Red Nose

Still Here, Or Rather There

 Hi!

I'm still in Philadelphia at my conference. So far, I have:

• Eaten a cheesesteak
• Had a Bassett's ice cream cone
• Visited the oldest pub in downtown Philly (McGuillen's -- excellent and cheap BLTs)
• Drunk free beer (always good!)
• Attended some very good sessions on instructional design and the like
• Hugged about a million billion people
• Watched the Pens beat the Red Wings (C'mon Wings! Get it together!)
• Attended a meeting
• Crashed a lunch with some of the coolest people in the whole entire world
• Bought some good books

I plan to do more of some of those things. Guess which ones!

A Hand Up

One week ago our bus drove down School Street in Pascagoula, Mississippi, stopping at a construction site.

We were working with Habitat for Humanity that day, helping build two houses. One of them -- on the left in preceding picture -- is the house that Jimmy Carter will be working next month during his yearly work stint with the organization he founded.

I worked on that house, too. Because the walls are premanufactured, there are a lot of nails that just missed the studs -- these little babies are called shiners. I pounded out shiners so that they could be removed and repounded into the studs. Some of the studs on the inside of the house are made from the big Christmas tree that stood in Rockefeller Plaza last Christmas. This sounds really cool -- and it is really cool -- but the experienced carpenters hate the stuff. The wood is really bad, very sappy and soft. But as long as it's just used to help hold up drywall rather than exterior or weight-bearing walls, everything is just fine.

My big job that day, though, was adding siding to the shed for one of the houses. I am now a Siding Queen. I can measure, cut, and nail up siding with the best of them.

Okay, maybe not with the best of them. But I can do it.

This was my shed. Doris was my team lead. She and her husband Bob are Habitat groupies. They're retired, live in their RV, and go from project to project, building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Now that's pretty cool.

Doris taught us how to do everything and made sure we did it right. I want to be her when I grow up.

One of my team members was Melissa, who is buying one of the other houses being built on School Street. In this picture, she's in the red shirt, helping my colleague Bertha measure the siding.

Everyone who buys a Habitat house has to qualify for the no-interest loan, and they have to put in 150-200 hours of sweat equity by helping to build the houses. Melissa's a single mom to two boys, and you could see the excitement in her face when she talked about her home-to-be.

A couple time we had to tear off pieces of siding because we didn't line it up right with the other walls or because we didn't snap it together quite properly. Doris was making sure this shed was done right! But finally we finished, ahead of schedule, and Doris had us sign the last piece of siding before we nailed it in.

We didn't build a whole house that day, but we helped a lot. And I will never take homeownership for granted ever again.

As the Habitat for Humanity folks say: It's not a hand OUT; it's a hand UP.

(All the pictures from the day are here.)

Build Day

While we were building houses for Habitat for Humanity (more on that later), the KaBOOM! team finished up the site prep and got everything ready for the big build day on Saturday.

Over 150 volunteers, from the military, AmeriCorps, and the community showed up to assemble the playground. Here's what we found when we arrived bright and early on a perfect spring morning.

Because the folks in my group were acting as build captains, we got to the site at 6:30 am to get our briefing and get our flare. I headed up the Scarecrow team; in a brilliant display of humor, the KaBOOM! leaders assigned the two biggest and brawniest guys to lead the Puppy and Butterfly teams. Hee!

I had a great group, especially given that I know next to nothing about hardware and the assemblage thereof. My illustrious Scarecrows built two of the more complex components of the playground, the tire swing and the transfer station on the main structure. Here are some of my scarecrows, helping to attach the transfer station.

We were supposed to take a 20-minute lunch break, in shifts by team, but we were so far ahead of ourselves that Bing, our project lead, had everyone take lunch at the same time for one full hour! Box lunches and drinks were provided by the community, and they were damn good, too.

After lunch, it was back to work. Concrete was mixed and poured, the barren slab was painted brightly, plants were planted, benches and trash cans and planters were built and placed, and finally, last of all, yards and yards of mulch were spread evenly and deeply all over the playground.

And then, just after two o'clock, it was done! (Almost) nothing to everything in six hours!

We even had a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The kids themselves made the ribbon, there were a few brief speeches, and then this sweet little girl officially cut the ribbon!

(I took about a ton more pictures than the few I've shown here; I've got them all posted here.)

Today, Wednesday, is the first day that actual kids can actually play on the equipment, because the concrete had to cure for three days. I wish I could see them; heck, I wish I could play on it my own self!

