3 weeks ago AmeriCorps NCCC Gold 3, Marnie and I teamed up with United Healthcare to begin a Herculean task. I remember looking at the “baseball field”  (focus on the word field) at the present sight of George Washington Carver High School and Elementary School modular schoolyards and thinking… What are we thinking? Since the storm, none of our schools have baseball diamonds. How are we going to do this? Will we be able to finish? Is this even possible? Is Troy crazy? Is home plate centered? Can we get a sod cutter? (for the last time…No Jake we can’t) Do these ants bite?

We measured and remeasured and then re remeasured. Then we broke soil. We hand dug the infield, leveled the outfield, wheel barrowed uncountable loads of dirt, sand, clay, sod for miles and miles. 3 weeks later we were finished. There was no music montage in between. There was no genie emerging from a Robyn lamp. There was the unending determination of an Americorps team and the help of hundreds of now blistered hands. Lawyers from DRI came out to help. Students in town from North Carolina, Boston and VT stopped by on their way to Bourbon Street. Hillel reminded us of tikkun olam. Repairing the world.  With shovels and rakes. With a roller for Jake and Paul. With teamwork. With stubbornness. We were unified by our hearts and hands and mostly by… baseball. I’ve never seen so many baseball hats. Yankees, Rams, Tigers (LSU and Detroit), Twins, Orioles, Blue Jays, Jayhawks, Cubs, Tarheels, Cardinals, White Sox and Red Sox… all working together. All admitting that, even on their best day, none of their star hitters would be able to crank one out of this 440’ beast. Not even Jeter. We played a quit at bat after we finished and everyone got hits. I felt like I was 10 years old rounding the bases. I’m often proud of the work that I do, I am often humbled and honored by the people I am fortunate to work with. This is a little bigger. This is a diamond.

Who wants to build the next 1?

WWL/Garland Robinette Reporting
I feel a COOL BREES a comin’!   And, it doesn’t  look like pigskin.  When mother nature burns a forest she seems the devil.  Animals are killed, treasures are destroyed and what was, is no more.  But, she understands that in order to evolve to new and better, often times all present must become the past.

We celebrate today like never before.  We have worked and sacrificed in nightmare visions in order to see this joy.  But one day, this too will be a wonderful but distant memory.  What we don’t celebrate today is something of which we are not aware.

There has been a change in our DNA.  Our tremors, our tears, our fears have been replaced with steel.  While the rest of the country runs from mudslides, urban flash fires and a world stopped by snow.  While the world reels from sunamis, earthquakes and fear of war, we celebrate.  We have little fear.

Why would we?  What is mother nature going to do?  Flood us?  Destroy our homes?  Kill large numbers of us?  So what?  We’ll just rebuild, cook better food, make our educational system the country’s best!   We will always finish strong.  We know, unlike the rest of the world, that we can replace horror with joy.  We have proof that we can move from world sympathy to WORLD CHAMPIONS!  We can make pigs fly and ice skate in hell!

And, a word for those who will still insist on holding us to the past.  Without whites’ help, President Obama would not be in office.  Without blacks’ help, Mitch Landrieu would not be in office.  Our Vietnamese congressman watched the Who-Dats in the oval office with a black President…and our Indian Governor celebrated in Miami.  For those who talk of shadow governments in order to tear us apart…you lose.  You cannot tear steel!

For years we have been different for many of the wrong reasons.  But now look for the rest of the world to hope to be different, just like us.  We have been to war.  They have not.  We have not only survived but thrived.  Whatever lies ahead, we know from experience that we will finish strong.  There is a cool Brees a comin’….and WE DAT!

1 day

Dear Miami,
The Saints are coming. And so are we, their loyal, long-suffering and slightly discombobulated Super Bowl-bound fans.

While there’s still time to prepare — although a few hard-core Who Dats will begin trickling in Monday, most of us won’t arrive until Thursday or Friday — we thought we’d give you a heads-up about what you should expect.

First things first: You need more beer.

Yeah, we know. You ordered extra. You think you have more than any group of humans could possibly consume in one week. Trust us. You don’t.

New Orleans was a drinking town long before the Saints drove us to drink. But it turns out beer tastes better when you’re winning. (Who knew?) So let’s just say we’re thirsty for more than a championship; adjust your stockpiles accordingly.

And look. When we ask you for a go-cup, be nice to us. We don’t even know what “open container law” means. Is that anything like “last call”?

It’s Carnival season in New Orleans (that’s Mardi Gras to you), and we’ll be taking the celebration on the road. So don’t be startled if you walk past us and we throw stuff at you; that’s just our way of saying hello.

