Thunder Showers & Warm Showers

Boy, last night was a trailer rocker! Major wind and rain moved through the area after dark. I was very glad we had enough huts up on platforms to keep the campers out of the water. There was some puddling on the floors, but mostly due to condensation - the down side of having a warm hut. There was some great rolling thunder that lasted for what seemed like half a minute. Ironically I slept the best I had in four nights. The previous nights we had to deal with the excentricities of Heat Wagons. Of course these problems never arise in the middle of the afternoon...

We are expecting cold temps tonight and tomorrow - lows of about 25. So I spent the day yesterday tuning up all 13 heaters for the huts. Imagine my consternation when two of the heaters had trouble starting and ran rough! Turns out it was the same problem we sometimes had on the flightline with older jet engines - wind up the tail pipe. The wind was strong and coming from the east, disrupting air flow. A strategically placed pallet provided enough of a break to let them run as advertised.

Yesterday I had an invitation to go to dinner with the team that was in camp, but felt like I was coming down with a cold, so stayed home to rest. (Note to AH-C: I have pretty much polished off your Elderberry Extract.) (Note to everone else: Please, no Monty Python comments.) So I'm feeling better today. But anyway, I had an epiphany last night during devotions with the team, as they were telling about the people they met and the work they had done. I have realized that not only do I have a slight case of cabin fever (I am pretty much restricted to camp, unless someone else is available to cover), but what I really am missing is the direct involvement at the work site. I miss the gratification of doing the work and making the relationships that the volunteers have the chance to do when they are working in people's homes. I hope to rectify that for my replacement, even if I can't work it in for myself. We should have several days overlap and I will try to arrange at least one of them to be a work day.

This week is a red letter week. The D'Iberville Volunteer Foundation has been given the former FEMA camp next door and are moving their operations in. Not only will they will have their offices nearby, but they are bringing the kitchen over, too. We will share kitchen duties, expense and dining areas with other volunteers who are working in D'Iberville. Now all three meals will be cooked at the camp, rather than having to go there for breakfast and lunch. But the big news is hot showers! The DVF just finished modifying a former FEMA facility (Say that three time fast!) for six hot showers. As it so happens PDA is also providing showers on a trailer. It is scheduled to show up at 11:00 p.m. tonight. That will give us another half dozen showers. In this business it seems like it is either feast or famine.

Gotta go. I'm expecing another team of volunteers in at any time, the kerosene delivery is late. They will probably both arrive at the same time.

iXs,
the Rev