Yesterday, the 28th of February was one of the best days out here in NOLA. Hell, it is actually had to pick which one is the best day so I'll rephrase and say yesterday was just another awesome day out of all the awesome days so far.
We went out to the Bayou Sauvage and did some work on a marsh. We planted trees on the marsh, shuffling through the bush; getting cut by branches, eaten by Mosquitos, being a couple of feet away from a snake; seeing over a dozen alligators and better yet riding on an airboat..."I'm on a boat!!!"
For me the most interesting part of all this is that service is commonly (mis)understood as helping out with churches, non profit organizations or people in need. It is rare that one thinks of planting trees in a marsh surrounded by alligators is doing a service. It is amazing to think that what we did yesterday may help the long-term recovery of the entire city of New Orleans as we helped restore the land.
After dinner, the day took an unexpected turn. We were visited by a man named Smithie, undisputedly one of the most interesting people I have had the honor of being in conversation with. Knowledgable, and a thinker, a philosopher. He spoke about many things but he made sure to question everything everyone said. Not to tell them they are wrong, but to make sure they think more, that they question more, that they philosophize...it was amazing!!!
He spoke about Katrina; imagine the chances of all the terminology he used and everything he spoke about being exactly similar to the things we spoke about in class.
"I don't know these things..." he always said that before blowing your mind and actually telling you (indirectly) that he does know these things.
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