This morning after a breakfast of bananas, english muffins, and cheerios everyone straggled into the front room of Centenary Methodist, our lovely home for the weekend. All 12 of us, after sleeping on the floor for the night, waited for our community service coordinator to show up.
Billy, a wonderful retired carpenter, walked into the church with more enthusiasm than seen in most toddlers. As we listened to his instructions. he warned us that what we were about to do would be difficult and disgusting. We were still determined. We set out at about 8:30 with Billy taking lead. When the van finally came to a stop we all seemed a bit shocked. A lawn scattered with random belongings and trash was only the start.
Billy made sure to repeat his message, "Are you sure y'all wanna do this? It's real bad in there". With hesitant determination, we followed him into the house. As we walked in, Billy told us about the older couple that were trying to take back control of a home that was falling apart. The kitchen was pilled with boxes, the bathroom floor was literally non-existent, and the stairs to the basement had fallen apart. We were told that the basement would be our main objective. Well-dressed (in the latest jumpsuit) and completely unprepared, all but two of us descended into the lower level. Piles of remains from the stairs, broken jars, and random pipes littered the floor; dirt was caked into every corner and cob webs hung from the rafters. Everyone glanced around in disbelief. Billy began to hand out tasks; some were asked to shovel dirt, others were asked to throw anything that would burn out the window to the girls outside.
The girls outside piled up trash and other burnable material. Everyone worked tirelessly to complete their tasks. At around 11, lunch was calling our name. By this time. we were all down and dirty, had experienced bugs, frogs and plenty of manual labor. This was by far more interesting than the painting that had originally been planned. With a quick lunch at a nearby gas station, we refueled and refocused.
Coming back to the house we were ready to get everything we set out to do finished. We scooped dirt into buckets and hosed down the basement, cleaned all the walls, and vacuumed out the left over water. Within the last few pumps of water, the shop vac gave out and we were unable to finish the job completely but it was clear that Billy was so happy for our help. Billy joyfully told us about how much help we had been and took plenty of pictures, complete with his version of a sorority squat and peace signs. We left that little dirty house feeling exhausted and gross but with a sense of solidarity.
With all of our effort we made a dent in a huge project that would have been absolutely overwhelming for one middle-aged retired carpenter to all by himself. After we left and all had our showers, it was unanimous that it was worth the muck and mess to help out someone as awesome as Billy.
Billy, a wonderful retired carpenter, walked into the church with more enthusiasm than seen in most toddlers. As we listened to his instructions. he warned us that what we were about to do would be difficult and disgusting. We were still determined. We set out at about 8:30 with Billy taking lead. When the van finally came to a stop we all seemed a bit shocked. A lawn scattered with random belongings and trash was only the start.
Billy made sure to repeat his message, "Are you sure y'all wanna do this? It's real bad in there". With hesitant determination, we followed him into the house. As we walked in, Billy told us about the older couple that were trying to take back control of a home that was falling apart. The kitchen was pilled with boxes, the bathroom floor was literally non-existent, and the stairs to the basement had fallen apart. We were told that the basement would be our main objective. Well-dressed (in the latest jumpsuit) and completely unprepared, all but two of us descended into the lower level. Piles of remains from the stairs, broken jars, and random pipes littered the floor; dirt was caked into every corner and cob webs hung from the rafters. Everyone glanced around in disbelief. Billy began to hand out tasks; some were asked to shovel dirt, others were asked to throw anything that would burn out the window to the girls outside.
The girls outside piled up trash and other burnable material. Everyone worked tirelessly to complete their tasks. At around 11, lunch was calling our name. By this time. we were all down and dirty, had experienced bugs, frogs and plenty of manual labor. This was by far more interesting than the painting that had originally been planned. With a quick lunch at a nearby gas station, we refueled and refocused.
Coming back to the house we were ready to get everything we set out to do finished. We scooped dirt into buckets and hosed down the basement, cleaned all the walls, and vacuumed out the left over water. Within the last few pumps of water, the shop vac gave out and we were unable to finish the job completely but it was clear that Billy was so happy for our help. Billy joyfully told us about how much help we had been and took plenty of pictures, complete with his version of a sorority squat and peace signs. We left that little dirty house feeling exhausted and gross but with a sense of solidarity.
With all of our effort we made a dent in a huge project that would have been absolutely overwhelming for one middle-aged retired carpenter to all by himself. After we left and all had our showers, it was unanimous that it was worth the muck and mess to help out someone as awesome as Billy.
Too bad Megan couldn't hang.
Much love from your Bae Girardeaus 
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