Jeremiah's Song

I finished a new song today that I named "Jeremiah's Song (Instrumental Breaks Mix)" and you can download it by clicking here.

Papa Antonio

Some sad news to report, my mother's father, Antonio Rodriguez Zamora, passed away last week in Oakland. He had been sick for quite some time so I am glad that he is not suffering any longer. May he rest in peace.

Mom is currently in Mexico where they will be burying him. Hopefully, she has a safe trip back to Morocco.

Saying good-bye to the 'South'

Well, Rita came and went. I guess it didn't hit as hard as Katrina did which is good. Now, I am have been far from Louisiana for more than a week. It definitely was an amazing experience. The following are some of my most vivid memories...

The Arrival

24 CityTeam volunteers and myself arrived at Bethany just past midnight on September 17th (Friday Night-Saturday Morning). We were to sleep in Tent City which had been set up in a grassy area under some trees prior to our arrival. Unfortunately, it had rained earlier that day and all our tents were wet and in puddles of water! To make things worse, the rain had caused what seemed like millions of fire-ants to come out of their soggy nests, crawl all over our legs and bite, just for fun. It took about an hour to drain, relocate, re-assemble clean out the tents and set up our cots but by then I was just glad to be able to sleep.

The Weather and the Love (Bugs)

Boy is it muggy in Louisiana! The humidity was very high and it always seems to be hot. In fact, when the rains were coming down from Rita, the water felt warm! I always thought that rain was supposed to be cold. Anyway, when it wasn't raining, we had to deal with these nasty creatures they call love bugs(Wikipedia.org). They are seriously the stupidest insects I have ever seen. They spend most of their life mating in mid-air and they seem to like smashing into windshields and car bumpers just for fun.

The Kids

My main job at the shelter was to help with the children's program. Ana, my fellow volunteer and I had the privilege of dealing with some really cool kids. We played games and had a homework club. One particular toddler became very attached to me after we all went to the park one day. Back in the shelter, I took him to pick out a book and after I had read it, he took it back to where it belonged and grabbed another one! This child was amazingly well mannered and very bright for his age. I was sorry to say good-bye after only two days of really getting to know him. CityTeam has a picture of the two of us hanging out which you can see by clicking here (of course, I look like a dork, but hey, it isn't about me right?)

The People

Well, the shelter was full of people but the ones I spent the most time with besides the kids were the other volunteers. Old friends like Christine and Theo. New friends like Lawrence and Tyrone. There were many others, some of whom are still in Louisiana helping out.

The End

There were many things that I did in Baker but to write them all down would be torture for me and for you too. I left Louisiana on Friday, September 30th, 2005. It was an unexpected trip but I am very glad I took it.