Dreams + Imagination = Creativity

Creativity:
"the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations"  Dictionary.com

I spoke at one of the local churches last Sunday. I told of our dreams for our time in Honduras and our hopes and plans for fulfilling them. At the end of the service I asked this question. "What's your dream?" I asked it in the collective sense. Not you as an individual, but you as a group, a gathering of people. What's your dream?

People (in the context of a group) without dreams rarely accomplish anything.  Dreams are what keeps you going through the tough times. Dreams are the things that change the world.

"You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not’?” – George Bernard Shaw

When your imagination fuels those dreams, creativity results.   Dreams + Imagination = Creativity

I believe that God created the world and the universe we live in. When I look at the earth, the incredible variety of landscapes, the multitude of species of plants and animals, I am amazed at the imagination and the absolute creativity of God.

Here's a truly amazing thing. We were created in His image! (Genesis 1:27)  We have been given the same creative nature that God has. God made us to be like Him. He wants us to be creative too.!

Although there is nothing new under the sun, the issues of the day, the challenges and the types of problems we face change. What worked 10 years ago or 100 years ago may not work today. As our world changes, how do we as individuals and groups change our views and bring new solutions to new problems. This is where our creative nature needs to kick in.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while” – Steve Jobs

When I look ahead at 2013 I see new and troubling issues that the Church and Society in general are going to need to face. Many of yesterdays solutions to today's problems are no longer working. We face poverty, both locally and globally, in so many ways, i.e.; poverty of material possessions, poverty of healthy relationships, poverty of safety and security. How can we, especially those of us who profess to be followers of Christ and His teachings, address these growing concerns in our own neighborhoods and around the world? I urge you to face them, and face them creatively.

Just as no two individuals are alike, so no two groups of people are alike either. Look at the amazingly varied features of the human face. All faces have the same basic features; nose, eyes, mouth, cheeks, eyebrows and yet somehow God has uniquely and creatively made each face different. (except in the case of identical twins) This floors me! Similarly, no two groups of individuals will be exactly alike either. Each group will have foundational similarities, but our dreams will be different and our approach to fulfilling them will be different also. Nor are we all creative in the same way or in the same areas. Allow others to act, react and think differently than you. Get creative, let your individualism as a church or an organization blossom and overflow into your community and the world. There's no need to try and mimic what everyone else is doing. Instead begin to ask, "What can we who are uniquely created for such a time and place as this do with what we have been given?"

Creativity is catching. I have seen it first hand. As I have begun to dream and to imagine what is possible, those around me have begun to build on my dreams and add to them with their own creativity. Encourage those around you to dream!

I write this final paragraph to the Church in particular. We should be the most creative people on earth. We believe that we are made in the in the likeness and the image of God. We believe in the supernatural power of this same almighty and creative God. Of all people, we should be turning the world upside down! Make 2013 the Year to Dream! 

Dreams + Imagination = Creativity.          Creativity + Faith = Supernatural Events.

I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. May this New Year bring you success in all you put hearts and minds to accomplish. May your dreams become realities.

DARE TO DREAM BIG! 

Mike

It's Been One of Those Weeks

You know what I'm talkin' about. We all have them from time to time. Up, down...good, bad. The weather hasn't helped either. It's been the same way. Beautiful snow fall turning to rainy slush. The driveway's a mess and for some reason it's hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit. Not that I've ever been particularly good at it.

I guess I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all we need to do here and all that we will need to do when we get to Honduras. Cold feet? Not at all, just some self-doubt and questions about so many things. On the other hand, each day that goes by I am more convinced that we are doing the right thing. See what I mean? Up, down...

I think once we get on the road that will all be gone. I've never liked living in limbo. On a positive note, it looks like we have the house rented. I feel really good about these folks. I think it will be a good fit. And on Friday evening we were invited to have dinner with wonderful couple here in town whom we had never met, but with whom we have so much in common. They have traveled to Honduras many times and shared with us a wealth of advise, information and experience. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. H------ for the excellent meal, conversation and encouragement.

