Doctor says you gonna die.

Can't sleep. I woke up at 5:30am this morning, which is ridiculously
early for me, even considering the time change. So, I got up, and
wandered around. I found a nice guy with an electric teakettle, so I
got a nice cuppa tea with breakfast. One thing I've gotta say,
there's a very eclectic bunch here. The man I borrowed the tea
kettle from for my tea was driving through the area, and decided to
stay for a little while, and is still here, five months later. I've
seen church groups, and high schoolers, hippies, and lots of Americorps
volunteers.

So, at about 8:30am, we headed out to the work site, not really sure
what to expect. The house we stopped at had already had a 'once
over', it looked like - all of the windows were already open (to let
in air and dry the place out), the fridge was gone, and some other
preliminary work had been done. Even so, the house was a total mess.
Drywall soaked with water and falling apart, parts of the ceiling
collapsed, insulation everywhere. We were well supplied with masks,
gloves, helmets, and of course the steel-toed boots. We broke out the
tools and started the destruction. We took down walls, broke up
cabinets, took up soggy, mildewed carpet, and took everything to the
curb. We didn't get the house quite complete, but I expect we'll get
it done tomorrow. The hardest parts were the personal effects of the
people who lived there. Most stuff was ruined of course, but
everything that seemed like in might be salvageable we put aside in
case the owners want it back. Most things, clothes, papers, books,
and anything else susceptible to water damage was not. We did find a
box in the attic with some wedding and baby shower memorabilia, so we
hope the owners can come back and retrieve that. I think since the
house had already had a chance to dry out, we were lucky with regards
to the presence of wildlife. No snakes, no spiders, only a few bugs
and roaches. And no alligators.

The work was hot. Sweaty. Highly unpleasant. We drank lots and lots
of water, though, and everyone stayed safe. We stopped at about 3:30
to head back to the camp. Everyone was in dire need of a shower, so
we showered off. After a shower and a nap, we decided to head to New
Orleans in search of food and Internet access! The drive back was
again very sobering...miles and miles of flooded-out houses,
practically until we reached the french quarter. Most business were
closed, and the ones that were open proudly proclaimed the fact with
hand painted signs. Once we got to the French Quarter, the city came
back to life. Most shops and buildings in the Quarter avoided the
worst of the damage, because the elevation is higher than the
surrounding areas. Yes, we visited the Cafe Du Monde. The beignets
were delicious, as always. The Internet access proved more difficult
that I'd expected, since the Cafe Du Monde's Internet access was down.
We've ended up in the lobby of a hotel, feeding off of their wifi
connection. We're going to head back to the camp now, and try to get
a good night's sleep.

Again, no idea when I'll be able to write back, but I'll keep in touch
when I can.

Still no alligators in sight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Oh, and the title? It's an 'in' joke. No, I'm not going to tell.