Moving On

Today is the anniversary of the Longest Day,June 6, 1944. We give thanks to those who were there.

Spend most of my time organizing the material that goes into the kits that are assembled here. It was a real mess but now its not. Its much easy to deposit new material where it goes and much easier to find the material when you need it.

Visited the bayou yesterday at nine AM and the tide was coming in. Visited the bayou at noon and the tide was coming in. Visited the bayou at three PM and the tide was coming in. The tide was carrying the islands of green foliage. The new interesting thing I saw was an egret or two riding up the bayou standing on the islands. Lazy birds.

We will spent part of the week packing for the trip home next Friday. We were not ask to return next year and will probably not be returning again. Next year will be a different place at a different time doing a different activity. They're going to miss me I think.

BOSS DAY

Sunday the sixteenth of Oct was National Boss Day and they couldn't do their job because no one come to work.

MANNA CABANNA

Each day of the work week we enter the depot and make our first stop at the Manna Cabanna for our first cup of coffee. there's a choice of coffee, decaf, several flavors of soda and water. The volunteers usually bring goodies to munch on..

On Thursday we loaded a container, for shipment to Armenia, with 652 boxes at 30 pounds each containing 15,648 health kits stacked 7 across and 8boxes high. We sill be loading another next Tuesday for a different location.

There are 50 volunteers here this week assembling health kits, school kits, birthing kits, layette kits, and sewing kits. There will be 70 here next week. They come from all over the USA. If you or your church group ever get bored give Sager Brown a call. There will probably be a year or more waiting list. Most of the volunteers are retired folks.

I have been busy helping to reorganise the material that goes into the kits to make it easier to obtain by the volunteers and cleaning up the refuge left over from the kit building process. Next week I may be washing down the outside walls of the depot or painting warning and control strips of the depot floor.

Never a dull moment. Beautiful weather each day we have been here. The sugar cane truck are on a roll with full loads

First week at Sager Brown

Spent the first week at Sager Brown unloading a trailer, disassembling large tub boxes that I helped assemble last year for the Haiti quake and transferring material that was shipped in from small boxes to large tub boxes. Had a super crew helping me. Mostly women. Gained a couple of pounds on the food they served.

This week end I am again sitting on the bayou watching the tide roll in carrying the islands of foliage (lily pads). The sugar harvesters provide a background of noise. Trucks are waiting to move the cane to the refinery for processing. Soon the barges will be hauling the sugar down the bayou and on to the world in many forms.

The fish are jumping clear of the surface and the small boats are heading down stream toward the gulf. The egrets seem to be avoiding this stretch of the water.

The tide has turned now. The wind is blowing up the bayou and the tide is flowing down stream. The tide is winning the battle of which way the small islands move. Mother nature says,"You can' t fool me".

Leaving the bayou to the center of the campus, I am sitting in a swing hung from a huge oak tree trying to read. As I sit there trying to win the page turning contest with the wind, an egret lands at a nearby bush, giving it the once over. Then moving to another group of bushes, moving ever so slowly, stalking its prey, it stabs out with its beak and savors an insect.

Now we start a new week with a brand new crew to work with.

Humming Birds

The second group of migrating humming birds arrive today. We have three feeders out but they seem to concentrate on the two nearest the house. There are about a dozen out there fighting over the two feeders.

The first group arrived, stayed a few days and departed about a week ago. We only had two feeders up at the time. We increase the amount of sugar we put in the mix since they are migrating and can use the extra energy.

We have four humming birds that come and spent the entire summer with us. They disappear for a short time when the honey suckle is in bloom. We see them when they return to their nesting area in the evening.

A real joy of nature.

Repeated Tunes

I think I will follow Arlo where ever he goes. I think taking a short break from the absurdity of modern living is a good idea. Tired of technology. Tired of the information. Tired of the leadership. He just wants to be Arlo. Sitting on the limb of tree sounds just right.

Party

The neighbor's party started at 11:30 am and we arrived at noon. I received about five hugs from the hostess during the hour and one half we were there. They had a very large lunch spread. The ribs were the best. Their swimming pool of salt water was in use and they had a blown up slide in the front yard for the children. They were just recently married and the new husband is in the construction business. The additions to the house were very nice and very well done and decorated. New garage. New den. New bedroom. New covered room over the deck. Two three new bathrooms. Very nice. It started pouring rain about 12:30 and everyone gathered under the tent they provided over the driveway. The band set up in the garage. When the band started it was loud and rock. The band and the vocalist were good but not our style. We said goodbye to the hostess, got another hug and came home in the rain. Seven PM and the party is still going on and LOUD.