I love Jimmy Carter!

[db44]

I'm in LA for the Jimmy Carter Work Project, the annual partnership between his foundation and Habitat for Humanity.

Las night was our opening cermony, during which he took a minor swipe at W. He was speaking about the JCWP a few years ago, when they build houses in South Korea. He said they were near the demilitarized zone, and the volunteers went to the DMZ. Not long after the build, he and Rosalynn were back home watching the news. W came on, saying he was going to the "most dangerous place in the world." He was getting ready to visit the DMZ. Mr. Carter turned to his wife: "Gee, we just built eight homes there!"

The work begins today: We're building 30 new homes and revitalizing 35 more. Wish us luck!

The picture is how close I was able to get to Mr.Carter during the ceremonies.

[Whoda Thunk?]

Sounds like a major undertaking. Good luck to you all. I love Jimmy too!

[SparkleHugs]

I like Jimmy Carter too. I feel bad when so many people hate him and put him down. I think he is fundamentally a nice person, he tried his best while he was President, he was no Abe Lincoln...but he was defnitely no Bush either. lol

[LesterX]

Very cool. Where in LA are you building?

[db44]

Well, today was a semi-disaster. This is amazingly poorly planned. It's funny actually: Yesterday at the opening ceremony the HfHGLA (Greater LA) people were noted in their remarks how it takes 12 public offices to get the okay to build and how the communictions between them is horrible.

Yet the HfH here apparently can't get two departments to work together.

The wokr itself was fabulous as always, getting to and from the houses was incredibly mishandled: They are building new homes, plus refurbishing homes of families/people who can't maintain theirs anymore. The two departments apparently set up their individual ways of numbering the houses, so we couldn't go where assigned today. Instead they just kicked people off the bus as they passed an "A Brush With Kindness" house. Getting back to the hotel was just as nuts.

We're renovating a house in South Central LA, or at least I was today. It belongs to an elderly woman who has lived there for 37 years. Her husband died about 15 years ago and she's done her best to keep it maintained. The inside is immaculate, but she needs us to paint and do some yard work.

[db44]

Day two went much better!

I went to my originally assigned house and it was just as fun and fulfilling as day one. No bus problems, no meal problems (yesterday apperently some people received no lunch and some houses had only one or two people).

Jimmy arrives on the build sites tomorrow. Up until now he was only present for the ceremonies.

[pinky]

Dave, this is really great! I feel proud to know you right now.

[SparkleHugs]

I saw this on the news yesterday and instantly thought of you.

I hear they are building some homes in San Pedro. Will you get to build with Jimmy??

[db44]

Thanks, Claire, but I'd rather you get active than proud. One woman on our crew was from Philly, and they have stuff to do in the surrounding area... habitat.org. It's not just about picking up a hammer. There's plenty of volunteer possibilites on and off build sites, and something for anyone no matter how comfortable they feel with tools and ladders.

I did not get to build with Carter, but saw him a few times at breakfast. He was on the new build projects, while I was on a detail that was restoring the house of an elderly woman (apparently, we saved the house from failing a city inspection, according to staff memebers who showed up later in the week). The 35 restoration houses were spread out throughout the city, so the President only visited one of the "Brush With Kindness" sites. The new houses were built in two areas, San Pedro as you said and on Vermont Avenue, by about 110th Place.

Next year, the JCWP heads to the Gulf Coast. I intend to make this an annual thing for myself, as it seems to be for a lot of the volunteers. A bunch of us newbies seem set on joining the old guard.

[pinky]

Damn you, Dave, appealing to my conscience like that! :p

Actually, it's something I would consider getting involved with. But right now, I'm doing my first year of full-time teaching on my own, I'm in a district with a lot of state oversight, and I have paperwork out the wazoo.

As soon as I get things under control (or move to a different district closer to home), I promise to look into what opportunities Habitat has for me.

[db44]

Fair enough. Good luck!