About the bike ride…

On October 19 I will be starting off on a three-week bicycle ride from Shreveport, Louisiana to New Orleans. I’m hoping to end up at the offices of the St. Bernard Project in Chalmette, Louisiana, just east of New Orleans, on November 6. The main reason I’m making this ride is to  generate  awareness as to how the rebuild of New Orleans is coming along, specifically in the St. Bernard Parish. The families here were thrown to the wind by Katrina, and four years later, there is a lot more work to be done before we can say New Orleans is whole again. This 390 mile ride will run across 3 weeks. I want to be listening to people along the way to hear their tales of how Hurricanes Katrina and Rita changed their lives. Most Americans are unaware of the large number of refugees, as I call them, still displaced by these brutal storms, and I’d like this country to hear what they have to say about what they have been through. A film crew has volunteered to follow me throughout, and perhaps their documentary can bring some more attention to the plight of our neighbors. Beyond the ride, I will be listening to many more of the refugees who are scattered throughout the country. I’ll be compiling these tales in a book bearing the same name of this project, To Bring Us Home, and that money will go to the good people at the St. Bernard Project. The cost to the Project to bring a house livable is around 15 thousand dollars, so they can use all the money they can get. Again, check out their excellent site for more details. With your help, we can get them the money they need to get this city back home!

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Welcome! You’ve found To Bring Us Home!

This being the first post, I thought I would introduce myself, and give you a little history behind how this project came to be.  My name is Randy MacCaughey, and I work for United Airlines in Tampa, Florida. I am a Ramp Serviceman, which means I am one of the crew working below the wing, as we say, to make sure everything that is supposed to be on the plane with you actually makes it! Please check out the Bio section on the About page for more info on me, if you like. Now, on to more important things…

In the spring of 2007, my dear niece Colleen, who is forever devoting her time to helping those in need across the planet, came up with the idea of drawing our family closer together by enlisting us as volunteers with the St. Bernard Project. These fine people were helping former residents of the St. Bernard Parish, an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina, to return to their homes. I had not heard of this group, but we trust Colleen, so my mother, her mother, and I joined up with Colleen in New Orleans to see if we could do some good there, and perhaps inspire those living in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to carry on.

What and who we encountered there has changed my life forever. As we approached the city by car, I was first surprised to see so many debris piles. They were everywhere, still awaiting attention 19 months after the hurricanes had passed. Surprise quickly gave way to shock, dismay, disappointment, and anger at what I saw in the streets of this great city. I admit I had not kept up on the state of affairs here, and I was caught totally off guard. So very many homes throughout the most affected areas stood vacant and destroyed, untouched save for the markings on the front doors telling us of the death and damage suffered. Streets in the hard hit areas were barely navigable, and most of the businesses yet remained closed. The city was barely alive, and no one cared, or so it seemed. The stench of mold was a pervasive and sickening reminder that the destructive past was lingering here. It was as if time was standing still.

Then we arrived at Camp Hope, the housing facility for the St. Bernard Project volunteers, and my spirits were buoyed. Everyone involved resonated with caring and concern, and each showed a gentle, patient understanding that all of the weight crushing down on those few residents of the St. Bernard Parish who remained here would one day be lifted. We separated into crews, and each was assigned a home to work on for the week we were there. By the middle of the week, our crew was one. We had been drawn close by the very people we came to inspire. The owners of the home, the local residents, and the fine people who started and run the St. Bernard Project had inspired us instead.

On the last day at our family’s home, we stood in a prayer circle, as we did each morning before beginning work. Our crew leader, Larry, a retired educator from up north, proceeded to leave us with a message which I will never forget. . He told us, simply, and with an assured smile, that one day we would return. He said the people of this city will draw us back, and of that he had no doubt.

Larry was right. To Bring Us Home is here because of my experience in New Orleans over 2 years ago, and because  the dire need for assistance that existed then demands our attention still. I began to fall in love with the people here, and I was drawn to give their passions for life, home, and New Orleans a voice which would serve to push the rebuild along more quickly. As in any romance, you have to stay attentive to the one you love, so now we have To Bring Us Home to remind us to keep holding the hand of this great city while it grows and flourishes again, with our help.

Look around, explore the links, and send me a comment or question! There will be many more posts to come about New Orleans, my book, the ride, and the film, so check back in with us. The ride will begin in mid-October, and details will follow soon. Thanks for visiting, and see you next time!

Randy

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