In a couple of  hours I will be speaking at one of the local churches. When I was invited to come and speak I asked what they would like me to talk about. I have no agenda. I'm not asking for money nor am I trying to convince anyone to come to Honduras. Over the past several years I have come to enjoy public speaking, if I have something to say that is. I enjoy connecting with the listeners, finding that common thread that connects all of us, speaking to the place where we are, the realness and the reality of life. I'm less of a preacher and more of a story teller. I find that stories often speak to our hearts in ways that nothing else does. Jesus told a lot of stories. I think I will tell them a story about a certain family who, crazy as it seems, decided to move...

Retired...Kind Of

I'm unofficially retired. It's kind of like a sneak preview of myself 20 years from now. It feels...strange. For the first time in over 30 years I don't have a job. Several weeks ago a company from California bought my car trailer. Sent a driver all the way from the West Coast to get it. (In a odd series of events, this was the second trailer they have bought from me in the last three years.) Other than some paperwork, the storm work is wrapped up. I've cancelled the insurance on my truck and stowed it safely away in a corner of the shop. I wake up in the morning with nothing pressing to do. I don't think I like it! Oh well...like a friend of mine who knows me pretty well said, "You won't stay retired for long, Mike." He's probably right. I'm already making plans to start a business in Honduras as part of what we hope to do while we are there.

So although there is nothing urgent I need to do, there is still much to be done. I've slowly been cleaning out the shop so we can store all our belongings in it. I now have more room in there than I have had in years. Of course that will all change in a few weeks. By the looks of this photo I should degrease the floor, too.

This week Ben and Thomas helped me apply lettering to the cargo trailer we will be towing behind the van. Actually, after I showed them what to do, they took over and did it all. I had been debating on whether or not to letter it. The question in my mind was, "Will it attract more attention and curiosity resulting in theft with or with out letters?" I finally decided to do it, but chose to keep it simple with no specific locations or information.



Ben (front) and Thomas (rear)



Nice work, boys!

I'm anxious to get on the road. It will be good to actually have something fresh and interesting to write about. Thanks to all of you for hanging in there with me! Less than a month to go now.

BTW: If anyone in the Farmington area knows of anyone looking for a house to rent, ours will be available in January.

Tales from New York City

Early Morning Sunrise over Long Island Sound taken from Greenwich Point, CT

We're back home! On Tuesday we made the decision to head home. Leaving our digs at the Country Club which had become like a home away from home, we swung into Greenwich, finalized a few things, picked up our trucks and drove north. It felt right. So now, hopefully, we are back on track to leave for Honduras mid January.

We had a good time this past month. All of us came down with colds, but other than that we had a lot of fun. As my friend Bob Beckett once told me, it's all about the stories. And man, does my crew turn out the stories. Some I can tell here and some I can't. Some you just had to be there. I'm convinced that my crew has enough real life characters with real life events to make our own reality TV show that would easily compete against Ice Road Truckers or Swamp People.

Left to right. John Lee, John Paul and Mark

For instance, in the picture to the left is John Paul "JP" Grignon with his son John Lee. JP and John Lee are driving through Queens, NY when John Lee hollers he needs to go to the bathroom, "NOW". JP is following the bucket truck who in turn is following the Parks and Recs guy and has no clue where they're headed and doesn't want to lose them. So John Lee jumps out of the truck at a red light, climbs into the open top container on the back of the truck and begins trying to pass a kidney stone as JP continues driving through the streets of Queens! At every light JP hollers back asking if he's okay and ready to get back in. JP is half deaf and John Lee keeps yelling over the roar of the Detroit engine, "Keep going, I'm okay. Just passin' a kidney stone" all the while doubled over in pain. Now who'd a' thunk that one up?

Justin, Mark and Jon

On Thanksgiving Day the four of us, Jon, Justin, Mark and myself, drove into Manhattan. We drove by the yard where JP and Rickey parked their trucks. For some reason we decided to "decorate" JP"s truck with cones. The next day JP came home and told us he was sure another contractor, Randy Ball, had put cones all over his truck. He'd walked up to him and in no uncertain terms told him "don't mess with my truck". I asked him if he was sure it was Randy and he said, "Yes, 'cause Randy just smirked". It was all the four of us could do not to smirk! I had to keep JP from greasing Randy's door handles in retaliation! We never told JP until 2 weeks later when he finally opened his email and found this picture.

