Mark's Notebook

The Last Days

Thursday, May 4

Today we have been here two weeks. If we had flown out here, we would be leaving today or tomorrow. Bonnie asked us to stay until Sunday so we can help with distribution tomorrow. It looks like we will be short-handed because Bonnie and Di are going to Tennessee for a couple of days to start planning a relief effort for tornado victims there.

The college kids that were here yesterday never came back today like they had promised. That's OK. I did the clean-up in Shirley's yard that we had planned for them. I finished that all in the morning and then spent the hot afternoon in the trailer. Mary is still sick, but she is starting to sit up for a few minutes at a time and plan some cards she wants to make.

Later in the afternoon, John asked me to help fix the canopy on Bonnie and Di's trailer. We worked on that for a couple of hours.

We have decided that Mary probably OD'd on products that have gluten, rather than just eating enough to get by. Eating too much gluten makes her more prone to get migraine headaches.

Friday, May 5

Mary felt better enough today to help me do more clean-up around the camp. We had to throw away some clothes that got wet and moldy in the last rainstorm. That took the bulk of our day.

Saturday, May 6

Today we did distribution. Mary and I were really not needed from the standpoint of being short-handed. We had several community volunteers, plus three new volunteers from San Jose arrived last night (Pat, Debbie, and Rukiya). But we were able to train Pat and Debbie, who have never been here before.

After distribution, Mary and I cleaned up the trailer because new occupants will arrive on Tuesday. Ordinarily it wouldn't matter, but with all the storms we had while we were here, we tracked lots of mud onto the carpet. Mary let me clean it all up because she said I tracked it all in, even though we have identical boots. Go figure.

Late Saturday night, Bonnie and Di returned from Tennessee. Mary gave them a bundle of cards she made for them to use after we are gone.

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Last updated Monday 3 August 2009