Week 31

Ashlyn & I both fear birds, so we're getting our revenge.

Well, the ISP at the women’s shelter went really well and ended up being a lot more than just building a wheelchair ramp, although that was one of the things we did. We also cleaned out an old shed that had a bunch of stored items that had been in there for far too long. Three rat bodies were identified amid the piles of turds, urinated on furniture and boxes, and gnawed through clothing and sheets. It was quite disgusting, which means, it was a job that really needed to be done, so despite the ick factor, it really was a productive and rewarding ISP. Oddly, I found an almost dead mouse on our kitchen floor when I went to make breakfast before leaving for the project, which I had to take outside and release to its fate. We knew there were rats and things living in our walls, but hadn’t seen one yet. As in literature, sometimes in life we receive foreshadowings, and that mouse was the beginning of a day filled with carrying dead rodents to and fro.

Safety first.

This week consisted of more sheetrocking, but I also got to spend one day helping a community lady (in her 80’s or so) move from her now condemned house to an apartment. The city gave her a matter of days to move all of her things before bringing in the bulldozer. In the end it’ll be good, because the organization I’m working with is going to build her a new house, paid for by the city. It was a fun day, getting to know the lady and helping her pack up, but I know she was sad to leave the house where she’d lived with her husband (recently deceased) for the past 20 years.

Since this was our last week of work in Hattiesburg, R3SM threw us a BBQ (including a vegetarian selection), and had a little ceremony of appreciation for us, which was really nice. We also went to a crawfish boil this week, thrown by the groundskeeper of the place we’ve been living; such a neat Southern experience.

On Saturday, we worked at a festival called Hubfest for an ISP. I came home with a slight sunburn and over 9 ISP hours. It was a long day of working in a carnival type atmosphere designated the children’s area, but I had fun. I oversaw the bean bag toss for half of the time, and a bounce house the other half. Now I’m back on campus in Vicksburg and will be leaving for Memphis a week from today.

This whole experience has been such a whorlwind, and I’ve been thinking a lot about all the people I’ve met along the way and will most likely never see again. In John Steinbeck’s Travel’s with Charlie, I just came across a passage that reflected exactly I feel. He says that there are people you meet when you’re traveling who are meant to be temporal in your life. The thing that makes that type of relationship worthwhile is that it is a short human connection, in which you tell your story, hear theirs, and then you move on to what’s next. Those people aren’t meant to be kept in touch with, but they leave a part of themselves with you, and so you’re more attuned to all of humankind. Each individual is so unique, you should make the most of the time you have with them, but when it’s time to say goodbye forever, you can both walk away with a smile, because you’ll always have the memory of your interactions with them.

Even when Mac's in the trash, we still
love repping the 'A'

Tomorrow I’m going to a job fair in Memphis for the day (4 hour drive each way), not because I want to get a permanent job in Memphis, but because I like job fairs and it’ll be a fun trip. We were given the option of going to that or staying back in Vicksburg and working at a local cemetery that we worked at before. Then Thursday I’m driving home for couple of days to attend one of my best friend’s weddings, so I’m really looking forward to that. It’ll be a short visit, because I need to back on campus for work on Monday, but I’ll get to see some friends and hang out with my rapidly growing nieces. Ellie will be 1 next month! I can hardly believe it.

Love you guys,

  k

Us girls at our last day cookout in Hattiesburg.