Where in the World is EPS?: Jenard Street

Sunday April 29, 2007

Late this evening I arrived in Houston for my spring trip to Beaumont, Texas . I will be here until Saturday May 5.
I attended the christening of my "great" niece Addison in the afternoon and took the last flight out, which made my arrival at the hotel at 11:30P.
Since everything is basically closed at that hour, I was glad to find out that Rocky's Road House had begun there summer late hours. Two beers and a short drive across the street and I was in bed an hour later.
Since our basic job here is the same each trip, I thought this time I would give some observations instead of play by play on every nail driven.

On that note; Sunday was Karaoke Night at Rocky's. I understand why there are no contestants on American Idol from Beaumont.

Monday April 30, 2007
At 8A, I met the working crew I will be bonding with for the next 5 days.

A new crew of 10 from NCCC has been in Beaumont for a week and will be here for six more weeks. They are based in Denver , same as the last group.
In addition there is the Disciples Disaster Response Group, about 6, based in California. They are all retired and affiliated with a church in their home town.

My fellow volunteers, two couples from Wisconsin, sponsored in part by their church; Don, retired from General Motors, from Michigan, wearing the straw cowboy hat; and me.
This is Don's first build. He is on a three week road trip visiting family and friends, with one week here in Beaumont.

There are two homes that will be dedicated next week, and two more yet to be built. So, are basic job this week is to do all the finishing touches/corrections to be ready for final inspections.

Observation: The cable TV show "What not to where". They really need to come on down to Beaumont. They would have more candidates than they would need for years to come. Pink on women over 35 is a hit because it matches the varied shades of blond big hair with big bangs and banana clips. If it was a hit during the late '70's and early '80's, it is a fashion statement now.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

I was anxious to see the finished home that Sam (from February) and I worked a few days on the gable in the cold weather. The owners had just closed on the home about two weeks ago. I was quite surprised at the paint color choice for the outside of the home. When we were there only a small portion had been painted, so it was hard to tell what the final look would be. The home is referred by Miss Bea, as the "ice cream" house.

After lunch today, I was just killing time checking out how far the block has progressed over the past nine months. One thing that I noticed was all the electric/phone cables on the block. Growing up in Chicago, the poles were in the alley. Now, most new builds, the cables are buried and run to a few boxes out of sight. Here, I have been told, that lower end housing has the poles and the higher the priced homes have the buried cables.

I spent most of the day washing and scraping the windows. This is one job I have been putting off at my own house until I return.

Wednesday May, 2, 2007

I guess I will never learn.

I vowed to myself this trip that I was going to behave and keep any comments to myself. No swearing, no judgments, just a wallflower on Jenard Street. It almost worked.

My day was spent with the two ladies, both are very nice (in her fifties) . One follows every rule and has informed me on more than one occasion her beliefs on the use of alcohol. I told her that I use alcohol for medicinal purposes only which, I prescribe for myself on a daily basis.

Since we were bonding all day, I watched my choice of words. She did make a comment about a situation, we were discussing. She said I was probably mad as H-E-L-L. She spelled it out. I almost lost it.

Observation: T-Shirts that are worn here by young adults have some words and phrases that I would not even wear around the house.

Thursday May 3, 2007

We had our first storm during the night, leaving everything muddy and wet.

Our day was spent at the warehouse, building sheds, roofing and painting them. Great weather day with a cool breeze. Weather has been good everyday in the mid 80's.

Me & the "kids"

Information from Jessica at the restaurant bar:

- Light salt on a beverage napkin prevents the glass or bottle from sticking to the napkin

- There is a day-care in Beaumont that is open from 4A-midnight. They serve mainly those parents who do shift work. The cost: $95 for 5 days, maximum 12 hours per day. They used to be open 24hrs. What a great service for single parents.

Friday May 4, 2007 - Final Work Day

Today was our final work day on Jenard Street. Though it poured down rain from early last night until this morning, we returned to the job site. By 9A the weather pretty much cleared and we were working indoors preparing two homes for final inspection. My group installed kitchen cabinets and counter tops in one of the two homes. Building should begin on Monday for last two homes on Jenard and should be finished by late June. Jenard will then be a full block new neighborhood.