Steve with the saw, Rickey on the loader, Mark far left.

And then there's Rickey Hall, Fat Man Trucking and his stalwart ground man Steve Masterman. We call the bucket (to the left of Steve) "Pac Man". When Rickey's got it down on the ground picking up debris it looks just like the old arcade game pac man. Munch, munch, munch. There are too many stories I could tell about these guys, but here's one that you probably need to be there for. Mainly because of the accents. Mainers have a very distinct accent. We drop "Rs" where they should be and put them in where they shouldn't. I probably don't need to explain the New York accent if you've watched any TV at all. So, we walk into this pizza joint. It's busy. The guy behind the counter has orders, pizzas and dough flying every which way.

There are beautiful gourmet pizzas lined up in all directions. I can't make up my mind. Throwing his hands in the air the guy yells at me in a very strong New York accent and tone, "Come back when ya' know what ya' want. You're holdin' up the line." Steve steps up, "I want a loaded pizza". (pronounced peet-sir). The guy, "Ya' wanna' a slice or a pie?" (with waving hands and arms) Steve, "I want a loaded peet-sir." The guy, "Ya' wanna' a slice or a pie?" (with waving hands and arms) Steve, "No, I want a loaded peet-sir." The guy throws up his hands, gives Steve a slice of plain cheese pizza on New York crust, the thinnest in the world. Steve rolls his eyes, takes the cheese pizza slice and walks away. Ya' wanna' a slice or a pie!

El Salvadorian Deli

The food in New York is memorable. I was going to devote an entire blog just to the food we ate. The El Salvadorian owned deli ,where you could heap your plate so high the girl behind the counter could hardly carry, it all for $7 a plate...at first. Later on after several visits the owner began to slowly increase the charge when he saw us coming. Guess he thought he was starting to lose money on us.

The bagels...ohhhhh. There's nothing like a New York bagel!

The Eastern European owned bakery (right) in Maspeth that opens at 5 am, just in time for us to load up on delicious coffee and pastries. And then there was Rickey. He is an awesome cook. (Sorry Rickey, I lost the photo of you cooking spaghetti) I told him I'd back him 10% if he wanted to open a restaurant in Wilton. We all decided that he'd probably act a bit like the guy in the pizza parlor. "Ya' get what I fix ya'. Ya' don' like it, ya' don eat heyah." No, no Rickey, we love it.

I know we all gained weight down there.

So many memories. My good looking nephew, Justin, creating a traffic jam because all the women driving by wanted to stop and "chat". Mark, struggling with the weight of the world on his shoulders (below). Don't shrug, Mark. The sun setting over the Statue of Liberty. All the people we met.  Bob Hewett, project manager for Ashbritt, excited about the possibility of him and his wife coming to work a week or two with us in Honduras.

Even still, it's very good to be back home. Last night we spent the evening with two couples, good friends of ours, discussing plans for them to come to Honduras as families and give us a hand. Each of them bring their own gifts and talents. Music, sports, business, education. More friends are coming over tonight. Their son is interested in coming down as an intern.

I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT IS AHEAD FOR US!



Mark with the Unisphere (700,000 lbs of stainless steel) in the background, 1964 World's Fair



Decisions, Decisions

This past Monday I moved the crews to Greenwich, CT. Two different crews had bailed out leaving the town unfinished and I was asked to go in and mop up. Today we have off, but on Monday my brother Jon and I will return with just the two trucks, make a final sweep of the town and be finished. The big question on all of our minds is, "should we head home or go to New Jersey?"

Most of us are leaning towards going home. All of us have differing reasons, some are the same. We miss our families, we miss our dogs, we're tired, we have jobs to go back to, winter is coming and for me...our move to Honduras has already been delayed for a month now. On the other hand, there is still an incredible amount of work to be done here. There are huge amounts of money to be made. I'm torn between staying and going. If I stay, our move to Honduras would be completely financed and more. But if I stay, we may never go. That's the truth of the matter. Once I commit to a contract I'm obligated to remain until it's complete. That could be into next spring and then who knows what storms we'll get after that. Or something else will come up that requires my attention. I understand all this. I''ve seen it before.

