VIP Treatment

Thursday we had the privilege of spending the day at PACE elderly day center. These folks were not your average patients, and were lively, spirited, and very welcoming. I think it may be partly due to the fact that this center was inside a gorgeous church with high vaulted ceilings and beautiful stained glass windows. The women I spoke with during lunch truly felt "blessed" and it was a pleasure to be in their company.

We began the morning spreading out and making holiday decorations and ornaments with all the participants, and chatting away while we transformed their center into a holiday wonderland. It was a blast, we even helped some of the patients write Xmas cards to their kids since some of their motor skills permitted them from doing so themselves. Then we helped the staff prep and serve lunch, and we all sat down together to eat.

After lunch we switched to game time; dominoes, cards, and bingo were all on the agenda, it was a blast! We ended the afternoon with a pass the package game, a type of musical chairs where there is a present with a bunch of layers of wrapping and every time the music stops the person holding the gift gets to unwrap a layer. Pretty comical when some men don't want to pass the package and others grab it eagerly. It was all in good spirit, and definitely got me excited for the holidays!

Thursday evening the sisters set up a special speaker for us, her name was Lisa and she was head of security for the Super Dome. She was in charge when it became the evacuation site for Katrina, and came to tell us all her story. It was crazy to hear her explain how off the media was in their portrayal of the events, and she calmly told her side which included an ultimate struggle involving her dog Missy. Apparently the whole time they tried to evacuate her, they would not take her dog, so she stuck it out until she could make it out with her pooch. A woman close to my heart! She was so sweet, and after her talk invited us all as "her family" to the staff party for the Super Dome. We had no clue what we were getting into, but when we pulled up behind Lisa into Saints parking only, and got straight into the dome through all barricades aside, we knew we were VIP.

Once we arrived at the dome we went straight inside to see where ~7,000 people spent their days during the hurricane. It was cool to put the place to the story, and it really re-enforced how crazy the scene must have been! Then she took us down on the field, where the boys proceeded to 100 yard dash and get jazzed over being on an NFL field. It was pretty cool I must admit. Then we went to the staff gathering, where we were introduced as the “California Volunteers” by the DJ, we mingled, ate, and had a great time getting to know locals.

After the dome, we headed to "Le Bon Temps Roule," where a local famous band, The Soul Rebels, performed every Thursday for free. Apparently they are pretty pricey anywhere else, but that's the amazingness of the NO music scene, it's like no other. It was a small place, with locals crammed together to enjoy this upbeat group rocking out in their home town. We watched the band, enjoyed the brass tunes, and headed home to make our curfew!