Day 3 in NJ

Thanking the powers that be that someone donated some cots that we slept on in the truck last night, Circus convinced me to sleep in and I got the best night sleep I had in a week. When I got up, the amazing new volunteers that came last night were on breakfast and kitchen organizing. Our mission today was to mobile up our U-haul and get on the road. It took us a few hours and a lot of help from everyone in camp but we finally got out with Circus driving and Alice and I in the back serving coffee, hot cocoa, lemonade, hot soup with rice, and meatball sandwiches. We served about 60 people off the truck until it got dark and they were so grateful for a hot sandwich and cup of coffee. Circus had the foresight to grab a case of beer from his own pocket and a few people were beyond excited to get a cold beer. Most takers were relief workers who needed a little refresher while cleaning out houses and getting rid of debris. Since we drove down the hardest hit areas yesterday a lot of garbage had been cleared out by these hard working relief crews. So much needs to be done and hopefully a cup of coffee and a smile helps with their moral.

We felt our mission into the community was a success and will continue it with more clear directions in the days to come. Main camp - officially called Union Firehouse Cafe - is in support of what we're doing and we'll be working together to get hot sandwiches and ready made meals out to those who don't have time to come to us.

Alice perched a ready for customers

One of the many massive piles of debris in Union Beach

Tonight we finally had a whole group meeting and decided on some logistical things. We set a menu for the next 2 days including our Halloween party tomorrow with a traditional American cookout. It's amazing how all of the volunteers work tirelessly to put together delicious food, support folks coming in, do oh-so-many-dishes, most of the time with a smile. Tomorrow morning Circus and I will be running to Costco for much needed produce shopping trip and then going back out into the community. We are running on propane and generators, no power yet to our area. A friendly neighbor has offered hot showers which we're trying to take advantage of when we can find a free hour.

What I haven't talked about yet are how friendly the people here are. New Jersey folks are incredibly warm, inviting, and hard working. We're both picking up a little NJ accent, too. This community has banded together to support one another and we've heard story after story of friends and neighbors helping out. We've met people who are from the surrounding areas that come in on their days off to help friends clear out debris or offer Sandy victims their homes. A group of Amish people from Pennsylvania have been out in the streets helping for the last week and reluctantly took our lemonade and cookies today. A lot of workers deny offers of food because their situation is okay compared to those hardest hit.

As for my reactions to being here, I am grateful to help. There is truly nothing I'd rather be doing than and I wish I could stay longer. It is hard work, though, especially since we are still short-handed. We expect the number of people eating here to grow exponentially tomorrow in addition to those we serve off the truck and meals we send out to work crews. We start one project and four others appear. You are asked questions constantly and also try to have time to listen and be compassionate to the people of Union Beach and surrounding areas. I've had a few long moments of breakdown but it all washes away eventually. Today everything was behind where we wanted to be and took way longer than I wanted it to but we got it all done. It takes me a long time to unwind at the end of the day and the stress can be overwhelming at times but it is beyond a shadow of a doubt worth it. A lot of the volunteers here did this for months after Katrina, which is hard for me to imagine.

Lastly, before I turn into a pumpkin, please know we are no heroes. We are only doing what hundreds have said they wish they had the time to do. Every person helps in their own way, this is just what we can do right now. So thanks for the kudos, but we're doing our best to keep ego out of it. Love to all.