Dickens on the Strand

Above is Gwenda Barker, my SBA partner at the Disaster Center in Galveston. She is getting into the spirit of Dickens on the Strand when Galveston 's historic Strand area transforms into the Victorian London of legendary author Charles Dicken's era. What started in 1974 as a potluck supper to attract interest in saving the crumbling Victorian commercial buildings from demolition has become a worldwide attraction and is considered one of the 100 best events in the US. The parade is huge with more than one bagpipe group and several bands of sorts in uniforms. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my batteries so can't elaborate more. You can tell the Galvestonians from the tourists because they are in elegant Victorian dress--quite spectacular. Something to come for in your travels, it is the first week in December and hosts over 100 entertainers on six stages and on corners throughout the area. The crafts and arts for sell are also really first class. Quite a show. And what a tribute to Dickens though he had nothing to do with Galveston. His great-great grandson Mark Charles Dickens even comes to do signings of his ancestor's works.

Victorian Christmas Home Tour

The tour started out at the Sacred Heart Church, one of the treasures of the Galveston Island. It was built after damage during the 1900 storm. Everything here is related to before or after the 1900 Hurricane. This church was modeled after the Alhambra in Spain and is the only Roman Catholic Church in the United States with Islamic architecture. We listened to the Moody Methodist Handbell Choir.

  The homes that we saw were mostly built as tenant homes or bride and groom starter homes between 1892 and 1900. They have all had several owners and been lovingly restored and refurbished with modern kitchens. The woodwork has been refinished and in most of the homes is the original. Very beautiful.

Most of the homes are being used by their owners as vacation homes. The tvs are well hidden in armoirs. One of the owners actually lives full time in her home and it was spectacular. I especially like the full mirrors at each end of the bathtub so you could look forever at yourself in the tub! 

It was a fun evening of walking through the town, riding in a horse carriage and viewing homes of another era. The homes have long windows on the porch that could be opened to use as doors! They also have porches on the front or back to take advantage of the breeze from the gulf. One of the locals who had lived in San Diego told me the difference in the gulf water here is that it is very dirty from all the fishing that goes on. She also said there are not good beaches or sand like California and it costs to park and go to a beach where you can swim. She likes the California Pacific beaches much more and the Pacific Ocean which is so clean!

Missing Home

Bandido is a big part of my life and I miss his big brown eyes searching mine. My sister Jeanne has been tending him at her home in Orem, Utah. I hope he is bringing her as much joy as he brings me. He is shown on my new cherry floor which was laid by my son-in-law Mark while I was working in Sacramento last year. I miss my little home and Bandido. 

Galveston! Galveston!

When my boss asked me if I wanted a beach vacation, I thought he was kidding! This is sunrise from my patio (a small patio but a patio) and sunset from the beach. I love it here. The beach is warm and balmy even at night! In 1900 there was a hurricane here and 6000 people died. They built a seawall all along the shore line and there has never been such a loss since. This is the seawall in front of my hotel and is an extension of the original. Dan Dailey, Kyle Norheim, and Janet Thomas greeted me when I arrived at the Galveston DRC. Now Dan and Janet are gone for the holiday and will move on to Metiere, LA on Monday. Kyle and I both have our roots in Montana and live in Northern California (only second person I have met from Montana in SBA). Now isn't that a coincidence? Gwenda will join us on Friday. The Center will be open until early December or early January and I am so glad I can stay here until then. Applications are still coming in and the applicants have until January 7. Many are still just coming back from their evacuations. Of course, the processing in Fort Worth and Sacramento will go on for a long, long time after that... Thanksgiving will be at Luby's with a Harry Potter movie later and a run on the beach even later. Alone probably, but after nine years I am getting used to that. Everyone else traveled to Houston or points north. I am happy to stay away from the city and be here at the ocean. Reminds me of San Diego and my other life. It was nine years ago that Richard had his heart attack and died, the day before Thanksgiving. Hard to believe, where has the time gone? This has been a good experience for me. So many people with so many more problems than mine, I am glad I can be of help. Yesterday as I walked on the beach, someone said, "You are someone important, "Disaster Assistance." (on my jacket). I said, "All I do is help people fill out their applications." "Well, someone has to do it, and we are glad you are here, thank you." That was nice. I am listening to Christmas Carols and getting in the mood for the holiday. I have a pull out couch if anyone wants a beach vacation!!! Happy Thanksgiving.

On to Galveston

Leaving the Beaumont Office and on to Galveston where I will be working in the DRC there till it closes. The birds crowd at the end of the ferry and swoop around you. A welcome from the birds. Since I won't be home for Thanksgiving I thought I would get a little nostalgic and use my Thanksgiving picture from last year to get me in the mood for the holiday. I had been working in Sacramento processing loans from Hurricane Charley, etc. so my daughter Maria brought her family from Susanville and we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Black Angus in Folsom. My family is too far away this year so who knows where I will eat. Maybe go view the birds again. As I drove down from Beaumont I could still see so much debris and devastation around. There is so much recovery left. The biggest threat I hear about as I meet with the applicants is the evergrowing mold in their homes...there just isn't enough money or help to put it all back together. 13 of our applicants last week were still living in their cars!!! 900 trailers went out from Jasper to applicants this week but we just can't seem to keep up with the need.

