Our Day at the Community Center of St. Bernard’s

In the last post I mentioned how many people from all ways of life are doing more then their fair share and helping re-build more then just homes down in the Gulf Coast. Mother Jones use to say, “Pray for the dead and work like hell for the living.” And folks down that way are working like hell, to say the least. So I want to tell you about the Community Center that is located in Arabi, La.

It is run by Iray and Sharon and a numbers of hard working volunteers. . Two people from two parts of this county coming together somehow in New Orleans, how many times has that happened?

I remember seeing Iray at The made with Love Café’ in 2005. The cafe’ which was also in Arabi had a hub of activities. At the time there were a lot of rainbow people along with the 82^nd Airborne that had set up a Geodesic dome (Thanks to the firemen!) that fit 1,000 people. They were feeding about 1,500 a day, 3 meals a day. Iray was working the kitchen and a few other spots on the grounds. I remember seeing him either going somewhere or picking up the garbage from the ground, he did not stay still. Many did not in those days, there was too much to do.

I first met Sharon when she was working with Peter Spring. She is very good at writing grants, Pete always told me. She is from Pennsylvania and is with the Mennonite community. I got an e-mail from her asking us to come down. I wrote right back and said we would be happy to come down and play some music. Al and Mike and Elaine talked about it and set a day off for it.

So this is sort of a new Community sprouting from the Made with Love Café’ A building that went through the flood but is now painted and cleaned up with a full kitchen, office space, computer room and a very large room for serving large numbers.

As soon as we walked in Sharon was mopping the floor cleaning up yet another mess, and maybe doing a host of many other things all at the same time. She has a great smile with for every visitor that’s comes in with a need, she has a warm hello. I met Iray again and we shake hands and he told me a little bit how this place came to be. See, Iray is a biker from N.H. who shut his house down to come down here. The way I get it he was not going to be here long. That was 2 1/2 years ago, and here he still is.

Mike, Elaine, Al and I haul in the instruments and pull them out and play for some folks who happened to be eating. We set our stuff down and Iray gave a short story about the how and where and when and at the same time getting things done on what appeared to be a very busy day.

I think I sat down and played a few tunes and while the other folks got something to eat. Then after they got a bit to eat, they played and I got a bit to eat. In some way that’s how Al and I do it when we get to a new place. We do not try to be intrusive. We like to say our hello’s and sit down and maybe eat a bit and talk. It’s what one does here. I know it’s a busy world now a days but we should all take a breather sometimes and sit down and talk. You will always find surprises.

While other folks are playing music I walk around and notice their is a section where folks can get free clothes and there is also a room that is a kitchen. I say hello to the 5 or 6 young women who are working cleaning up after the lunch. As it so happens they are from Virginia, from all over the state. I live in the Roanoke, Va. area so we all laugh a bit and go over familiar areas we know. In the back of my mind I was wondering how cool this is that people are still coming down with such spirits and smiles.

The time was getting late and we had to head off to the next place. All of us say our goodbyes.

If anyone that is reading this is wondering if there are any folks making this world a better place these days, all they have to do is go to Arabi, La. and roll up their sleeves, cause no one sits on the sidelines here.

Still Pickin’

Bill Hudson

http://www.dragonfly.com/ is sending entertainers to the devastated areas in Louisiana and Mississippi