Live from Pearlington - 5

Things are moving along here and coming to a head, all at the same time. The power company has finally restored power to the Pearl Mart (Aid Mart) and we all celebrated this morning. We still need to do some re-wiring until we disconnect the generators, but it looks good. Despite being under seawater and sludge, the internal wiring in the school remarkably survived. Goods are moving in and out and I am helping to coordinate a group building sheds for needy families and those who have not yet received their FEMA trailer. They are great folks and are here for all the right reasons.

Nancy has done a remarkable job on the Hope Chests. Each is stuffed with great stuff for kids of the different age groups and she made sure she did enough research to ensure that they are all things the kids want; in short, she has done the work to be culturally appropriate. Families are streaming in to get them and most are deeply moved that a family in Canada would care enough about them to go to all this trouble. One woman, as I started to tell her what it was all about, said: "Y'all gonna make me cry." Suddenly....oh, man! - I was crying right along with her.... Nancy has really out-shone the sun with her work here and those Chests. It is having exactly the effect I hoped it would have. Folks are moved.

I mentioned that things are coming to a head. I have a serious decision to make. Joe "California" Clark is leaving on Sunday. This man has been a Godsend and has been on sight for over a month. He has gone way beyond the call of duty and now he knows it's time to go. Will, the Carbonale firefighter who has been managing the floor of Pearl Mart, is finished today. He also has performed admirably and I will ensure his department back home knows what a selfless contribution he has made. A local minister, Pastor Fred Fields has been put now in overall charge and we all had a meeting this morning. He's a good man with no intention to fix something that isn't broken and, unlike plenty of "clipboards" who have come through this place, he has no delusion that he's running the world.

However, an enormous void will be created by the departure of Joe and Will. No one else is so well known by the locals and many here want me to stay and carry on, at least until some others step up to the plate. Unfortunately, the Pearlington Recovery Centre - as we now call it - has had its share of “clippies” and this has placed an extra burden on these good people. You all know my legendary lack of tolerance for bull___t and I believe that when we do this work as volunteers, we must - like doctors - first do no harm. The very last thing these folks deserve is to be the recipients of our negative dynamics. But, it is the nature of volunteerism that people with no prior leadership or management experience can suddenly find themselves in charge. This has been the case here and I cannot bear to see the whole thing fall apart, once again, because my comfortable life in Canada beckons.

Don’t misunderstand. The world does not revolve around me any more than it does anyone else. Pastor Fields seems a competent man. But it is too large a task now for any one person and Pastor Fields knows this. That’s why he’s asked me, should I be able to stay, to be his co-Manage of this facility. He has two churches he pastors and his own life to rebuild and there needs to be someone here who knows the ropes and can be trusted to keep the needs of Pearlington first in mind. Staying, of course, will have a serious impact on my own livelihood, not to mention how Nancy would get home. I have discussed it all with her, with the folks here and with my wife. A final decision is pending. The people of Pearlington have suffered incredibly and continue to do so. There are still families living in tents 67 days after Katrina. A few men are still living in their cars. The shelters in Louisiana have all been closed by the Red Cross and so people there are coming here. Our shelter is one of the few still open and active. Yet, we are not supposed to accept the homeless from out-of-state and so these people are put in a terrible catch-22. We do what we can We bend the rules and sometimes we break them.

Please send your prayers for a speedy solution. I need to create some miracles today and I need your help.