Last week I headed to the Gulf Coast to do some advance work for next week’s book parties and press events with the US Department of Education.

Tuesday, June 6 - Houston to New Orleans

I arrived at the airport at 6:00 am for a 7:35 am flight and was so proud of myself. Usually, I have to run for the gate before they give away my seat and/or close the door to the plane. At 7:45 the pilot announced there were mechanical difficulties and that mechanics were coming to see if they could fix the problem. Right! I ended up on the 8:35 am flight to Houston that was already late. Eventually I arrived in Houston and picked up my rental car to head to Beaumont.

After about two hours of back roads, truckers, and lots of roadwork, I arrived in Beaumont and met the wonderful Maurine at the Theodore Johns Library. Because of her love and concern for the entire community, she has managed to have an architecturally beautiful state-of-the-art library built in the middle of an area best known for housing projects. The new library was opened just prior to Hurricane Rita and severely damaged during the storm. The damage has now been repaired and the library celebrated its grand reopening last week.

We are fortunate to be able to have the Department of Education event in this amazing facility. And Gwen, the head librarian, is an amazing woman. Her passion and love for the children and families the library was built to serve came through as we toured the space.

Next stop - New Orleans, LA.

“Welcome to Louisiana!” That sign was a welcome sight but there were still a few hours to go. I also appreciated the 70 mph speed limit. Lots of big trucks out there, most of them in my way, but I thought that unfriendly gestures from a little car might not a good idea.

It was past 9:00 pm when I came upon the outskirts of New Orleans. Even in the dark I could see devastation and lots of roofs covered with blue plastic tarps. Going past the Superdome was sobering, and those scenes from TV flashed through my mind. Having been to New Orleans several times, everything seemed unusually quiet and somber.

I was really happy to finally see the Wyndham hotel. I wanted to go for a walk but decided to save that for Wednesday. Bottled water became a necessity after I turned on the spigot and saw the funny-colored water. It also took about three flushes for the toilet to completely flush. That night I was thankful for so many things.

Wednesday, June 7 - Baton Rouge

It was a lovely day in Louisiana — at least 95 degrees. In the daylight, the damage in and around the city was so evident. Barges loaded with refuse, endless numbers of junked cars, blue roofs everywhere, apartment complexes standing empty — where are all of the people who used to live here? Traffic was a mess between NOLA and Baton Rouge because a lot of people are commuting both ways.

I just finished reading a vampire novel and need to know — what happened to the bodies in those above ground cemeteries?

First Stop - Wilson Warehouse Co.

At the Wilson Warehouse, I met with James and Melanie. Both were very nice and really happy to provide space for the First Book distribution. James said he is going to be on vacation the week we are there and then he introduced me to Melanie for a tour — I think he just didn’t want to go out to the hot warehouses because it was nearly 100 degrees by that time. Oh well, here we go!

In the first warehouse, we climbed around the 46 pallets in the dark, trying to see some of the titles. Then I jumped into Melanie’s pickup and rode down to the warehouse where our staff will be working. That one had lights but still no air conditioning. There’s a huge fan, though, and the big front dock doors will be open.

Next Stop - The Library

What a change in locations! I met with Rose Anne, an accomplished storyteller and a published author. She loves First Book and wants to come to work for us. Everything is all set for the event in a room with a breathtaking view of both the river and the capitol.

Thursday, June 8 - Look out Gulfport!

I met Charlene Stinson at the North Gulfport 7th & 8th Grade School where the Boys & Girls Club is housed this summer while the new Club is being built. Charlene introduced me to Mr. Purvis, director of the Boys & Girls Club, and we toured the school. The building is old and it’s in one of the areas of Gulfport that had major hurricane damage. The good news is that the corporate community has come together to build a wonderful new state-of-the-art Boys & Girls Club facility for the children.

Stop for a second and imagine a nice little community with mainly modest brick homes and plenty of flowers and trees. In each yard there is a trailer or RV because the houses are not livable and folks have nowhere else to go. They have been told by FEMA that the trailers will be removed by the end of the month or they will have to begin paying for them, even though nothing has been done to help them get back into their homes.

At the Boys & Girls Club I was introduced to Mrs. Mingus, a 70+ year-old teacher/volunteer who is one of those displaced people. When I was introduced to her she was making a belt for a 10 year-old whose pants were hanging off his hips — she didn’t allow that kind of dress in her class. I asked how she was doing and she told me that for her, housing is secondary and the children are primary.

All of the people from the school and from the Boys & Girls Club are wonderful and love First Book. I walked into a class of 6th & 7th graders and saw some Townsend books we had shipped to them from one of our distributions on their desks. The teacher said both children and staff love the books and use them often to teach life’s lessons. Yaaaay for Townsend Press!

Bell Chasse coming up!

Up until this point Map Quest has been great — no problems. But it seems like road names changed after the hurricane. I didn’t arrive until 1:30 pm for our 1:00 meeting.

Cindy Hoyle, Principal at Bell Chasse Elementary, had everything in hand. The school is wonderful and Cindy’s husband is the retiring Superintendent of Schools. The school recently received First Book books, and boxes with our labels were everywhere. That was satisfying to see, as the Dept. of Education people and I walked through the school.

The school’s story is an interesting one. Prior to Katrina their enrollment was 900. They lost about a third of their students, but gained about 600 new students from displaced families moving into their parish. Enrollment is now at about 1200.

Home again, home again!

I am scheduled to leave for NOLA on Sunday for the first Department of Education event with Secretary Spellings in Belle Chasse, LA.

Sunday - Heading to New Orleans

It is Sunday afternoon and here we go again!

Sunday was a good day because I was traveling with Erin, and these experiences are so much better when they are shared. I arrived at 4:00 pm for a 4:45 pm departure and was a little concerned as boarding began and there was no sign of Erin.

Our Department of Education traveling companions, John and Sherry, arrived soon after I did. Erin finally arrived after a lengthy disagreement with an agent about checking her bag, even though it was one minute past the 45-minute cut-off time.

Following an uneventful flight, John was informed the package he checked containing the banners did not make the trip. Things were a little tense by the time we arrived at the hotel. Erin and I walked through most of the French Quarter trying to find food and ended up at The Praline Connection, one of my old favorites that survived the flood.

Monday - New Orleans

Most of my Sunday night and Monday morning were spent locating a FedEx Kinko’s, emailing copies of the signs to Kinko’s, and then convincing a Kinko’s employee to put our job in front of all of the other customers in line so we could get new signs before the event.

Next, we headed to Belle Chase Elementary, where Principal Cindy and a marvelous group of people reminded me that it does take a village to raise a child. John arrived with the banner and signs. He is still learning some of the tricks — large paper clips will hang a banner, and tape and glue will fix just about anything.

Cindy, along with the teachers and parents, were so welcoming to us. They prepared a feast of chicken salad, fruit salad, bagels, macaroons, pralines (all homemade), and homegrown tomatoes.

I really enjoyed sharing the stage with Margaret Spellings, the U.S. Secretary of Education, and singing “Grand Ole Flag” with her. During the event, Cindy kept referring to us as the VIPs and let everyone know that I was the reason they had received so many books. I also appreciated Cindy placing me on the program ahead of the Secretary.

The event was a success, with a lot of press coverage, and lots of photo opportunities (you can see some of the photos in this post).

Following a leisurely lunch with Cindy and her teachers, Erin and I headed to the airport. Thanks to my conference call with folks on the First Book Hurricane Team, we missed the freeway exit to the airport. Oh, the places we did go!

Until Florida later this month,
Lynda