We decided to end our stay in Dallas early to get a head start on our next destination: Santa Fe, NM. We are on Rt 40 West right now and have about eight hours ahead of us and, for one of the rare times on this trip, Tarona and I will be donating time to take care of ourselves by stopping off at a spa for facials and massages because if we don't spend some time rejuvenating ourselves, we won't be any good to anyone else. (Plus, we're feeling a little scrappy.)
On a separate note, I wanted to send an enormous thank you to all of my former co-workers (and, blessedly, still current friends) at Simon & Schuster in NYC for donating such a wonderful and wide variety of books for us to leave behind on our visits. After seeing how appreciative the recipients have been, Tarona and I are hoping to further our partnership with Simon & Schuster as we would love to continue to encourage people to read and be inspired by books such as the ones we've been handing out.
Still having a glorious time, even though gas is $3.56/gallon in Texas.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Day Three
Tarona and I left Atlanta this morning around 7:00 am and drove to New Orleans, LA. We hit one of the worst rain storms I have ever seen on the way, but it cleared up by the time we got to the French Quarter...for about an hour. Then, it started pouring again except, this time, we were strolling along the Mississippi Riverwalk when it hit again. We quickly took shelter under an enormous gazebo used for musical performances where we met Gwyne Gilmore, a Hurricane Katrina survivor. Gwyne told us his story (in video below) and gave us a real insight as to the destruction caused by the storm and the kind-hearted Tennesseans who took him in and took care of him when he had to evacuate his home. He also shared with us this tidbit of information.
Gwyne recounts his story.
Once the rain let up, Tarona and I drove through the most devastated area in the city: the Ninth Ward. I've seen slums and I've seen poor neighborhoods, but the only way I can describe the Ninth Ward is war-torn. The majority of the homes there are completely gutted and those left standing in inhabitable form have been renovated and remodeled in an almost embarrassingly overdone way (stucco exteriors, towering columns) and put up for sale. It's unnerving to think that the destruction caused by Katrina gave the city an excuse to encourage gentrification, so I'm going to believe that the survivors of the hurricane made out well in their insurance settlements and, therefore, received bigger and better homes to replace the ones they lost.
Almost all of the homes have the same sort of marking on them: a large X on the façade of the house, the date, "LSP,” (Louisiana State Police) and a number indicating how many bodies were recovered from the home.
A sign of hope in the middle of despair.
At around 7:00 pm, Tarona and I found ourselves heading out of The Big Easy--quiet, pensive--and into another, albeit smaller, rainstorm for the next leg of our adventure in Dallas*, TX. Gas price update: $3.64/gallon in Louisiana. *We replaced San Antonio, which was on the original itinerary we emailed to everyone, with Dallas.
Once the rain let up, Tarona and I drove through the most devastated area in the city: the Ninth Ward. I've seen slums and I've seen poor neighborhoods, but the only way I can describe the Ninth Ward is war-torn. The majority of the homes there are completely gutted and those left standing in inhabitable form have been renovated and remodeled in an almost embarrassingly overdone way (stucco exteriors, towering columns) and put up for sale. It's unnerving to think that the destruction caused by Katrina gave the city an excuse to encourage gentrification, so I'm going to believe that the survivors of the hurricane made out well in their insurance settlements and, therefore, received bigger and better homes to replace the ones they lost.
At around 7:00 pm, Tarona and I found ourselves heading out of The Big Easy--quiet, pensive--and into another, albeit smaller, rainstorm for the next leg of our adventure in Dallas*, TX. Gas price update: $3.64/gallon in Louisiana. *We replaced San Antonio, which was on the original itinerary we emailed to everyone, with Dallas.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Day Two
Tarona and I started off our morning at the monthly volunteers' meeting with Dress for Success in Atlanta, GA and ended our day at the kick-off meeting for B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. Beginnings, a part of I Am B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. in Alpharetta, GA.
Prior to departure, the grand tour of The Decatur Inn.