From a Christian/Biblical perspective there are so many verses, principles and teachings that warn against being so caught up in the pursuit of material things that one loses sight of the Kingdom. On the flip side, there seems to be so much "wisdom" in storing up against the lean times. Being good stewards.

My heart says, "you've got enough...head home before it's too late." My intellect says, "better keep your nose to the grindstone, make hay while the sun shines, what about the economy...Honduras will still be there."

Decisions, decisions. Head or heart.

Time and Chance

I know with it being Thanksgiving week and all, I should be writing something about being thankful for all we have. And of course I am, but for me being here in Sands Point, ranked by Bloomburg Bussinessnews as the 15th most wealthiest town in America, it has raised so many questions about wealth and poverty.

As I drive around this town I can't help but contemplate the inequity of life. In general, most of us are not exposed to this. Take for instance Farmington, the town I am from. There are a few doctors or business owners who are moderately wealthy and there are a few have nots, but in general there is no huge disparity between wealth and poverty or social statuses. We all rub shoulders at Walmart or Hannaford's or go hungry. There is no where else to shop. Not so, here. 

I have searched my heart and although there is the slightest tinge of envy, for the most part there is only the question of why. Why are some born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouths while so many others are born in poverty? Why do some go through life always at the right place at the right time while others can't seem to catch a break no matter how hard they try? 

I love the line from the Eagles song, The Sad Cafe. "I don't know why fortune smiles on some
and let's the rest go free" they croon. Take Robert for instance. We met Robert last week. His yard looked like someone had dropped a bomb on it. Thirteen enormous oak trees had come down in the storm. All had missed his house, fortunately. He came hobbling up to us on a crutch nursing a broken foot. During the storm a tree had come down in the road outside his house. Emergency crews showed up to clear the street and Robert went outside to see what was happening. He tripped over a fallen limb and broke his foot. He told me he laid there on the ground in pain watching trees whip in the wind wondering when one would fall on him. No one noticed him or his plight. He watched the emergency crews drive away and manged to drag himself back into the house. The next morning he looked out on a yard filled with the detritus of the storm. All of his neighbors were almost completely unscathed. A stray limb or two laying on their lawns was the only evidence that there had even been a hurricane.

The cleanup and removal of trees from Robert's yard was going to cost him a small fortune. The estimated  amount was very close to the GDP of many third world nations. He wanted to know if we could help. I told him if he could get the debris to the street we would haul it off. This made Robert very happy. He hired Adam to cut and haul all thirteen trees to the street. He also asked Adam to cut down the one remaining oak, damaged by the storm, that remained in his yard. It measured three feet in diameter...a massive old tree. Adam began to cut. He put in his wedges, attached a come-a-along to guide its fall. He did everything right, made his last cut and the tree swung off the stump, turned 180 degrees...and fell directly onto Robert's newly remodelled $100,000 dollar kitchen. His wife who was in the kitchen at the time narrowly escaped with her life!



Not  a very clear picture, but here you can see Robert talking with Mark and Adam, the size of the tree's stump (right) and it's direct path to the house.


I don't know much about Robert other than he is "in salons".  Obviously he has done well for himself, after all he does live in Sands Point. But from his perspective, life has not treated him fairly these past few weeks. He keeps asking, "Why, why me"? I don't think Robert is a "bad" person. As a matter of fact he seems like a decent sort, a good guy. I don't know why fortune smiles on some and let's the rest go free. I really don't. Sometimes life does seem unfair. There's a teaching going around in the Christian church that says that God wants all believers to be healthy and wealthy, that this is a sign of God's blessing on your life. I don't buy it. I have seen too many good people struggle financially or live with debilitating diseases. I have seen a lot of bad people who are wealthy because they have cheated, stolen and manipulated their way to the top. Instead, I agree with the writer of Ecclesiastes.
                                                              
                                                      I have seen something else under the sun:

                                                The race is not to the swift
                                                 or the battle to the strong,
                                           nor does food come to the wise
                                                  or wealth to the brilliant
                                                   or favor to the learned;
                                      but time and chance happen to them all.

