The Warmth

I feel like “The Warmth” by the Band Incubus for me captures the feeling that I get from the people down here in New Orleans. The song goes

I’d like to close my eyes and go numb
But there’s a cold wind coming from
The top of the highest high-rise today
It’s not a breeze cause’ it blows hard
Yes, and it wants me to discard the humanity I know
Watch the Warmth blow away

Do you think I should adhere to that pressing new frontier?
And leave in my wake a trail of fear?
Or should I hold my head up high
And throw a wrench and spokes by
Leaving the air behind me clear?

Don’t let the world bring you down
Not everyone here is that F***ed up and cold
Remember why you came
And while you’re alive
Experience the warmth before you grow old

Today we went to work on the house we worked on yesterday and we pretty much finished some parts of it and are moving on to the next part, which is caulking it and hopefully we finish that by tomorrow. The New England Revolution soccer team came by and Chelsea was just so excited. It was pretty cool. We finished early because we were going to go on a tour. We came back to the church and waited for this women Mary to come. She came and we went on a tour of the city. I was filming most of it and hopefully I did a decent job. I tried to show the difference between the nicer areas and places like the ninth ward and so on. We visited places like the ninth ward and areas that have been destroyed and have not been repaired. We heard these horrible stories of the mayor not wanted to allow for a volunteer village where volunteers can stay and help out. Instead the mayor laughed and said that that was not going to happen because it would not make sense. Mary also told us that some communities are being build by volunteers not the federal government or construction companies. So why not allow for a Volunteer village where volunteers can stay and be able to help out. Instead volunteers have to rely on churches and places like Camp Hope to be generous enough to house them. By the way, we hear that Camp hope houses right now about 300 people and last week it house about 900 people. We also witness first hand a woman complaining to Mary that electricians and contractors are hired, the people make a $1,000 down payment and they usually disappear. This has happens, according to Mary, many times and it is just horrible to think that people would do this. To them it is easy money and I guess this is human nature but still, that is a horrible act. Besides this, we saw the Ninth ward and another place and it was tough to see. Some places were completely wiped off of their foundations and other places still had not been gutted. We stopped at this one location near the levies, which from what Mary said, were repaired the same way, the same height and this whole flooding can happen again. We walked up to one home and it was horrible. Mandy found a bible that was just in a horrible condition. I took pictures and saw a Barney book and a refrigerator that was on its side. The place was swept from its foundation and was such a mess. Thus I believe that the song by Incubus applies because the people down here have gone through a lot and continue to go through a lot. But they remain hopeful and find their warmth in people like us who come to volunteer out time and hope out. We could be in other places but we are not. It makes it worth it when people tell us, “Thank you for helping us out and that communities are being built by volunteers”. We went to CC coffee and I got a vanilla latte and talked with the person who was making it. He told me that he came in January to New Orleans and does not want to visit the Ninth ward because it would be too much for him. Also, he wants to tell people that New Orleans is ok and it is not too bad. I think that is sad because he, and I’m sure others do not want to face reality.

Ebelio