see all the American flags that hang on the sides of destroyed buildings - fastened to whatever will hold them upright. I took a picture of an American flag attached to a crucifix in the middle of the road - the sign read "Keep the Faith".

Have to head back to the USO center to finish up the Texas hold-em poker tournament we are having today - the prizes are USO shirts and hats which are coveted by the troops. See you all in a week.

Carol