                                                            Ecclesiastes 9:11

The race is not always to the swift or the battle to the strong. Sometimes it is, but not always. Time and Chance happen to all men. On this Thanksgiving week, perhaps a better question to ask than "why are others so much more fortunate than I" would be "what do I do with what I have been given". Should I use some of the abundance that Time and Chance has heaped on me to alleviate some of the misery that been has heaped on those whom Fortune has not smiled so kindly upon? Yes, I'm sure this is a better question and one that is perhaps far easier to answer.

Note: To those of you who are doctrinally inclined, I believe that health and wealth are blessings from God and that at times He chooses to bless in this way. But I also believe that "the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike" and "that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions".

I'm a Member of a Country Club

Those of you who are country music fans will recognize my post title as the lead line in Travis Tritts' 1990 debut single, Country Club. In the song he follows a rich girl into a country club. She declines his advances by saying, "...I'm glad you asked, but I'll have to pass/Cause only members are allowed in here." He responds with, "Well I'm a member of a country club/Country music is what I love..."

Well, I'm a member of a country club too, or at least I'm staying at one. All of us are. To be truthful, we're only staying in the employee housing, but still...

This is the way it happened. We've been using part of the country club's grounds as a TDRS and staging area. It's been a sweet job as my brother and I are the only two debris trucks working in Sands Point. However, there have been a lot of power and light crews in here too and the Village Club at Sands Point has allowed them to stay in some of the buildings. I was talking with the manager and edging my way

The employee housing house

around to asking if he had room for my crews when Justin just comes right out and asks. After a moments thought, Phil said he could put us up in the employee housing building at no cost to us. Extremely generous! We even have a kitchen were we can make meals AND, at least for Jon and me, it's only a 2 minute commute.

One of the Halls

The first night we stayed here my phone rang about 8:30 pm. It was Phil inviting all of us up to the "Mansion" for a small farewell and thank you party for the power crews. Food and drink provided.

The Mansion, and for that matter all of the country club, is part of the old Guggenheim Estate. The "Mansion" which is now the clubhouse is one of the lesser mansions on the estate.



Some of the crew on the main staircase





My brother Jon schmoozing one of the big wigs





Justin gettin' down at the old baby grand

Oh, in my last post I mentioned that Vidal would be bringing pupusas for all of us for lunch. He did and they were EXCELLENT! Here we are (below) enjoying a good lunch and good conversation in a mix of Spanish and English. 

Left to right: Raul, Vidal, Eliot, Mark, Jon and Justin

There's No Place Like New York City

It's really true - there's no place like the Big Apple. When most people think of New York City they think of Manhattan. Actually, NYC consist of five boroughs. 8.2 million people live here. Half of my crew is working in Queens. My brother and I are working on Long Island in the very exclusive Village of Sand's Point.

Two years ago I worked the same area of Queens my other crews are working in. A micro burst had come through and laid over many of the old sycamore trees planted between the sidewalks and the street crushing cars and taking out power. This time the area affected by Hurricane Sandy is much more widespread, but the damage is still similar.

Following our week in Newton, I decide to continue on to this job in New York. Finding hotel rooms for everyone was not easy because there are so many people out of power and of course all the out-of-town crews are filling the hotels too. Barbe spent three hours on the phone Tuesday afternoon calling hotels as far away as Connecticut, with no success. I was beginning to think we might have to sleep at a homeless shelter. Finally she did found us rooms at The Grand in Maspeth, one of the many "towns" which make up Queens.

Doing these storms is always an adventure. Staying at this hotel is certainly one. Our first indication that things weren't as one would expect was the cleaning lady on duty all night. That, and people checking in and out at all hours. The rooms look like they haven't been redecorated since 1970 and the red carpet with the diamond pattern in the hallway tends to make you dizzy when you walk down it. The rooms are small, especially with 4 of us to a room, but hey...it's a place to sleep and shower for $120 per night. We're hoping that maybe by next week we can move into something a bit more respectable, but of course that comes with a higher price tag.

