Gulf Coast RV Adventure Videos Planned

While there, I got a chance to visit with fellow film producer (and professor) Rick Ray at Brooks Institute of Photography in Ventura, CA. It must be very rewarding working with young people trying to pursue their dreams of filmmaking. I spent the night at Rick and Sharon's house. They had just gotten married a few days earlier. After the show the next day, I flew back to Tucson and my problems. I worked day and night for the next ten days.

As so often happens in life, my earth shattering problems paled in comparison to what I saw when Jodie and I flew to New Orleans for Christmas. Jodie was directing a Group Workcamp of about 60 people who had given up their Christmas week to volunteer to help with the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans.

As soon as our plane touched down on the runway in New Orleans, I could smell the mold and mildew that permeated the disaster area. This was one news story that was worse than it looked on TV. We arrived at night and drove the dark streets to the church we would be staying in. Many traffic lights still were not functioning and the street lights were out. We were starving and there were no restaurants open. The only place you could find food was at gas station convenience stores. It was an eerie setting that is usually reserved for movie disasters. Unfortunately, this one was real. Trash and debris were piled high everywhere. We finally made it to the Catholic church we would call home for the next week. The priests had made us a snack. We grabbed some cots and tried to get some sleep.

The next morning Jodie began working with Tim and Jesse Kurth (staff members) to get the place ready for the volunteers' arrival later that day. I grabbed my camera, jumped in the rental car,' and headed to Mississippi. The damage there was different. In the New Orleans area it was flood damage. If the levees hadn't failed they would only have had a two week clean up to deal with. Their problems came when the water rushed in and flooded the neighborhoods. The houses were still standing, but destroyed on the inside. In Mississippi the homes were gone. The only thing left were the concrete pads where the houses once stood. In many places the front stairs to the homes were still there but they led to nothing.

I was now beginning to understand the scope of this disaster. In October I had filmed Port Authur TX (on the western border with Louisiana) and saw the devastation there. Now I was nearly 400 miles east of Port Authur and the damage was just as bad. The cleanup will take years. Driving and filming along the coast I saw people picking through what was left of their homes. They are trying to put their lives back together, but the task is overwhelming. A few of the neighborhoods I filmed had just opened back up for the first time since the storm. There is no way to describe the amount of damage.

The Group Workcamp people did a great job! Working tirelessly and eating small Red Cross meals, they gutted ten houses in the week they were there. With face masks, hazard suits, shovels and wheelbarrows, they went in and cleaned out everything - down to the bare studs. Along the way, they found marriage certificates, wedding rings and irreplaceable family photos. The look of gratitude on the faces of the home owners said it all. It was a great experience for everyone involved. If you would like to volunteer, contact Group Workcamp Foundation or one of the many other organizations that are helping out.

Jodie and I will return to the Gulf Coast this summer to film "Gulf Coast RV Adventure." We are also organizing a "Go to the Gulf" program for the RV industry. We are trying to get RV'ers and other tourists to head to the gulf for their next vacation and put a little money into the local economys who need it so badly. There are still miles of beautiful places to visit along the coast!

Jodie and I returned to Tucson on New Year's Eve, but were too tired to attend the party we had bought tickets for. My editing problems are still a nightmare I have to deal with, but have now been put into perspective with our trip to New Orleans. I hope everyone has a great new year!

See ya on the road, John & Jodie

Why is editing like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer? Because it feels so good when you finish!!!!!!