Moments ago I looked back over my blog at an entry that I had forgotten I made, called “Sandy”. That was just over a month ago. It was written in a moment of adrenaline, the morning I headed for New Jersey.
I don’t recall writing that post. I was in a fog. I don’t even recall writing it, but by the details I can place the time and assume it was written from the comfort of my laptop.
And what a journey it was. I’ll share a few of the highlights feel free to ask me about any of them.
Work 18 hours, sleep 3, work 18, sleep 3, work 18, sleep 3, for 5 days.
Ran a shelter housing 280 people with roughly 100 cots and 100 blankets.
30’ sections of gutter and downspout were flying off of the building.
Sections of roof membrane were flying off of the building.
We were detoxing heroine addicts in the hallways.
The women made me sleep in their room to provide security.
We had every possible skin tone in the shelter. Families, homeless, visibly mentally ill…all in one big melting pot.
At 3:00AM the cook grabbed my arm and asked me to look out the back door at what he believed was a tornado.
I learned that you can detox a heroin addict by giving them enough sugar and keeping them walking 24 hours a days.
I learned that ambulances will not transport people in a hurricane when the winds are over 40 miles an hour. From that point on what ever medical issues you have in a shelter will stay in the shelter, they will not be transported to the hospital.
I have heard that you only need 20 seconds of insane courage. But, there are times in your life when you might need to have several sets of 20 seconds like that within a very short time frame.
I learned that surviving hell with another human being subjects you both to something called a “traumatic membrane”. The result is that one sees someone who was nearly a compete stranger before as a life-long best friend after.
I earned the respect of a homeless man. And, that means more to me that all of the respect that I have earned from all of the bank presidents I know. Combined.
I learned that living through a hell like that can cause a person to take a very, very long look in the mirror and redefine what it means to be a man.
I learned that my social anxiety (reference previous post) is nearly completely gone. In the weeks since I returned I have noticed that 95% of my social anxiety has simply evaporated. It’s too early to know if that is a temporary or permanent change, but I like it.
I learned that heroin addicts are real people, just like you and me. They have names and families and hopes and dreams, just like the rest of us.
I learned that heroin addicts understand how to self medicate really, really well.
I learned that a life-time of mission trips does not bend a person’s brain nearly as much as a deployment like this does.
Sometimes the shelter residents are more helpful than the other volunteers.
And, I saw a DMAT team (reference earlier posts). My dream for like 3 years has been to get onto a DMAT. I saw TN-1 DMAT at the Atlantic City Convention Center during the second week. It fascinates me that my dream has been to get onto a DMAT so that I could have some adrenaline fueled excitement in my life. There I was, 5 days of adrenaline high…and it was all over by the time the DMAT showed up.
I learned that people are not always what they seem.
I learned that a ricochet bullet does not hurt as much as a direct bullet hit.
I learned that prejudice against transgender people is real and it is ugly, even among people who have had sensitivity training on the topic.
I learned that the Catholic church gets it right some times. In this case sheltering 400 undocumented aliens who the city would not allow into the city shelter.
I profoundly grasp the scene in great war movies when the battle weary soldiers sit on their rucks, silently smoking a cigarette…as fresh new recruits come onto the now quiet battlefield.
I learned that a gun and a badge will allow you to be an ass to people and get away with it.
I learned that it is time for me to get serious about taking a martial arts class.
I learned that a young couple in love can fit both of their bodies onto a cot and sleep together.
And, I have some stories that ought never be written down. Ask me about diapers and baby food and the miracles that angels do.
I probably have learned some other things as I have stories that my own grandchildren won’t believe. But, this should give you some idea of what the trip to New Jersey was really like.
Oh, and finally, my earlier post referenced being 5 miles from the coast. That was true then and it’s true now, but during the storm the coast came to meet us. Happily it stopped when it was about 1 mile from the shelter.