On a positive note, there are lots of really good places to eat within walking distance. We get up at 4 am every morning and leave The Grand by 5 am. There's an awesome bakery with the most incredible coffee and coffee rolls 2 blocks down. We all savor breakfast as we commute the 25 minutes or so to where we park our trucks. Mark drove our 15 passenger van down here so there is plenty of room for everyone. Some of the guys brought pickups as well.

Getting gas is still a major problem. We were shocked to see lines of cars 10 blocks long waiting to gas up. Usually only one station in 10 even has gas  Crews like ours are given priority, but we still try to conserve as much as possible.

We are removing some very large trees which came down in the storm. To even be able to lift them with our loaders they need to be cut into short sections. Below is my brother Jon's stepson, Justin trying to cut through one of the large oaks with our saw, with out much luck. (This was taken the day it snowed.)

We finally had to call in reinforcements from Dom's Tree Service, the contractor we are working for. This is Vidal with a much bigger saw standing in the tree trunk. The picture is taken from up on my loader. Vidal is from El Salvador. Tomorrow he is making arrangements to have pupusas brought to us. This is a traditional Salvadorean food and one I really enjoy. I have been working with quite a few men from Honduras and Guatemala. It's been really cool because I know their countries and also have a chance to practice my Spanish.

Front: Vidal, Back left to right: Homeowner, my son Mark and Eliot

Riding the Storm Out in Newton, Massachusetts

As Hurricane Sandy approaches the East Coast my crews and I are asked to mobilize immediately. We leave Farmington, Maine long before daylight on Monday, October 29th arriving in Newton, Massachusetts at 7 am and are immediately placed on standby.

Newton is one of the oldest and most affluent towns in the Boston area. It's old money and old money prefers to live quietly aloof behind stone walls and hedges, seemingly unaffected by the troubles that plague the rest of us. It's a town full of Lexuses, excellent public schools and winding, tree lined streets. Stately, old three story New England mansions with a myriad of gables, dormers, turrets, porches and chimneys are everywhere in abundance. The streets are narrow with low, overarching trees limbs...difficult to maneuver my truck through. The old oaks and maples wait with us to see what Hurricane Sandy will  bring. Somehow, looking at their huge size, I don't think this is the first storm they have weathered.

Around 2 pm the wind begins to strengthen. The DPW splits my crews up and sends each of us to different sections of the town. As trees begin to topple we are sent out to clear the streets so emergency vehicles can respond. The wind and rain really aren't that bad, but as darkness approaches I am uncomfortable with the idea of putting myself and my crew in harms way other than for true emergencies. Falling limbs and toppling trees are the main cause of death in high winds, but for emergency crews, "hot" power lines are a huge concern. Falling trees usually bring them down and the lines become tangled in the chaos of broken limbs. In addition, for self loaders like ours, booming up into an overhead live power line is a real and constant danger. Trying to do this in pitch darkness is nearly impossible and very dangerous. Around 8 pm I finally tell my crews to shut down and pull back to the staging area. The city isn't thrilled, but...

We find our way back to the hotel through gusty winds, sheeting rain and deep puddles of water that want to tear the wheel from of my hands. Early the next morning we awake to see what has happened throughout the night. Massachusetts, for the most part, has been spared. The news coming out of New Jersey and New York City is not as good.

For the rest of the week we putter around Newton, bucket trucks take down damaged trees and we load up what were once beautiful, old shade trees, now reduced to a jumbled heap of broken limbs and logs, and take them to disposal sites where they will be ground up and turned into mulch or bio mass fuel. For us, it has been a good week. By Friday evening we are done. I make the decision to leave our trucks in Mass and head home in our pickups. There is plenty of work ahead for us in New Jersey, presumably. I just need to determine if it is worthwhile and profitable enough for us to go to. This weekend I will be in constant communication with my primes. The flood waters still need to recede, bids need to be placed, contracts awarded and temporary reduction sites prepared.

