The Pearlington Project: Mountains to Mississippi
August 30, 2006
It’s Wednesday night and the end of an extraordinary trip.
Roger Ball, Mark Basset and Kevin Green from Carbondale Fire all joined me in this mission. We brought chain saws and borrowed Ben Taylor's tools. The boys worked 10-hour days cutting very challenging, technical and dangerous trees - all without a mistake. I could see the relief come over the faces of the residents as the trees fell and no longer threatened their home or safety.
We continued our finishing touches on Debbie Sonnier's house, whose smile was as beaming as I have ever seen it. She is in her house and, while there is work yet to be done, Mark put on his carpentry hat and finished more of the detail work that makes a house a home. They worked right up to 12:30 p.m. today until they had to run to the airport. None of them wanted to leave.
They are ‘hooked’ on Pearlington.
I submitted another Salvation Army grant today on behalf of a group called Pickin’ Up The Pieces. I hand-delivered the grant to Biloxi to be sure it got in the hands of the review committee. I also met with Liza Cowan from Americares and toured her through town, showing her our work and accomplishments. What a great person she is and we had an enjoyable visit with much deep discussion as we continue to sort through the meaning of all this.
As always I hate to leave, there is so much still to do. G. Bush flew directly over us while we were taking down the most difficult tree. His entourage of helicopters was en route to Gulfport from New Orleans. Too bad he wasn't on the ground to really see who the heroes are. We could have used that helicopter, by the way.
The Reunion was great, with lots of remembering and recognition. Good folks, good food, good place to be. Special thanks to Susie Sharp and Canada Jon.
Here’s a quick recap of what we did:
Sandra Merles - cut down about eight trees two of which were snagged and very dangerous, moved her shed and Eileen Powers and her son and Alex started gutting
Debbie Sonnier - cut an eight foot pine a foot from her house, hung cabinets, bathroom door, dry walled, got here some curtains, few other odds and ends
Susie Necaise - dropped off donated washer and dryer
Jeanne Brooks mother - cut a white oak from her yard
Sam Bailey - cut numerous trees along power lines and next to house
Larry Randall and Herb Ritchie - cut several trees from each of their home sites - they were very relieved....
- Picked up and checked out the ambulance
- Worked with Paula B. and Anita B. formulating the Emergency Plan and very nearly implemented it for Ernesto
- Wrapped up with a celebration at Turtle Landing - Ben Taylor called in the gators for the boys to see.
It’s Wednesday night and the end of an extraordinary trip.
Roger Ball, Mark Basset and Kevin Green from Carbondale Fire all joined me in this mission. We brought chain saws and borrowed Ben Taylor's tools. The boys worked 10-hour days cutting very challenging, technical and dangerous trees - all without a mistake. I could see the relief come over the faces of the residents as the trees fell and no longer threatened their home or safety.
We continued our finishing touches on Debbie Sonnier's house, whose smile was as beaming as I have ever seen it. She is in her house and, while there is work yet to be done, Mark put on his carpentry hat and finished more of the detail work that makes a house a home. They worked right up to 12:30 p.m. today until they had to run to the airport. None of them wanted to leave.They are ‘hooked’ on Pearlington.
I submitted another Salvation Army grant today on behalf of a group called Pickin’ Up The Pieces. I hand-delivered the grant to Biloxi to be sure it got in the hands of the review committee. I also met with Liza Cowan from Americares and toured her through town, showing her our work and accomplishments. What a great person she is and we had an enjoyable visit with much deep discussion as we continue to sort through the meaning of all this.
As always I hate to leave, there is so much still to do. G. Bush flew directly over us while we were taking down the most difficult tree. His entourage of helicopters was en route to Gulfport from New Orleans. Too bad he wasn't on the ground to really see who the heroes are. We could have used that helicopter, by the way.
The Reunion was great, with lots of remembering and recognition. Good folks, good food, good place to be. Special thanks to Susie Sharp and Canada Jon.
Here’s a quick recap of what we did:
Sandra Merles - cut down about eight trees two of which were snagged and very dangerous, moved her shed and Eileen Powers and her son and Alex started gutting
Debbie Sonnier - cut an eight foot pine a foot from her house, hung cabinets, bathroom door, dry walled, got here some curtains, few other odds and ends
Susie Necaise - dropped off donated washer and dryer
Jeanne Brooks mother - cut a white oak from her yard
Sam Bailey - cut numerous trees along power lines and next to house
Larry Randall and Herb Ritchie - cut several trees from each of their home sites - they were very relieved....
- Picked up and checked out the ambulance
- Worked with Paula B. and Anita B. formulating the Emergency Plan and very nearly implemented it for Ernesto
- Wrapped up with a celebration at Turtle Landing - Ben Taylor called in the gators for the boys to see.
Special thanks to the Taylors who always make their home ours and are very much a part of us.
Thanks,
Tom Dalessandri
The Pearlington Project: Mountains to Mississippi
Please check out our new web site, located at:
http://www.pearlingtonproject.com
posted by Jon White @ 1:07 PM
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