Day Fifteen: Thursday, January 19
We all woke up pretty happy this morning, for no particular reason. Maybe the warmer temperatures helped (50 degrees), or maybe it was the presence of potatoes made into home fries by Team JAMBE (more specifically JAMBElaya, a purposeful misspelling that includes the first initials of all of the team members - Justin, Arthor, Mallory, Brianna, and Elijah). The breakfast was nearly as glorious as last night's dinner, so things got off to a great start.
We headed off to Parkway Partners to connect with Mario for the last time. We expect to do a bit more park work next week, but not in community gardens with Mario. Thus, we had to face the fact that our time here is winding down. We feel like we've gotten so good at what we do (and how we manage to live together while doing it) that we shouldn't waste our talents. Still, we know not to push things and that our mental clocks are set for January 26th. We'll have to get our heads around the notion of heading home.
Today's job was in Miss Marion's Garden. We met Mario at Parkway Partners and he led us into an area that we have not yet visited: the Garden District. We drove the length of St. Charles Avenue, perhaps the most famous street in New Orleans. Though we know that the traditional way to travel this street is by streetcar, we were happy to see the sights from our beloved sleeper bus. As soon as we turned the corner onto St. Charles, Jed was quick to spot the live oaks lining the streets. We talked about how unfamiliar such sights are to us, as so many of the trees have been destroyed. We then took in the sights along St. Charles, including the beautiful old architecture and the bright and cheery "Welcome Back!" signs at both Loyola University and Tulane. Everyone told stories about people they knew at one school or the other, and that conversation reminded us of the geographical range over which those students were scattered. We refrained from imagining what we would do if something so catastrophic happened at SMC, though that discussion is the normal result of any view of a college or university.
We came around the corner where the levee follows a bend in the Mississippi River (we later discovered that we were not too far from the beachfront location of our fantastic bonfire for Justin's birthday). There we found a sweet but neglected neighborhood garden and its prime custodian, Miss Carol. She detailed out the long series of jobs that needed to be completed, and expressed concern over how we would ever get organized and tackle the list. Mario and Shawny looked at each other and laughed, saying "Don't worry; you don't know this group."
Overall, this whole job felt easier than any of the other gardens. One reason for this shift in perspective might be that the entire area was NOT ruined. That is, everywhere we have been, we have been saturated with a sense that things are damaged beyond comprehension. At Miss Marion's, though (so named in honor of the mother of one of the original founders of the garden), damage was minimal. Still, things were so overgrown that the job would look daunting to any returning gardener. For us, though, this was a piece of cake.
Chris declared that he was unwilling to listen to "happy music" (Justin called him a "Happy Hater"), so today we decided to crank country tunes (who knew that virtually every student has memorized the words to "All My Exes Live in Texas?"). Under these conditions, the weeding and wheelbarrow-loading just merged effortlessly with the singing and dancing. Shane discovered that the Electric Slide is very much improved if one is holding a pickaxe while doing it. Even the dreaded Bermuda grass was not a big deal today (actually, the variety of grass at this garden was called Johnson grass, but it's the same basic idea). Lunch was a casual affair that revolved around a couscous salad that was too spectacular for the weak and fragile males to endure (except for Shane). They all chose Clif Bars and graham crackers over the complete protein salad prepared by the lunch team (Courtney, Alli, Fernando, and Rachel). Lots of singing and dancing flowed across the lunch break, and Justin chased down a special treat: Cokes and Diet Dr. Peppers.
Things moved so quickly that Miss Carol just kept walking around saying "I can't believe this; I can't believe this..." Other neighbors came by and exclaimed over the improvement, asking how we did it. We couldn't even express how much we enjoyed the chance for an easy and fun job that clearly improved a community immediately. We shrugged a lot, and kept saying, "We're happy to do it; we really are."
We got to end the day with a beautiful symbolic act that no one even noticed as it happened. We had cleared all of the beds in the garden, leaving them ready for planting whenever the gardeners are ready. It was sweet to watch Miss Carol talk about each bed as if it WERE the person who tended it ("That over there is ______; she's been having some health problems" or "This couple here hasn't returned yet..."). A few of the beds belong to people who aren't back yet, and might not come back for awhile. We covered those beds with blue tarps - the same blue tarps that had recently been on nearby roofs, demonstrating the owners' intentions to return, repair, and restart their lives. (As a nod to the odd beauty of the blue tarps, Casey covered the roof of the garden's birdhouse with one...) The tarp that we used on one of the beds had a big fat FEMA imprint on it. As we placed it there, we didn't give it a second thought, but as we surveyed the scene at the end of the job, we managed to notice that this is one of our first jobs that marks a new stage of rebuilding. That is, instead of being the first wave of relief, we are following up on stages that came before (the placement of the tarp, the repair of the roof, and the removal of the tarp). Seeing that beautiful FEMA tarp on a little garden plot seemed like an even bigger sign of hope than all of the blue tarps that have given us a bit of a boost each day. Nice.
We got home early enough to make a run into the French Quarter for those who wanted to go. Others worked on projects or just plain rested. What a lovely day in the disaster zone!
Tomorrow: A field trip up the coast to Bay St. Louis, where we will help the St. Stanislaus sailing team recover its boats from... the swamp...!
P.S. Kayla had a dream last night that we took our bus to Iraq. We'll let you analyze that one for yourselves...
Hi-Viz member Vanessa F. makes the perfect tortilla for our amazing dinner.
A before picture of our worksite in the Garden District.
Carol, the keeper of the garden, gives us direction at the beginning of the day.
A depth perspective of today's garden. Our day was filled with the weed whacker and rebuilding the flower beds.
Emily and Casey pick kumquats from a tree in the garden. Most of the group had never tried this tiny citrus fruit until today; it was a big hit and we made sure to stock up since we don't get any fruit very often at camp.
Looks like Jed enjoyed the kumquats.
The fabulous Saint Mary's worker bees helping out in the garden.
Look at them go!
Hugo and Elvia look miserable after yesterday's worm-eating challenge.
All the wheelbarrows were in use so Elvia loaded up... Look at them guns!
A yucky skink, which looks like a cross between a worm and a lizard, gets friendly with Alli. We also encountered frogs, butterflies, and other lizards in the garden.
Mario gives Jorge instruction on using the weed whacker in the garden.
Here, Mario is getting interviewed by Shawny and Marcia after we finished with the garden.
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