Several weeks ago, the FBC College group embarked on a 12-hour journey to New Orleans, La. to assist with the ongoing recovery and reconstruction efforts for the people who continue to suffer from the impact of Hurricane Katrina from 2005.

 

We spent 4 days working with another faith-based organization constructing new houses and removing debris from properties that had not been touched since the hurricane. While much of our time was spent doing a good bit of grunt work, we were still able to have ourselves a good time and enjoy downtown New Orleans.  As an aside, I happened to pick up on several incidences/situations that made the week even more comical -- and even more effective.

 

 

1. Church buses always work when the senior citizens use them to go to the Grande Ol Opry, but when a group of college-aged kids go on a Mission trip, it falls apart.

 

2. I never EVER want to live in Alabama.

 

3. The 30-minute Ferry ride across the Mississippi is, in all actuality, only 5 minutes.

 

4. It’s not wise to buy ice cream from an ice cream dealer in the ghetto wearing dreadlocks and driving a van older than my parents.

 

5. The back of the bus sucks. Seriously.

 

6. When faced with the choice of choosing a fast food dining establishment and the options are Zaxby’s or Crystal’s, look to your digestive system for advice. It will tell you Zaxby’s.

 

7. Weed-whacking an acre lot resembling the Amazon rainforest is a lot harder than it looks.

 

8. Always carry two sets of keys for any rental vehicle, in case a motorized cart with blades happens to be nearby. Carry three sets of keys if Trevor Ash is within 100 nautical miles of said motorized cart with blades.

 

9. VISA - truly accepted “everywhere you want (or shouldn't) to be.”

 

10. When phonetically spelling the street names of your current location to a rapid response car rental agent, phonetic spellings should not include the word “Orangutan” for the letter “O.”

 

11. Bourbon Street really isn’t that bad at 4 on a Wednesday afternoon. But there’s still that guy on a bike who, as you are walking into the gay district, will tell you (and the 5 other guys in your group), “you better not continue down the road unless you are of the homosexual persuasion.”

 

12. $15 is way too much to spend on a hamburger.

 

13. Confectionary sugar fights are great… Be sure to solicit extra plates of sugar from restaurant patrons to fuel the outside-the-restaurant fight.

 

14. Drunken old men who find themselves lost in the 13th floor restroom of the Westin Hotel, from time to time, do need some assistance finding their way out of the bathroom. And no, this isn’t Narnia – the closet isn’t magical.

 

15. (Has nothing to do with #14) Actions that one may consider to be “creepy,” “uncivilized,” or just downright wrong can always be excused b y saying “I’m old and senile.”

 

16. (Referring to #15) Urinating in public is completely legal in New Orleans.

 

17. Applying a “I Love Bad Boyz” sticker to a silver Chevy Cobalt with 2 young men inside doesn’t exactly make them happy. But It could be worse – it could have been a rainbow license plate holder.

 

18. (Spinoff of #16) It’s perfectly ok for a man to use the women’s restroom without any shame… if he’s 70+.

 

19. Slugs are deadly. Deadlier than snakes, spiders, and snipes.

 

20. It is the universal belief that foremen at construction sites don’t like to do any work.