My Hurricane
My Hurricane
There were many stranded
For many days
When Katrina hit
I didn’t have a job and
Wanted to help. We watched on TV
All the horrible events.
All those people would not have a home now.
They didn’t have a job. They had no money.
They had no food.
We were starting to get help from people. I didn’t have a job.
Couldn’t pay the mortgage, electric bill, phone bill. Continued to look for work.
Thought there was a job. She told me she wanted to hire me. Then she lost her job.
Hurricane.
Hurricane?
Hurricane!
I even thought I would go
To the place Katrina affected,
But she told me she wanted to hire me.
Now I’m out looking again.
They will be looking for jobs too, those victims in Louisiana.
I can’t pay the mortgage. They have no home.
My personal hurricane.
No it wasn’t everything.
But I feel like I have to start over as well.
Everyone might have a disaster in their life.
How will we recover?
There isn’t always that government agency to help.
12/19/2005
Doug Logan
Work #3
The atmosphere is different after a holiday break. The air is much more calm walking back through the security gate. There is a quiet from the building where there is usually a chaos of sound. A group of about 23 men enter with their coats pulled tightly. Their hats sit snug on their head. Lunches are held firmly in the hand. Thoughts of the break still spin in each of their heads. This is the thoughts they don’t want to let go of. This is the thought that will help them move through the day.
The cranes sit quietly. The forklifts lie sleeping. Nobody came in at five a.m. like they sometimes do. They all wanted to get as much rest as they could. The group heads in at 5:45 pulling their ID badges out to slide into the clock. Then everyone stops to pull ear plugs from the dispenser.
The metal barrels that will one day be tanks to ride on the railroad tracks sit cold. They all have a slight frost on them. The next building, half lit, wheels for the tanks also have no movement. They haven’t for many days. The shop lights are only half on because the manager has not turned the rest of them on. As the time gets closer to the hour of beginnings, that hour at which work begins, men slowly move out of the locker room and break room.
The coats have been replaced with welder’s gear. The hats worn to keep warm have been replaced with hard hats. A great awakening takes place. The 6:00 siren rings, official start time. A great awakening continues of the body and metal. The first blow torch is lit somewhere in the distance. Like a signal fire to the rest 0f the men, ’I am here’, the fire says, ’follow my lead’.
Shortly more men meander to their work areas. The gas heaters come alive as well. There is to be no work in this first day after a break without a gas heater making an attempt to heat the open shop.