While I have pages and pages of notes and lots and lots of pics and video footage, I'm too exhausted to figure out how to load anything from my new digital video camera onto my Mac, so I'll finish this post tomorrow from the road. In the meantime, I will say that if today was any indication as to how the rest of this trip is going to turn out, we are truly in for a phenomenal experience.
Oh, and gas went up to $3.55/gallon when we got to Georgia.
******************************
Addendum:
At Dress for Success, Janet Thornton, the Volunteer Professional Women's Group Director welcomed us with a big hug before the meeting began. We soon found out that hugs are given out often and in large quantities at this organization whose mission is "to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life."
Janet Thornton discusses her experiences at DFS and working with volunteers.
After networking with some of the volunteers (over the yummiest lemon cake and fresh fruit), Tarona and I listened to Janet explain the history, partnerships, and success of her Professional Women's Group program. Dress for Success' motto "Suits to Self-Sufficiency" speaks volumes to its volunteers' long-term commitment to helping women develop confidence and self worth in both their professional and personal worlds--as Janet said, "We're not just a closet." The Professional Women's Group provides support, encouragement, resources, and a variety of other services to help empower women. However, they are often in need of clothing donations, especially polo shirts and khakis for those women interviewing at non-corporate companies. We strongly urge anyone reading this to please contribute what you can to the following address:
Each month, Janet books guest speakers to present at the volunteers' meetings and this month, Tarona and I timed our visit perfectly as the guest speaker was entrepreneur, inventor, and all-around true Renaissance woman Cheryl Scales. Cheryl's topic this evening was how to market oneself, where we learned something as simple as buying a website domain name can garner each of us marketability regardless of whether we have our own business or not.
Rhonda Willis and Joslyn A. Moore describe their experiences as volunteers.
We were also pleased to find out that Rochelle Ward, PWG's Program Coordinator, is starting a book club in which she plans to discuss a variety of fiction and non-fiction titles with members who sign up for the meetings every other month. (Note to my
former publishing pals: you'll be hearing from me soon to ask for donations again.)
Tarona poses here with Frances Browning, a volunteer for Dress for Success' Professional Women's Group and Every Woman Works, an organization for women in transition from the penal system which helps them develop work skills and strengthen their self-confidence.
At B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. Beginnings, Tina Woodard addressed moms of girls 5 - 10 years old about her prevention program which focuses on increasing self esteem and leadership skills. A subsidiary of her I Am B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. program for teens, B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. Beginnings understands that girls are being affected at a younger and younger age as the years progress and provides a support system to ensure the achievement of physical, mental, social, emotional, spiritual, and economic success of these "little" girls overtakes--or, at least undoes--any image issues they might have based on current media standards or the ignorant jabbings from their peers.
Tina Woodard
The program is a fantastic combination of mentoring, community service, workshops, and activities which encourage leadership in girls, but also educates mothers on how they can support their daughters' empowerment. While the cost for parents to enroll their daughters in Camp B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. is nominal, Tina estimates it costs the organization approximately $700 per girl, which is why she relies heavily on the financial support of donors. If you would like to contribute any amount to this wonderful program, please contact Tina at the following address:
Cameca Fenderson explains her sickle cell anemia foundation.
While I have pages and pages of notes and lots and lots of pics and video footage, I'm too exhausted to figure out how to load anything from my new digital video camera onto my Mac, so I'll finish this post tomorrow from the road. In the meantime, I will say that if today was any indication as to how the rest of this trip is going to turn out, we are truly in for a phenomenal experience.
Oh, and gas went up to $3.55/gallon when we got to Georgia.
******************************
Addendum:
At Dress for Success, Janet Thornton, the Volunteer Professional Women's Group Director welcomed us with a big hug before the meeting began. We soon found out that hugs are given out often and in large quantities at this organization whose mission is "to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life."