From Spurger to Beaumont DRC

Charlie is the leader in our Beaumont Office and makes sure we do the best job we can for our applicants by doing complete interviews and getting the information needed. He has been teaching us all to know how to team lead a Disaster Recovery Center for SBA.

 

Evanne is the one who sees that all applications are fed exed to arrive at the processing center in Fort Worth the next day. There is a lot of preparation and record keeping and she is busy, busy all day but so well-organized she makes it look easy. (It isn't, in a large center like Beaumont.)

 

Spurger Disaster Team! A few of them have been working in the Beaumont Disaster Center this month before going home to their regular jobs. They volunteered to help FEMA and were paid by their regular employers. What a great group they have been! 

Also pictured are some of the Shaw team that makes the centers function so well. I have been in the Beaumont Center for the past few weeks also. I have met many new SBA friends and have enjoyed that. 

There are too many good places to eat in Beaumont, however, and that is the main attraction.

We have had several of the smaller centers close and so at times we have too many of us there for the number of applicants. Some are sent home or to another area each week. 

 Maria sent my laptop and Bob, the FEMA computer expert fixed it so I can go wireless or data port in the hotels I stay in...and he zonked out the many bugs I had! I now can communicate again!! Thank you, thank you so much, Bob. 

This week I am the lucky one as I have been sent to team lead the Galveston Center. Haven't been to Galveston yet but understand it is like Pacific Beach/Mission Beach in California, Yea!

Called to Service in the Field after Hurricane Kathrina hit!!!

 

Dora, Edmund and Stacey are shown as we arrived in Houston to rent autos after Hurricane Katrina was declared.  I worked for SBA (Small Business Administration) doing disaster loans. Previously I had flown from Sacramento with the three shown and we secured cars in Houston and drove to Baton Rouge.

 

 

Sunrise in Louisiana--Seen driving from the gym Dora and I were staying in on the way to Baton Rouge to help applicants housed in a shelter. 

We worked there doing applications for help for New Orleans evacuees and then I was transferred to Texas to work in Port Arthur.

In Port Arthur I showed my inexperience again at how to organize the applicants to keep order.  Also my partner nagged me all the time because I was the leader but he had more experience.  When I was ordered to leave Port Arthur because Hurricane Rita was on the way,  he wanted me to let him drive us to his home to the west first so he could check on his home.  It was quite a distance and I was not going to do it without authority.  I finally arranged for him to go with a leader to his home and then I carried out the instructions I was given and headed north to escape Hurricane Rita.  All of this is done on the run.

It was an exciting trip up north to find a place to stay, we stayed one night in a school gym and then finally settled in a nice little town called Tyler for one night in a hotel. Then there were so many Texans evacuating who had called ahead and secured the rooms we had to move on to Fort Worth where three of our group lived.  Since we arrived late at night I did not go to a hotel but went with one of the FEMA leaders who had a large home there.  The next day I was called to task on that,  I should have gone to a hotel and not to their home.  Wow, I was learning everything after the fact on this trip.  I just smiled and complied. 

We worked in the Fort Worth office over the weekend and then headed back to Houston to stay then were assigned to mobile Recovery Centers for Hurricane Rita. This was my first experience doing this so it was interesting to observe that the leader (a guy) kept his guy friends close and sent us women out to the posts farthest away.  Yes, there is discrimination in the government!!!!

My sight was in Spurger, about 130 miles from Houston and 54 from Beaumont. Until we could move back into Beaumont when the power and lights were back on it was a grueling drive back and forth to Houston. The trees were broken like toothpicks or completely toppled over from Rita. Many of the trees fell on homes and it will be a long process getting people back to a normal way of life again. Most everyone is so appeciative of the help FEMA, SBA and the Texas Government are giving them.

Working in the tent with all the other workers...not as much privacy as I needed.

When I would arrive back in Houston, my FEMA friend would get on the phone with me and tell me which exit to take to get back to my hotel, there were so many it was very confusing.  We did not have GPS at this time.

Larry, the Texas Government representative I am posing with, joined SBA as a Loss Verifier after working in Spurger for the month. 

This was my first experience being a leader out in the field so I did not know a lot.  When I was offered the motor home to be in for interviewing the applicants I said, "Oh, I don't need that, this is just fine for interviewing."  So FEMA got to use the motor home.

Actually working there would have been so much better because of being able to have more privacy and hearing them better than working out in the large tent.  My mistake.  I had a lot to learn.  Leaders would often assume I had more experience than I did because of my age I guess.  So I had to learn to hard way.

Stacey and Marcine the FEMA ladies are career women who volunteered to work for FEMA. They were so good with the applicants!

They got to work in the motor home and it was very nice for them!!!