Prep Day For A Playground

We got to the Ocean Springs Boys and Girls Club bright and early Thursday morning. We met with the KaBOOM! project managers, Bing and Jen, and found out exactly what we were going to do: get the site ready for the big build on Friday. Normally, all that's done on prep day is unloading the playground components, grading the site, and digging the holes. Then, on build day, the volunteers get to see a playground rise, in its entirety, from bare dirt. The KaBOOM! folks call it "From Nothing to Everything in A Day."

This build was a little different.

Because the design called for two tall shade hats (a must for southern Mississippi summer days), we were going to put up the poles for the shade hats as well. Okey-dokey then!

Here's the site.

First we had a nice nosh, complete with good coffee, which lulled us into compliance. Then we gathered at the big semi and unloaded the playground components, placing them in two big POD storage containers for build day on Saturday.

Some of us got to cut all the wood for the wooden benches, planters, and trash bins. Others folks assembled some of the components we'd use later to stabilize the shade hats. I got to shovel dirt. A big old drill, attached to a BobCat, actually dug the holes; I got to shovel the dirt away from them. It didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked, what with big old tree roots and collapsing hold walls, but eventually the holes got dug.

Then it was time to tote the tall poles to the holes and raise the shade hats.

Then the construction manager, Treynor, got to go up in the cherry picker and bolt all the pole arms together in the center.

Oh yeah, we got to hold up the poles and make sure they were straight. I was doing that when I started feeling kind of dizzy, so I grabbed a big guy and made him take my place. I figured it was probably better than fainting and falling in a hole and having the poles (and everyone holding them) fall on top of me. Yah.

Then we attached some of the preassembled components, the better to keep the first shade hat straight and facilitate the planting of the second shade hat.

At the end of the day, the bare bones of the shade hats were up, with concrete poured in the holes, standing straight and tall. These structures are rated to withstand 150 miles an hour winds, so no worries about hurricanes!

The base crew did more work after we left, to ensure that build day would go smoothly. But that's a story for another day!

Meatacon: It's What's For Dinner

So to continue the recap, here are 10 things about Meatacon!

1. Sleigh rides in the snow are pretty magical. Cold, but magical.

2. Of course, The Doctor is there to help warm you up.

3. You can always sit on the throne at the Green Bay Winter Carnival.

4. The food: brats, booyah, fluff! Steaks you grill all by yourself! Texas Toast that I burnt all by myself! (And then I did it right.)

5. Cherry wine and cream sherry, thanks to Tom and Susan.

6. The people are amazing! Old friends, new friends, young friends, true friends.

7. Raffle! We raised $410.00 for a local soup kitchen. What a great way to spread the joy. I donated a copy of Girl Clown -- I will admit that I was nervous that no one would want it, but what a silly feeling that was -- and Susan won it! Yay!

8. The proper footwear is important.

9. As is the proper headwear.

10. And, of course, there was the Vibrator Race at that very very very Bad Bar.

Breakfast at Cafe du Monde

Before:

Okay, I took one bite before I realized that I had to save this delicious sight for posterity. In any case...

After:

It's been an amazing day. More later, when I've thought about what I've seen.

My Bags Are Packed

I got everything on the List Of Things To Bring, including work gloves, rubber gloves, bug repellent, sunscreen, and hand sanitizer.

I've packed sturdy shoes, jeans, shorts (it's gonna be in the 80s!), and a whole slew of tee-shirts. Oh, and a nice pair of khaki capri pants and a nice top, because I'm working a Volunteers of America golf tournament fundraiser on Monday. I hope I get the beer concession! After that? I'll be rebuilding houses in the Treme neighborhood, helping kids at a charter school, and working at St. Raphael's church.

I'll be eating really well, too. I've got lots of restaurant recommendations (thanks Chuck!) and one confirmed reservation. I'm planning on hearing some damn good music too, even if I have to drag my ass into a club.

All that's left to pack is my laptop, my toiletries, and my juggling balls.

Drop me off in New Orleans, dawlin'!

Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues

It's true, but only in the very best of senses.

I love The Blues. I can't remember when I first discovered The Blues as The Blues. It was probably more of a slow evolution in my musical taste, from Beatles to Motown to Cream to the Stones to Janis -- ah, there's a connection for you! Then I fell for Bonnie Raitt and it was all over, because Bonnie Raitt opened my eyes to Bessie Smith and Sippie Wallace and Big Mama Thorton, and then I got to know Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and BB King and Bobby Blue Bland and Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and man, I was sunk.

