We strike out on our own

We started the day with Charlie and Kate. We are able to clear their entire corner, remove the porch, and repair their fence. The dogs are ecstatic! They can run again! Charlie and Kate are grateful and tearful. They suggest we help their elderly neighbors, and we do. Large trees are down, stumps need to be pulled. Both are taken care of by noon.

Meanwhile, the calls for “we could use your help” begin to roll in. I take the van by properties to determine if we can make a difference. The ones that are completely leveled need more than we can do. We find one couple that needs a tree felled and other trees cut up and moved. His recent heart surgery meant he could only do minor work, and then he hurt his back. It takes only an hour or so. More calls come to my cell. A pastor, “Can you pull a stump and cut up some wood and take it to the curb?” A friend of Kate’s, “Can you get the debris from the yard to the curb?” There is a dumpster in front of her house with a terrible smell coming from it. Something in there is dead. Definitely. We decide it must be a bird – perhaps a large bird with fur and four legs, but our story is that it is a bird. We keep working.

At 4, we come to a halt. We return to Americorps and leave our tools with them. We started out with two full trucks of supplies, equipment, and tools and now are empty. After cleaning up, we head to Pittsburg to Chicken Annie’s for regional delicacies. Shock! These folks have not tasted chicken livers, gizzards, hearts, German potato salad! Faces are made, others find new delicacies. We toast Smiley and Ande for their help, hold hands for a long grace.

Outside, a waitress takes our picture in front of the giant red chicken. We started this trip five days ago, strangers inside the van, setting out to help strangers, staying in the homes of strangers. We ended it friends staying with friends helping other friends. We’ve learned a great deal about human resiliency and disaster relief. This has been an experience unlike any other; we will stay tuned to see how the rebuilding progresses. We could not do everything – but we did this. We have thrown many starfish into the sea since yesterday. For Charlie and Kate and Ray and Mary and Tim and Mary and Tom – “It will matter to this one…”