Week 5: changing weather, changing attitudes, changing clothes...
Scream Therapy: The moist, misty weather Monday and Tuesday made for sporadic roofing; we were called up and down the ladder throughout each day, waiting for the clouds to cease and the sun to shine (it didn't, until Thursday). But to deal with the Seasonal Affective Disorder these gloomy days bring, the team did some post-lunch stress relief in the van with "Sarah's scream therapy" (no explanation needed). And the team enjoyed the indoor task of moving shelves upon shelves of paint pigment cans (left from the factory's heyday) into another room to be opened and dried out (which we did in fun assembly-line fashion, throwing cans from each teammate to the next).
Scent Therapy: Due to EPA standards the full paint cans couldn't be thrown away, so lucky members of Eagle Five got to take out their frustrations on hundreds of cans by punching holes in the tops with a crowbar. Dust masks were in vogue that day to avoid inhaling the many toxic fumes.
Art Therapy: Wednesday was another misty day but the April weather didn't hold April (me!) back from getting her three birthday wishes: 1) start the day with a nutritious Dunkin Donuts breakfast, 2) get to throw paint against a wall, and 3) find out what Eagle Five's next project is. Like the big blue beautiful genie she is, Sarah granted each wish making for a very colorful day. In fact, there's now a wall in the factory that Jackson Pollock himself couldn't hold a candle to (both figuratively and literally...the paint is very flammable).
Physical Therapy: We slept tight that night finally knowing where we'd be in two weeks, but still woke up in time for a 5 am jog the next morning. Thursday turned out to be good practice for working in the sunny southern climate: for the first time since the project began, we were forced by our sweat glands to strip down to the bare minimum, ditching our hoodies and paint-splattered coveralls for the cool comfort of our AmeriTees.
Music Therapy: Some of us did get burned, but we weren't burnt out thanks to the amazing home-cooked meal served to us at lunch-time (good job Baywatch), and to the radio keeping us rocking on the roof (I don't know why it took us so long to get one up there). With the beats to keep us going, we made amazing progress gluing down rubber on the roof and have only one section left to complete.
Heat therapy: Friday morning the team left campus early to drive down to DC and participate in the Habitat for Humanity Congressional staff build. The sun was hot and smiles bright as the team got to see first hand what our next project would be like by helping with various tasks on mid-construction Habitat homes. We were also fortunate to share stories and experiences with members of other AmeriCorps programs and representatives of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Service Therapy: Of all the things that keep us sane and moving on this project, the biggest motivation is knowing that once the roof is complete, the Academy will be able to move forward with their goal of bringing community empowerment to Southwest Baltimore City--a place that really needs the help. Without a safe and water-tight roof, they could not get the support, manpower, and funding to finish renovating the rest of the building--and we would not be able to see the amazing impact the center will undoubtedly have once opened.
Week 6, last week of project #1: Police helicopters circled overhead Tuesday of our last week in Southwest Baltimore. We were used to seeing one everyday, patrolling the community and the endless drug deals done right outside our gate; but when the number of 'copters flying directly above us increased to two, then three, then four...we knew something else was up. But we persisted in our efforts to finish as much of the roof as we could during our last few days on the project, finding out later that a cop had been shot a half-mile away from our work-site. If anything, the incident fueled our fire to finish the roof--and by the end of the week, we did.
