FEMA trailer residents face final countdown

Sometimes it's hard for me to explain my job, but here's an article from South Florida on a project I'd been working in Palm Beach County. I'd been serving with the Palm Beach Disaster Recovery Coalition to help them with clients being evicted by FEMA.

It's available here.

Taking the time to listen to the music

During my car drive down here to Palm Beach this week (the second in two weeks!), I was listening to NPR and was fascinated by a piece on All Things Considered.

It was about world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell, who was asked to perform during rush hour commuter traffic in the Metro in Washington, DC. It was an experiment set up by the Washington Post to see if anyone would take time to notice the grand music flowing through the sub-terranean corridors of public transportation.

Many just went on through the station, without hesitation or acknowledgement of the beautiful music playing.

It suddenly donned on me one of the times I stopped to hear the music.

I was a freshman in college when some friends and went on quite an adventure through the streets of New Orleans. A friend's dad was there for a convention and got us a hotel room right in the Quarter.

After a night you'd expect in New Orleans (I'll keep this PG-rated), we were slowly sobering up and had the munchies. If you live in the Deep South and you're wasted or high, you learn only one thing satisfies a late night craving... Krystals.

As we made our way down Bourbon Street and got closer to Krystals, I could hear this angelic voice getting nearer. As we walked closer, I saw it was a woman just across the street from the burger joint, singing somberly, yet with such heart and emotion.

I didn't want to move, so I sent my friend inside while I stood outside to hear her sing the gospel, her rich voice amplifying beyond the narrow streets and old buildings.

When she sang "Amazing Grace," I could feel my heart race.

Next time, when you hear the music, take a moment and appreciate it as one of life's pure simple joys.

Battling Traveler's Insomnia

It's past 4 a.m... I'm in my hotel room and I can't sleep... again.

I don't know how to combat my traveler's insomnia. It's hit or miss, but during my travels, I usually have one or two difficult nights of sleeping. Maybe my body is trying to adjust to a new environment, a new bed, or the quality of air in my room-- but irregardless of whether I'm in a posh Disney resort or at the Holiday Inn, I just have trouble sleeping in hotels. I lay off the caffeine in the afternoon, and last night I even had a stiff drink after work with a colleague in the hopes it'd help me.

A lot of my colleagues carry a friend to help them sleep at night... Jim Beam is pretty common, though I knew of someone who brought Jose Cuervo along. Jim would be good... Jose NOT a good idea at all. I haven't gone that far, though, I'm sure to re-evaluate that idea this afternoon when I have trouble staying awake.

Last week, I did a bit of socialized drinking while I was in Orlando. I got to spend time with a few colleagues I hadn't re-connected with since I got back into the realm of disaster. But I think what drove us to the bottle was why we were in Orlando-- it was a summit on pandemic flu. We're talking serious business, folks! It's incredibly scary to think how an outbreak could influence our society.

I'm in Palm Beach County now to help with case management... we have a group of clients that need to leave FEMA housing by the end of the month. It looks like I'll be coming back and forth down here for the next month, splitting my time in different areas. I also have to catch up on one of my programs and visit sites in Miami, Hollywood, Ft. Lauderdale, and Belle Glade.

This is the point of my job where the rubber hits the road... and that's a great thing. After a few months of feeling relatively useless, it's great to be back from the mission trip to be better motivated.

I think I'll try to get another hour of sleep... good night, er morning.