Oh, and sorry in advance about those beads we leave dangling from your palm trees. We just can’t help ourselves.
February is also crawfish season, and you can be sure that more than one enterprising tailgater will figure out a way to transport a couple sacks of live mudbugs and a boiling pot to Miami.

When the dude in the ‘Who Dat’ T-shirt asks if you want to suck da head and pinch da tail, resist the urge to punch him. He’s not propositioning you. He’s inviting you to dinner.

And if you see a big Cajun guy who looks exactly like an old Saints quarterback walking around town in a dress … don’t ask. It’s a long story.

We know that crowd control is a major concern for any Super Bowl host city. Our advice? Put away the riot gear.

Reason No. 1: Indianapolis is going to lose, and their fans are way too dull to start a riot.

Reason No. 2: New Orleans showed the world on Sunday that we know how to throw a victory party. We don’t burn cars. We dance on them.

Reason No. 3: Even if we did lose, which we won’t, leaving the stadium would be like leaving a funeral, and our typical response to that is to have a parade.

Speaking of which: If you happen to see a brass band roll by, followed by a line of folks waving their handkerchiefs, you’re not supposed to just stand there and watch. As our own Irma Thomas would say, get your backfield in motion.

And hey, Mister DJ! Yes, we know you’ve already played that stupid Ying Yang Twins song 10 times tonight, but indulge us just one more time.

To us, “Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)” isn’t just a song; it’s 576 points of good memories. It’s the sound of a Drew Brees touchdown pass to Devery Henderson, a Pierre Thomas dive for first down on 4th-and-1, a Garrett Hartley field goal sailing through the uprights in overtime.

It’s what a championship sounds like. You may get sick of hearing it. We won’t. Encore, dammit.

Inside Sun Life Stadium, you may find your ears ringing more than usual. We’re louder than other fans. Seven thousand of ours sound like 70,000 of theirs.

Don’t believe us? Ask the 12th man in the Vikings huddle.

Some people think it’s just the Dome that heightens our volume. But you’re about to discover a little secret: We can scream loud enough to make your head explode, indoors or out.

It’s not the roof. It’s the heart.

Well, OK, and the beer.
Don’t be surprised if there are more Saints fans outside the stadium than inside. A lot of us are coming just to say we were part of history, even if we can’t witness it up close. The Saints are family to us, and you know how it is with family: We want to be there for them, whether they really need us or not. Because we know our presence will mean something to them, whether they can see us or not.

Come to think of it, seeing as how you’re taking us in for the week, we pretty much regard you as family, too. So we’re warning you now: If you’re within hugging distance, you’re fair game.

Hugging strangers is a proud Who Dat tradition, right up there with crying when we win.

Most sports fans cry when their teams lose. Not us. We’ve been losing gracefully and with good humor for 43 years. Tragedy and disappointment don’t faze us. It’s success that makes us go to pieces.

Hurricane Katrina? We got that under control. The Saints in the Super Bowl? SOMEBODY CALL A PARAMEDIC!!!

So anyway, don’t let the tears of joy freak you out. We’re just … disoriented.

OK. Let’s review:

Order more beer. Throw me something, mister. Suck da heads. Wear da dress. Stand up. Get crunk. Hug it out. Protect your eardrums. Pass the Kleenex. Hoist the trophy.

See you at the victory party.

Faithfully yours,

The Who Dat Nation

2 days

This past Saturday, in lieu of a Saints football game, I was lucky enough to spend the day with Gold2 (Americorps NCCC out of Sac), Marnie, dog walkers, the girls at Twisted Hair Salon, parents, supporters from Facebook, people poppin’ by to get haircuts and flyer readers. Thanks to everybody that donated school supplies at our 1^st of many.

We learned some things this go-round… bring radio… cold is cold… dancing helps the cold… Silver6 still representin’… Vista is for life… King Cake tastes better when shared with people that are trying it for the first time…

We received paper, glue, footballs, folders, crayons, notebooks, batteries, tiny skateboards, dictionaries, erasers and … Googly eyes or wiggly eyes… again, they are large, bulging or rolling craft findings used to imitate eyes. The eyes traditionally are composed of a clear, hard-plastic shell, with a smaller, black plastic disk trapped within. The inner black disk is allowed to move freely within the larger clear plastic shell, which makes the eyes appear to move. Googly eyes are mainly involved in arts and crafts and are sometimes glued to inanimate objects for the purposes of portraying personification and humour…

We made some contacts in the community too. Look for donation boxes at a location near you. Contact us to find out how you too can host a box at your business or garage or office or shed or kitchen…

Happy  New Year… 2010… the year of the Pelican

Go Saints

Bring ‘em to the Dome

Protect Our House

This Saturday RSD will be teaming up with Twisted Hair Salon and Americorps Vista and Americorps NCCC Gold2 and the ENTIRE community of New Orleans to host our first ever school supply drive. It’s at 4824 Prytania between the hours of 11 and 4.

