I GET IT. YOU'RE ON THE FENCE ABOUT DIVING into this book idea I've cooked up. Sure, it's true. You had an unforgettable experience in New Orleans. Whether it was volunteering in the 9th Ward or simply surviving Katrina. But to write about it now? With a deadline looming in 2 weeks?! "There's so much I could write, so much I want to say," you've been telling yourself. "But it's all overwhelming. I don't know where to begin."
Maybe this will help. What follows is a list of the 13 chapter titles I'd like to pursue. In the course of explaining what I'm looking for in each chapter, maybe my specific questions will jog your memory or even inspire you to write something.
1. SHOWING UP What brought you to New Orleans? What inspired you to make the trip? How'd you hear about Common Ground? What was your trip down to New Orleans like? Did you go straight to Common Ground? If not, what'd you do in NOLA before you got to Common Ground? What was your 1st impression of St. Mary's? How were your 1st few minutes and hours spent at Common Ground? Did anyone or anything leave a particularly strong impression from your initial moments at the place?
2. SYNCHRONICITY Did you experience a symphony of synchronicity and serendipity? Was there an abundance of coincidences and good fortune in your world? New Orleans is famous for its black magic underbelly. Did you experience any of that? Any ghost encounters? Mystical visions or encounters?
3. MUSIC There was an abundance of music in the air at St. Mary's and around New Orleans. Do you have any music related stories? Songs you wrote? Songs you remember hearing someone play or sing at St. Mary's or at a bar in the Quarter? One of my fondest memories is gettting awakened by some nameless banjo player picking his way through the halls of St. Mary's at what seemed to be some ungodly hour. I'm not an early riser, so that was an especially sweet wake-up call. It was several day later before I learned that banjo player was Josh, the endlessly patient North Carolina dude who seamlessly got the gutting teams going every morning during my 1st tenure in the 9th Ward.
4. CHILDREN There's no possible way you could've spent any time at Common Ground without crossing paths and having some kind of interaction with the local kids. They were abundant and adorable. Tell me about some of the kids you met.
5. LOCALS Same goes for the grown ups in the 9th Ward. I was floored by how friendly all the locals were to some curious white dude from California. My experience was rich with encounters with the locals. Who are the locals YOU'LL never forget? Pick one. How'd you meet this person? What was their story? What made them unforgettable?
6. THE WORK Let's not forget what we were down there for in the 1st place. We worked our asses off. Some of us harder than others. I'd love to read your stories of your work days. Who'd you work with? What did you do? What did you find gutting houses? Did you ever talk to one of the owners of the houses you gutted? Were you worried about the mold? Do you still worry about getting sick from it? How'd the work make you feel? Was it exhausting? Did you feel like you were accomplishing something? Or did you feel like you were in the way? Anybody get hurt on any of your work sites? If you worked a non-gutting job, I'd love to hear about THAT.
7. POLITICS This could be anything from national politics and the U.S. government's response to post-Katrina New Orleans. On down to group politics at Common Ground, where there always seemed to be some kind of behind-the-scenes drama going on. Did you experience a political awakening in New Orleans? Or did the conditions simply confirm what you already knew? What did you learn about the politics of what's happening down there? Did you ever get angry when hearing a story of govenment neglect from some local, who usually shared their story of federal malfeasance with a smile and a shrug? Did you witness any power trips or rampant hypocrisy amid the pecking order at Common Ground and St. Mary of the Angels?
8. SAFETY These stories/anecdotes could be about how safe you felt walking the streets. Did you ever stroll back to the 9th Ward from the French Quarter? What was THAT like? Your story could be about how safe you felt living at St. Mary's. It could be about how much shit you had ripped off out of your room. Or it could be about all those safety meetings you went to. How 'bout this? Let's hear a story about your favorite safety meeting...if you can remember it.
9. SEX & CANDY The stuff was abundant. In many forms. Tell us about YOUR experience with it.
10. PARADIGM SHIFT Any epiphanies? Revelations? Insights? What did the experience do to you? DID it do anything to you? And if it did, WHAT exactly was that? What did you walk away with from your time in the 9th Ward? How has your perspective been changed?
11. ST. MARY'S Rat-infested shithole? Beacon of hope, compassion and action? Or both. It was a place unlike any I've ever experienced. What do you remember about it? How did it smell? How was your room? Did you like the food? Your roommates? Did you attend any of the open mic nights? What did you get out of the various guests and discussions? What's the single memory from St. Mary's that you'll never forget?
12. ANGER Did you see it? Did you feel it? Tells us a story about when your anger boiled? Share a story about when you witnessed someone else angry. Have you channeled your anger? Have you vented your anger since you've been home? Has your anger dissipated since leaving New Orleans?
13. LOVE Did you feel it in the 9th Ward? Did you experience it? Did you witness it? Love is a broad topic. Maybe you write about the love you felt from the woman whose house you gutted. Maybe you write about the absence of Love in our culture and our government that has allowed this ongoing tragedy to happen. Maybe you write about the Love you felt from and for your Common Ground comrades. Maybe you write about the inadequate Love you were getting from your family and friends that fueled you to go down to New Orleans in the 1st place. Or maybe you write about the Love that was alive and on display day after day during our stay. When did YOU feel that jolt of Love, that ray of hope, during your pitstop in New Orleans?
These are just rough ideas. I'm flexible and willing to hear input on this from anyone and everyone. I'd like to have as many of these submissions in as possible by August 21. Write on!
