I got to the George R. Brown Convention Center about 11am. I can't speak to what's happening at the Astrodome, but everything was calm and safe and clean at the GRB. There were organizational issues, but everyone was working together to make the best of it. The evacuees range from the disadvantaged people the media is talking about to teachers, librarians and members of other professions. To a person, they are grateful and cooperative, almost embarrassed to ask for help.
Right after I signed in, they started sending volunteers to a different location. Just as I was deciding where to go, another volunteer asked me to take over caring for an Lawrence Sherman. I didn't receive the required orientation. He's an Army veteran who has little use of his right arm and leg. He was outside smoking a cigarette and someone had "borrowed" his wheelchair to help someone get off a bus.
I'm not proud to be a smoker, but today it came in handy. The evacuees are not allowed to have their own cigarettes or lighters in the GWB, but are issued 3 cigarettes when they go outside for a smoke break. I didn't see any evidence that they were given something to light them with. That's where being a smoker came in handy. After a while Lawrence was tired. I was able to find a wheelchair for him. When we got back to his bed, which was an air mattress with sheets, blankets and a pillow. The mattress was low on air, and the air pump had lost it's charge. I made the situation worse by trying to use the air pump and letting more air out. I spent the next hour trying to find a working pump with no luck. I was sent from station to station, including the command center and medical area. Another volunteer offered to help me replace Lawrence's mattress.
While Lawrence was finishing his nap, I helped out at the phone center where evacuees were trying to contact friends and relatives, register with FEMA and set up voicemail boxes. I helped Willis Matthews try to find his cousin, Gwendolyn Wright. He had been told she was at the Reliant Center but said that she wasn't well and the family wanted to bring her over the GRB. But registration information from the other sites wasn't complete, so we couldn't confirm she was there. I got him talking to the right people, but my guess is that he got on the bus, then the light rail and went to the Reliant Center himself to go look for her as soon as there was an announcement calling for people that wanted to go over there.
I found Lawrence, back in the wheelchair with another volunteer. The other volunteer was supposed to be working somewhere else so I had the pleasure of spending more time with this charming man with a sweet smile. We got him some lunch - a ham and cheese sandwich and chips. He wouldn't ask me when he needed help adding mayonnaise and mustard to the sandwich until I grabbed them from him and did it.
After lunch we went across the street to the park where there was a concert of sorts going on. It was a combination of hip-hop, heavy metal and Christian rock. There was a nice breeze. I felt guilty that my volunteering led me to a concert in the park, tapping my feet. But I felt good that Lawrence was enjoying himself. Someone was walking around handing out Wendy's hamburgers. Lawrence had really wanted a hamburger for lunch, so he enjoyed his burger. Another evacuee saw me sitting there and tried to give me one of her two burgers. It was clear I was a volunteer, but she was concerned that I get something to eat.
After a while, we'd both had enough of the hip-hop, heavy metal Christian rock and headed back inside. We were only allowed in through one entrance and on the way down there, Lawrence pointed at an empty wheelchair being wheeled by and said that that was his wheelchair. He hadn't complained about being uncomfortable in the wheelchair I'd gotten. I stopped the volunteer with the other wheelchair and we swapped the chairs. Once inside, I found a piece of paper and some tape and put Lawrence's name on the back of the chair. Before I left I found an Army soldier to help me put Lawrence on the mattress. I asked for his help making sure no one takes Lawrence's wheelchair. I told him I'll be back tomorrow and he'll answer to me if that wheelchair is gone. He gave me a good-natured "Yes Ma'am".
I got in my care and drove home. I'm home now, and showered. I just had a home cooked dinner. I sit here with my laptop watching cable TV, with as many cigarettes as I want, without having to ask someone for them. I know where my daughter is and she is well. My four cats are safe. I talked to my parents and some friends on the phone. They are well. Tonight I will have some wine and sleep on a real mattress in a dark quiet room after brushing my teeth in my private bathroom. I will continue to count my blessings and be back at the GRB tomorrow. And when I get there, Lawrence had better have his wheelchair.
Crossposted at
http://www.houstondemocrats.com/archives/2005/09/i_met_lawrence.html
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