Please bring us stuff… AND GET YOUR HAIRS CUT…

….It could be CLASSROOM SUPPLIES

pens, paper, notebooks, pencils, backpacks, pencil cases, scissors (lefty and righty), glue sticks, erasers, pencil sharpeners, children’s literature, folders (Lisa Frank, Hello Kitty, Spiderman… etc), calculators, rulers… you get the idea

OR

…ART SUPPLIES

          markers, paint, paintbrushes, glitter, crayons, coloured pencils, construction paper, yarn, felt, feathers, beads, macaroni, art books, easels, buttons, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, clothespins, googly eyes (and yes that is the correct spelling… I looked it up and please allow me to share with you the def of googly eyes… Googly eyes or wiggly eyes are large, bulging or rolling craft findings used to imitate eyes. The eyes traditionally are composed of a clear, hard-plastic shell, with a smaller, black plastic disk trapped within. The inner black disk is allowed to move freely within the larger clear plastic shell, which makes the eyes appear to move. Googly eyes are mainly involved in arts and crafts and are sometimes glued to inanimate objects for the purposes of portraying personification and humour….  AWESOME!!!)… but I digress… where was i… oh yes… pipecleaners, ribbon… and on, and on, etc, etc,

          OR

…SPORTS EQUIPMENT

          balls, balls, balls… softballs, basketballs, volley balls, footballs, soccer balls, baseballs, tennis balls, golf balls, cabbage balls, earth balls, kickballs, racquetballs, wiffle balls, lacrosse balls… enough balls…

          jump ropes (16’ for double dutch… cause… “when they do the double dutch, that’s them dancing”)

          gloves, bats, racquets, shoes (new), PARACHUTES!!!

…LAGNAIPPE

          I bet you can think of dozens, perhaps even hundreds of things I’m forgetting… I bet we need them too

This Saturday RSD will be teaming up with Twisted Hair Salon and Americorps Vista and Americorps NCCC Gold2 and the ENTIRE community of New Orleans to host our first ever school supply drive. It’s at 4824 Prytania between the hours of 11 and 4.

Please bring us stuff… AND GET YOUR HAIRS CUT…

….It could be CLASSROOM SUPPLIES

pens, paper, notebooks, pencils, backpacks, pencil cases, scissors (lefty and righty), glue sticks, erasers, pencil sharpeners, children’s literature, folders (Lisa Frank, Hello Kitty, Spiderman… etc), calculators, rulers… you get the idea

OR

…ART SUPPLIES

          markers, paint, paintbrushes, glitter, crayons, coloured pencils, construction paper, yarn, felt, feathers, beads, macaroni, art books, easels, buttons, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, clothespins, googly eyes (and yes that is the correct spelling… I looked it up and please allow me to share with you the def of googly eyes… Googly eyes or wiggly eyes are large, bulging or rolling craft findings used to imitate eyes. The eyes traditionally are composed of a clear, hard-plastic shell, with a smaller, black plastic disk trapped within. The inner black disk is allowed to move freely within the larger clear plastic shell, which makes the eyes appear to move. Googly eyes are mainly involved in arts and crafts and are sometimes glued to inanimate objects for the purposes of portraying personification and humour….  AWESOME!!!)… but I digress… where was i… oh yes… pipecleaners, ribbon… and on, and on, etc, etc,

          OR

…SPORTS EQUIPMENT

          balls, balls, balls… softballs, basketballs, volley balls, footballs, soccer balls, baseballs, tennis balls, golf balls, cabbage balls, earth balls, kickballs, racquetballs, wiffle balls, lacrosse balls… enough balls…

          jump ropes (16’ for double dutch… cause… “when they do the double dutch, that’s them dancing”)

          gloves, bats, racquets, shoes (new), PARACHUTES!!!

…LAGNAIPPE

          I bet you can think of dozens, perhaps even hundreds of things I’m forgetting… I bet we need them too

I am currently a Corps Member in Americorps NCCC within a team of 10 others who have dedicated their time and energy to serving communities around the U.S.  We are currently in New Orleans, working with the Recovery School District assisting in various projects to better the education environment for the students of New Orleans.  Recently our Americorps team decided to develop a school supply drive for the RSD, asking for any donations, ranging from pencils to sports equipment.

While passing out flyers to local businesses for the drive, I stepped into the Party Basket, a festive party supply store. I began explaining the need for school supplies to Shannon Able and she jumped at the opportunity to donate supplies. She said would be giving me a call when all the supplies were put together. I received a call early the next morning informing me that the donations were ready to be picked up. Shannon had given us an estimate of 6 to 7 boxes of stationary and a bundle full of gift wrap that could be used for arts and crafts.