After networking with some of the volunteers (over the yummiest lemon cake and fresh fruit), Tarona and I listened to Janet explain the history, partnerships, and success of her Professional Women's Group program. Dress for Success' motto "Suits to Self-Sufficiency" speaks volumes to its volunteers' long-term commitment to helping women develop confidence and self worth in both their professional and personal worlds--as Janet said, "We're not just a closet." The Professional Women's Group provides support, encouragement, resources, and a variety of other services to help empower women. However, they are often in need of clothing donations, especially polo shirts and khakis for those women interviewing at non-corporate companies. We strongly urge anyone reading this to please contribute what you can to the following address:
Dress for Success AtlantaIf you're not in the Atlanta region, Dress for Success has offices nation- and worldwide.
220 Spring Street NW, Suite 102
Atlanta, GA 30303
404.589.1177 p
404.589.1187 f
Each month, Janet books guest speakers to present at the volunteers' meetings and this month, Tarona and I timed our visit perfectly as the guest speaker was entrepreneur, inventor, and all-around true Renaissance woman Cheryl Scales. Cheryl's topic this evening was how to market oneself, where we learned something as simple as buying a website domain name can garner each of us marketability regardless of whether we have our own business or not.
We were also pleased to find out that Rochelle Ward, PWG's Program Coordinator, is starting a book club in which she plans to discuss a variety of fiction and non-fiction titles with members who sign up for the meetings every other month. (Note to my
former publishing pals: you'll be hearing from me soon to ask for donations again.)
At B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. Beginnings, Tina Woodard addressed moms of girls 5 - 10 years old about her prevention program which focuses on increasing self esteem and leadership skills. A subsidiary of her I Am B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. program for teens, B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. Beginnings understands that girls are being affected at a younger and younger age as the years progress and provides a support system to ensure the achievement of physical, mental, social, emotional, spiritual, and economic success of these "little" girls overtakes--or, at least undoes--any image issues they might have based on current media standards or the ignorant jabbings from their peers.
The program is a fantastic combination of mentoring, community service, workshops, and activities which encourage leadership in girls, but also educates mothers on how they can support their daughters' empowerment. While the cost for parents to enroll their daughters in Camp B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. is nominal, Tina estimates it costs the organization approximately $700 per girl, which is why she relies heavily on the financial support of donors. If you would like to contribute any amount to this wonderful program, please contact Tina at the following address:
I AM, INC.
4850 Golden Parkway, Suite B-230
Buford, Georgia 30518
404.545.9051 p (Georgia office)
843.616.4415 p (South Carolina office)
770.831.0813 f
Friday, April 25, 2008
Day One
Tarona and I have been on the road for just about 6 hours now. The weather's been fantastic, aside for some rain showers earlier in Pennsylvania.
Currently, we're on Rt. 81 South, passing through Harrisonburg, VA. We're about ninety minutes from Roanoke and then another two hours from there to the North Carolina border. Our goal is to keep driving until we hit Atlanta, GA, which should be somewhere around the 6:00 am mark tomorrow morning. Once there, we'll be meeting with the women from Dress for Success.
So far, so good, except that gas is $3.49/gallon. Yeesh.
Earlier today...
Currently, we're on Rt. 81 South, passing through Harrisonburg, VA. We're about ninety minutes from Roanoke and then another two hours from there to the North Carolina border. Our goal is to keep driving until we hit Atlanta, GA, which should be somewhere around the 6:00 am mark tomorrow morning. Once there, we'll be meeting with the women from Dress for Success.
So far, so good, except that gas is $3.49/gallon. Yeesh.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The countdown begins
A couple of years ago, Tarona and Dina made a plan to do something special before they turned 40 and, so, the time has come. From April 25 through May 10, the duo will be on a road trip to volunteer their time and energies to various organizations and unsuspecting individuals across the country. Ambitious to do in two weeks, they know, but they're completely dedicated to doing something that they will surely remember for the rest of their lives.
Check back on Friday, April 25 when they officially set off on their journey...
Check back on Friday, April 25 when they officially set off on their journey...
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