It was a dark and stormy night. I was just sitting there minding my own business when out of the blue, as I was waiting for my computer to perform a single, simple function, came a tap on the window. As I set up straighter and turned my chair for a direct view of a most unusual sight.
The vision before me was Justin Deaver and Jay Cutler. Just before I turned back to my computer to witness the last of its life I heard these two voices in unison, "High Grandad".
Tomorrow, with my new computer operating near the speed of light, I won't have time to turn toward visions in the night. Boy, am I disappointed. I have some really good dreams stored up.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Kim
I pull up Kim's blog and there is a picture of this Carib indian with her grass cutter that lives back in the jungle of St Vincent. The folks that live where I visited while on the island advised that I should not venture there. This must have been before Kim decided to become my daughter.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Dumping
Last week at Sager Brown was the best. It started by unloading two semi trucks full of kits on Monday. The volunteers would carry it out box by box, stack it on pallets of 28 boxes each and Charley and I would hall it away by fork lift. My boss, the normal fork lift operator had to be absent on Monday. We finished with 90 pallets holding 2520 boxes with 45,360 kits worth over
$ 1,000,000. This was donated by several church memberships in Iowa.
On Tuesday we started transferring the kits to larger more accessible large boxes that would hold approximately 250 kits. This is called dumping. Charley would then place the large boxes
on shelves with a fork lift for other volunteers to check for proper content.
I had a dumping crew of eleven, mostly female. Cynthia, Sue, Deb, Jan, Nancy, Allison, Mary, Bob, Harvey, Dennis and Chuck. We were able to complete dumping all the boxes by Friday noon.
At lunch on Thursday I announced how well my team was doing was preforming and as a reward
I was offering free hugs the rest of the week. The response from my team was great, starting during lunch time.
The Iowa team said I could come back as a member of their group next year since I wasn't invited back as a long term volunteer. They stay only for only one week. They bring two semi truck loads every year.
It was a great and rewarding week. I have a hard time keeping a dry eye every time I think about my team.
$ 1,000,000. This was donated by several church memberships in Iowa.
On Tuesday we started transferring the kits to larger more accessible large boxes that would hold approximately 250 kits. This is called dumping. Charley would then place the large boxes
on shelves with a fork lift for other volunteers to check for proper content.
I had a dumping crew of eleven, mostly female. Cynthia, Sue, Deb, Jan, Nancy, Allison, Mary, Bob, Harvey, Dennis and Chuck. We were able to complete dumping all the boxes by Friday noon.
At lunch on Thursday I announced how well my team was doing was preforming and as a reward
I was offering free hugs the rest of the week. The response from my team was great, starting during lunch time.
The Iowa team said I could come back as a member of their group next year since I wasn't invited back as a long term volunteer. They stay only for only one week. They bring two semi truck loads every year.
It was a great and rewarding week. I have a hard time keeping a dry eye every time I think about my team.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, October 17, 2011
BOSS DAY
Sunday the sixteenth of Oct was National Boss Day and they couldn't do their job because no one come to work.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
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
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
Sunday, October 9, 2011
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.
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.
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