Winter is fast approaching. Personally, I am ready to head for Honduras. Balancing my own desires with my obligation to my crews who are anxious to work and need the extra income this storm will produce is difficult. In the end, I pray for divine guidance and let tomorrow with all it's questions and decisions wait. It is good to be back home with my family.

Waiting on Sandy

You've got to be flexible. That's the current "buzz" phrase in missionary circles. Robert Burns put the concept in a different light in his poem, To a Mouse in 1786.

                                             "But little Mouse, you are not alone,
                                              In proving foresight may be vain:
                                              The best laid schemes of mice and men
                                              Go often awry,
                                              And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
                                              For promised joy!

                                              Still you are blest, compared with me!
                                              The present only touches you:
                                              But oh! I backward cast my eye,
                                              On prospects dreary!
                                              And forward, though I cannot see,
                                              I guess and fear!" (standard English translation)

Legend has it that Burns wrote this poem after finding a nest of field mice whose "house" had been destroyed by his plow. His insight into the oftentimes futileness of the plans of both mice and men is keen. Burns puts this premise in a darker light than those who speak of being flexible, but the idea remains the same for both. Plan as we will, try as we may, there is very little control we mere mice have over the circumstances of life. The sooner we learn this and come to terms with it the better off and more at peace we will be.

And so as the East Coast waits and prepares for Hurricane Sandy, we in the Wolfe house also wait to see if our plans to leave for Honduras after Thanksgiving remain intact. My disaster relief crew is anxious to go wherever our services are needed. Me...not so much. My mind is already set on the journey south. The rental add for our house has been placed. Someone is coming to view it today. What if they are a good match and our plans are delayed a month...or two. Should we rent it anyway?  "And forward, though I cannot see, I guess and fear!"

And so we wait!

Time is Flying By

It's strange how events six months or a year away seem slightly unreal. We know they are going to happen, but the reality just isn't there. That is not the case any longer for this event! We are approaching very quickly the less than 30 day mark and all of a sudden IT is becoming very real. A bit of last minute, second guessing on my part, a BIG list of last minute things to do for all of us.

Second guessing:

• Are we really making the right decision moving to Honduras?
• Should I really be shutting down a thriving business in this economy?
• Should I really take a year or two off from work at my age?
• Should we drive through Mexico?

Partial list of things to do:

• Rent house (something I have little or no control over)
• Clean out shop to make room for stored items.
• Pack items to store.
• Pack items to take.
• Decide which items to take.
• Prepare and obtain remaining paperwork for export.
• Prepare for year end tax and bookkeeping, as much as possible, prior to departure.
• .......

On a positive note, things already completed:

• Sale of back 38 acres....done!
• Cabin....finished!
• Most all the vehicles.....sold!
• Wally Mo car carrier.....signed purchase and sales agreement!
• Collection of debt from last year's unpaid contracts.....in the works!
• Apostilled documents....in hand!

Today, Mark and I are in Colorado Springs. Kind of funny, but this past Friday, the 19th, was my birthday and 49 years ago my life began right here in Colorado Springs. My parents left CS when I was six months old and I did not return again until I moved back here right after high school for a couple of years. For the past five years I have spent many, many weekends here with one or the other of my three boys on our truck travels. Over the past few years we have attended church and made friends here. I'm going to miss Springs Calvary, recently renamed Celebration. I didn't realize it at the time, but we started going there only a few months after it was started. I guess that makes us honorary plank members. We're going to miss seeing our friends the Crowes. I'm really going to miss those Sunday dinners with them! I'm kind of hoping we can squeeze one more in today : >) Jonathan and Joyce...I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed our friendship and your hospitality over the years.

Anyway, as you can maybe tell, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. This is no doubt my last truck trip for awhile, maybe forever. Life is changing very rapidly. I think Barbe is feeling the same way, maybe even more so. It's exciting, frightening, challenging and somewhat overwhelming all at the same time. With out a doubt, this is a major fork in the road for us and for our sons. Almost every day now I see a road sign pointing us in the direction we are headed, (see my July 18th post) assuring me we are still on the right road. Most often these road signs come from people I meet in my travels. Increasingly, this is becoming an almost daily occurrence. A constant offer to help in anyway. Some have contacts, others have expertise or knowledge, all are excited about what we're doing. Other (signs) are in the way pieces of the puzzle are "just" falling into place at "just" the right time. (One of these days I'm going to do a post on jig saw puzzles and the allegorical application to real life problem solving, planning and implementing of one's future.) Yep! I'm a big believer in jig saw puzzles.

