Planning the trip to the Gulf Coast

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Submitted by Peter on Fri, Oct 16, 2009

Planning the trip to the Gulf Coast

Taking some cues from CNN and some from Google, I looked at several volunteer operations that were starting up around New Orleans. It was difficult to get into New Orleans at the time and many of the operations were on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. I found one ad hoc organization that had an actively updated web site. There were photos of a wide range of volunteers, returning residents, uniformed police officers, hippies, and National Guardsmen all sharing meals side by side. There was a call for volunteers. I decided to join that operation as a volunteer. They even had a "Wall-less Mart."

Now, I could begin logistics planning for the trip. I made a arrangements to stay in the Virginia Beach area through the month of October. I would leave in the last week of the month, go through Atlanta, and arrive at Waveland, Mississippi, the first week of November.

I had another project to work on for my last month's stay in Virginia Beach, but I also made time to do some research and round up some details for the few days I would be in Atlanta. I knew no one in Atlanta, but I had some things I wanted to do while I was there.

I had been reading at open mics for a few years. I chose three places in Atlanta that seemed appropriate. I always looked for open mics that were not restricted to only poetry, or only songs or music. I would read one story that fit into most open mics, a story that took five to six minutes to read, short and sweet. I loved reading at open mics. The audience response was always encouraging, and, if one person came up to me afterwards and said they enjoyed the story, I was very happy.

The other thing I wanted to do in Atlanta was to visit the Center for Puppetry Arts. My dear old friend, Wayland Flowers grew up in Atlanta. After he passed away, the Center for Puppetry Arts installed an exhibit as a tribute to the genius puppeteer and his main character, Madame. This was something I'd been wanting to do for a long time.

Many of the readers at the open mics I attended had their own chapbooks available for sale at the readings. And I thought it was time I had one too. I managed to get this done before leaving Virginia Beach. I made it my "trilogy plus one" chapbook titled, Nascent Constellation, stories of kindness and grace.