Of course there were great blues rockers of my own generation: Delbert McClinton and John Hammond and George Thorogood and Stevie Ray Vaughn and Robert Cray and the great DC band The Nighthawks.

I love all brands of The Blues. I love country blues, Memphis blues, Texas blues, and, of course...

Chicago Blues.

So while most of the Amazing People that I communed with on Friday night went to Hogs and Honeys to dance on the bar and ride the mechanical bull, Joe and I met up with the lovely KarenD and went to Buddy Guy's Legends, a funky old-school blues bar on South Wabash in Sweet Home Chicago.

We got there at 8:30 for a 9:30 show and the place was already almost full. The initial act, Eric Noden, was already playing an very good acoustic set. The second act, though, was Little Arthur Duncan, amazing blues harp player and shouter. The house band backed him up -- I could have listened to them for hours all by themselves. When Little Arthur went into Little Red Rooster I thought Joe was going to rise directly into heaven.

But then! Then! Then came the main act: Wayne Baker Brooks and his band.

Oh. My. God. These guys were fuckin' awesome. First off, Wayne is the son of Lonnie Brooks, a great bluesman in his own right.

But man oh man, his baby boy Wayne can play himself some guitar and belt some blues. He got us all involved too, clapping and singing and butt-dancing in our seats. Whew!

He played and played and played -- having fun the entire time. During the final number of his set, he left the stage, playing right on through the audience, having a blast.

I may be a middle-age white broad, but boy oh boy, there ain't nothin' like a good heavy dose of The Blues to make you feel just fine.

Love Is On The Web

Karen, from over at Chookooloonks, and Irene, from Momster, have created a sweet new meme: Love Thursday. In the nutshell, every Thursday you post a picture whose theme is love -- any kind of love -- and then post the permalink over at Chookooloonks.

Here's mine:

This shot was one of those fantastically lucky occurrences where the stars align and you happen to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

It's October 2001, in Zurich, Switzerland, outside St. Stephen's Cathedral. Joe and I are walking along, sightseeing on a perfect autumn day, and I spy these two young people kissing passionately, all alone halfway up the steps. I grabbed my camera and snapped; they never even knew.

A perfect moment on a perfect day in a beautiful city, it reminded that love really is all around, if you only look for it.

I hope they're still together.

Mojave Melting Pot

  An Unusual Formation 
  Originally uploaded by Bozoette.

So what do you do when it's 100 degrees on the Strip in Las Vegas?

Why, you take a trip to the desert, of course.

My Vegas connection and great good friend, Shad, was the hostess with the mostess for my pal Andrea and me. She picked us up in front of our hotel and spirited us away from the glitz and glam of dancing waters and sequined showgoils. We traveled outside the city -- although the outrageous growth of identical housing developments has made it more difficult -- past Red Rock Canyon and over the Springs Mountains toward Pahrump. We turned left  at the Jerky Wagon and headed toward Tecopa, over the California line, very close to Death Valley.

Normally, Death Valley this close to summertime would not be my idea of a good time, but hey! We weren't actually going to Death Valley, just close.

We stopped first at China Ranch Date Farm, an amazing oasis in the middle of the desert. To get there, you drive through a moonscape full of fantastic rock formations, down into the valley of the date palm trees.

Man! The gift shop (yes!) had all kinds of things, but naturally dates were the featured product. Homemade cookies, breads, date milkshakes, and bags and bags of fresh dates.

After dating ourselves, we started to drive back out to the main road. Just as we passed the Acme Siding display, a roadrunner flashed past the car.

Yes! A roadrunner, right by the Acme Siding sign!

I waited for Wile E. Coyote to follow, but alas.

It was only a few miles to Tecopa from the date farm. Our destination? The Delights Hot Springs Resort.

Yes. Hot springs.

On a day when it was 100 degrees. In the shade.

Hot springs.

Why not?

Delights has four private soaking pools, each with its own shower. We locked the door, stripped down, slipped into the 104 degree water, and promptly melted.

You might say we embraced the heat. We became one with the heat. Hot dry air and hotter water -- enveloping us.

Nuts. That's what we were.

Thank goodness there was the cool shower and bottles of cold water to prevent us from becoming puddles of molten organic goo.

We ate lunch in the shade, feeling languid and slow and very relaxed.

I've got to say, though, that the A/C in the car was really, really wonderful.