I'm also a big believer in being able to see the hand of God at work in our lives as we follow Him. Some people may call it coincidence or happenstance. I choose to call it supernatural. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I know the one who does and in whose hands we are held.

  

Disaster Relief

Disaster relief has been a niche market I have been involved in since Hurricane Katrina. I, like so many others, thought that because there was so much damage in MS and LA that we could just go down and "get'er done". Not so! I, and many other contractors like myself, invested large amounts of money in equipment and time, but when we arrived in Louisiana it wasn't as easy as all that. I was fortunate. I met the second wealthiest man in Mississippi who took me under his wing and introduced  me to the "good ole boys club" of storm debris cleanup. My family and I ended up spending seven months in Mississippi.

Since then I have worked every major storm and most lesser ones. Hurricanes, ice storms, flooding and tornadoes; anywhere FEMA goes, we go. Sometimes I feel a bit guilty about making money from other people's misfortune, but when we start removing downed trees and clearing roads - helping people get there lives back to normal - it's a good feeling and people are always so thankful for what we do.

I am always amazed at how times of distress bring out the best and the worst in people. Greed in the form of through the roof rates on home repair or tree removal; or even worse, looting, is a major problem. This is more than offset by neighbors working together and the American Red Cross and other civic leagues bring meals and water to residents and contractors. Church groups begin to show up soon after the storm ends. I have seen literally hundreds of these groups on any given day hard at work, helping people they have never met. The white 15 passenger church van pulls up in front of a residence, the doors are  flung open and out pour old and young alike. They remind me of ants as they trundle limbs and debris from the yard to the curb and within a few hours the place is clean and they haved moved on the next location.

This past year was very busy for us. I started with the F5 tornado that hit Alabama, went from there directly to Springfield, MA to work the tornado that hit there on June 1st. After a short break from that storm I then spent two months in Rode Island following TS Irene and, oddly enough, went from there directly back to the same neighborhood in Springfield to help cleanup the damage done from the Halloween snowstorm that devastated the trees in half of Mass and CT.




My #1 man Tedd Flagg w/ his truck "Fred"



 As my involvement in this market has grown, and as many of the guys I know have been interested in working storms with me, I have begun running a crew. I'm proud of my crew. I demand excellence and my crew always comes through for me. We do quality work, look out for each other and have fun in the process. Working seven days a week from sun up until sun down, it's easy for tempers to flare. I make sure that we share the good and the bad equally and address any problems immediately. I have had a number people comment on how well my crew works together...this coming from people who are used to seeing the "every man for himself, anything goes, it's all about the money" attitude shown  by most of the other crews.

Mark

One of the real highlights for me last year was having my oldest son Mark, who was 15 at the time, work with me. He was with me from start to finish. He learned to run a chainsaw and a rake, both with equal skill. (I'll let you guess which he liked better) He also began training on my Hood 8000 loader. He is one of the best flagmen and groundmen I have ever used. Even after long hours and longer days, his work ethic and attitude never faltered. He was liked and respected by the other guys and the FEMA monitors and accepted their good natured ribbing with a smile. I'm looking forward to having my other two boys join the crew as well.



Thomas, me and Ben, Cranston, RI







As my responsibilities grow, I spend more time doing this (left) 

and less time doing this (right).

Because disaster relief is something I can do for a short period of time and produces a substantial amount of income, my plan is to keep that part of my equipment and business and if necessary return to the States from Honduras to work a storm. Most storm work is over and done within 6 weeks. All that may change after we get to Honduras and get settled in, but at this point because we have chosen to not go the route of being supported by donations, I still need to provide for my family's needs. This is one way to do that.

Tornado debris on Central Ave., Springfield, Ma   June 2011