With this generous donation, we envisioned a project involving students sending letters to those serving over seas in the military. Not only will this engage the children in writing and literacy, geography and global relations but, give those receiving the letters a feeling of hope, honor and a sense of home.

Andre Bennett Americorps NCCC Gold2

 The power of television helped a New Orleans high school receive a $130,000 gift of flooring from a national supplier, and labor from a Birmingham flooring company.

It was 6:45 a.m. last Friday, and MSNBC’s ”Morning Joe” was on the air, featuring John McDonogh High School, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

”Since that time, we’ve been opening schools as population returns, and there is so much more work to be done,” said Siona LaFrance, a Birmingham native and communications director for the Recovery School District in New Orleans.

Spalding, Starbucks and Houghton Mifflin made hefty on-air donations to the school. Meanwhile, Digger Phelps, the retired University of Notre Dame basketball coach, issued an onair challenge to Robbins Sports Surfaces of Cincinnati to help replace the school’s gym floor.

It just so happened that Joe Covington, president of Birmingham’s Covington Flooring Co. Inc., was in New Orleans on business and was just two miles from the school. The next thing Covington knew, he was driving to the school and measuring the gym.

”I need to make a few calls,” he told people gathered in the gym. ”I am not promising anything yet.”

After a slew of phone calls, Covington received the go-ahead. By then the morning show had ended, but MSNBC returned live to the school at 9:20 a.m. so that Covington could announce Robbins had agreed to donate the flooring and Covington Flooring would donate the labor.

”I was floored,” said Troy Peloquin, volunteer and donations coordinator for the

Recovery School District. ”I’ve never seen anything like that.”

In March, the school will receive 8,000 square feet of Robbins’ MVP, a flooring system designed to provide uniformity and minimize vibrations.

”We are delighted and indeed fortunate to be able to pitch in and give back to the community at this time,” said Jay Stoehr, president and chief executive officer of Robbins.

Covington also was happy to oblige.

”I was close by,” he said. ”We could react quickly, and our supplier could act quickly as well. From the time Digger Phelps made the challenge and when I was at the school was 30 minutes.”

City Year, MSNBC, and Starbucks “Brewing Together” at John McDonogh Senior High, November 20 2009

 What started as a simple idea to paint one mural in a hallway at John McDonogh Senior High culminated November 20th in an amazing day of service that partnered MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with Joe Scarborough and Starbucks and HandsOn’s and City Year and many more all “Brewing Together”.

Broadcasting live from John Mac, with hundreds of animated volunteers eagerly painting murals in the background, the crew of “Morning Joe” encouraged community involvement and stressed the importance of giving back and inspiring others to do the same.  Putting their money where there mouth was, MSNBC’s sponsor and partner, Starbucks, announced their massive monetary gift to the school for renovations, which sparked additional donations throughout the 3-hour broadcast.  Show guest Digger Phelps amazed us with his talk to the students, inspiring them with real life, applicable ideals and goals.  This Notre Dame Head coach actually called out flooring companies on air.  And guess what? Covington Flooring Company, based out of Birmingham, just happened to have a representative in town on business who arranged to donate a new gym floor. And if that wasn’t enough generosity for one day, the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. also donated 700 books for classroom sets (35 copies of 20 classics) along with parachuting in leaders for five full days of professional development, a software upgrade, and even the possible development of a Parent Academy.  The NBA and Spalding donated new hoops and backboards for the gym, while NBC News donated a one-year subscription of News Archives and a college tour trip for freshman. There were even enough Red Sox hats for every student at John Mc… (to the dismay of Troy Peloquin, a lifelong Yankees fan… Hey Girardi #27… Where Y’at?)

 It was truly amazing to see how giving could be so contagious!  But it was not only the generous donations that made the day so special.  City Year Louisiana, part of an organization composed of young leaders dedicated to making a difference in schools and communities, really made the project possible as they meticulously sketched out murals and worked above an beyond their full-time commitments to prepare for and organize for the event.  The City Year corps members truly showed heart and dedication to their students and community.

 So, whether you were painting a mural, pouring paint for someone else to paint a mural, or donating to a school and its students who desperately need and deserve love and attention–thank you thank you thank you.

 Let’s keep this ball bouncing on into the New Year. Let it be contagious. To see the individuals that make up Networks and huge Corporations reaching out to the individuals that make up schools and communities is what this season and this Country are all about.  At this time and beyond this time, let us remember that if you want to see a miracle,,, Be the miracle.

… and thanks Dana