The Best Thanksgiving Ever (Part 2)

(Read Part 1 of this story here)

On the way to the site, I debated changing my mind. I had hit a lot of traffic (probably people on their way to their Thanksgiving celebrations) and was running late. I didn't know if I'd be able to find my crew or if there'd be anything for me to do. I had no idea what to expect and I was getting overwhelmed and teary thinking of the devastation I was probably going to witness.  The bottom line was, I was making excuses because I was scared and unsure of what I was getting myself into.

I stated before that I don't ignore "coincidence."  I see it as a road sign in my life, indicating that I'm on the right path. Those signs have never steered me wrong and I wasn't going to start brushing it aside now simply because a little fear popped up.

As I drove through Staten Island, I admired the homes, the history, and thought, "Wow, this really doesn't look too bad!" And then... I started to see it... It started with some trees that were no longer upright, but as I got closer to the shoreline, blocks and blocks of homes had signs indicating they were condemned.  A little further down the street, hot food was being served out of tents, and supplies were being distributed.  It resembled a shanty town...  Every couple blocks, these "camps" were set up, with different churches or organizations sponsoring them.  And those were one of the few places I seemed to see any people until I got to the volunteer check-in.

As I was pulling into the parking lot, I stated my business to the two police officers stationed making sure everyone was there for the right reasons.  One responded sarcastically, "Oh.  You here to volunteer, eh?  Geez, I have no idea where you can do that."  The other said, "Ma'am, you're just going to head on over to that tent over there and they can assist you.  There's a lot of manual labor to be done, but I'm sure you can find something else since I'm sure you wouldn't want to do that."  Apparently Officer #2 had no idea who he was talking to (LOL!) but I'll give you one guess who the native New Yorker was. ;)

After reporting for duty, they sent me to Patterson Street where a crew had been stationed. There were gloves, masks, and everything you'd need for demolition and clean-up.  Shortly after I walked up to the site, wondering how to make myself useful, someone called out, "We need a crew to tear out a tile floor!"  "Guess I'm up," I thought, and stepped up to the plate.

I gathered the list of tools we needed and jumped in the back of a U-Haul van with four men (not something I would recommend in different circumstances) and arrived at house a couple blocks away.  This is where I met Marina.

Marina was a very sweet middle-aged Russian woman who taught music.  As I stepped into her home, I saw the decals on the walls... Hello Kitty, silly little frogs... this was a woman who loved the children she taught and did her best to make her home warm, inviting, and fun for them.  Marina welcomed us with a courageous smile.  She was so grateful to have us there. As I gazed around what I assume used to be her living room/teaching studio (her recording studio had been in the basement), I noticed that the bottom two-thirds of the walls in the front room and kitchen had already been removed and the front room was down the to subfloor.  We moved the damaged cabinets, kitchen table, and her bicycle carefully out of the kitchen (the insurance adjuster needed to see them before they were moved anywhere else) and got to work.

Two hours of sweat, force, sledgehammering, shoveling, and hauling and the job was done.  They say "many hands make light work" and I can't disagree.  I remember helping my father remove linoleum (a similar process) from our kitchen (about the same size as hers) when I was a kid and it took us days.  I couldn't believe how much sand had gotten under the tiles... but when the ocean comes for a sleepover, it really leaves its mark.

Marina was so grateful for our help.  The entire time, she was snapping photos of us working. She wanted to take our picture and insisted on getting our contact info (she's having a concert next week and wanted to invite us all).  When she saw my email address she asked, "You're a doctor?" When I said yes, the look on her face was priceless.  "Oh! Thank you so much!!" she exclaimed.  I wondered why this was so awe-inspiring to her... I guess doctors have a reputation for staying out of the trenches...

After snapping our photo, she looked at us in awe and said thank you one last time...  and I saw that look on her face... that look that always makes me offer my patients a hug... I offered, she accepted, and it quickly turned into a tearful group hug. It was such a touching moment. In her broken English, she stated, "Only in America! This would never happen in my country!"  She wanted to return the favor somehow, and I looked her in the eye and said, "You don't owe us anything. Just know that you're loved."  We all gave her another hug and she kissed us all on the cheek and she asked again that we come to her concert because she really wanted to see us all again.  I really hope to attend.

The rest of the day was spent having a quick (but delicious!) Thanksgiving meal (prepared by folks from Liquid Church) and then helping shuttle the U-Haul vans back to the various locations we had gotten them from that morning.

We ran across this sign of the storm after dropping off a couple FEMA employees (they were on leave after working since Sandy hit but decided to stick around for a few days to volunteer... they were staying on a ship).

In case you can't make that out, that's a ship.  Almost on the ROAD.
See the double yellow line?  Pretty wild stuff...

And after a very long, emotional day, as I continued to make folks smile with my humor and antics, (as well as passing out a stash of hand warmers I found - it was COLD once the sun went down!!), I was awarded the coveted hard hat!

If you are interested in being part of the relief efforts, monetary donations can be made here.  Additionally, volunteers are going to be needed for a while... this site can give you some options. Or, keep an eye on my Facebook page and I will be sure to let you know of opportunities as they present themselves.  Also be aware that we are continuing to collect non-perishables at the office or you can simply drop some goodies off at your local shelter.  

Thanks for letting me share my story.