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It's Batman!

Lovely Older Couple

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A Lovely Bouquet!

[Dave]

Well everyone, as promised here's my input on the Biloxi trip:

First of all, I could not have asked for a better crew. Angelina, Christine, Ed, Glenna, Jan, Lauren, Michael (Big Mike), Mike (Little Mike) and Val took my brief but convoluted explanation of how the "copy run" process works and they hit the ground running. Because of their efforts, things couldn't have gone smoother. Each of these people deserve a standing ovation, a towering golden trophy and a big novelty check for a gajillion dollars as a reward for their efforts.

I will single out Jan for her nimble reaction that helped us to avoid disaster when her copystand broke almost sending Christine's shiny new Nikon D2X crashing to the ground. Ed and Lauren also deserve special mention, because along with Jan they performed 90% of the back-breaking grunt work on the copystands.

Sharon Davis and her crew at the Margaret Sherry Memorial Library deserve all of OPR's appreciation for setting us up in a great location that included newly installed wireless Internet access.


Free Lance-Star reporter Rusty Dennen earned our gratitude. While he was on location to perform his duties as a journalist, Rusty also pitched in to help wherever and whenever it was needed. From picking up lunch to leading us around the area with his portable GPS to rebuilding broken copystands on the fly, Rusty was Mr. Johnny-on-the-Spot every step of the way.

My favorite part of the trip was when Rusty, Mike (Little Mike), Jan, Christine and I attended the 76th birthday party for Elaine Antonatos in Metairie. Elaine was one of OPR's customers during the Metairie trip. There are no words to describe the incredible life that pumps through this little woman's veins. I'll provide more details about this party in a later post. It deserves it's own attention.

Thanks also to every volunteer who donated funds to help defray the costs incurred on this trip by the individuals on this team. Your contributions went a long way in easing several financial burdens.

As with all copy-runs, we learned a few things along the way:

1. People will take full advantage when you tell them that OPR will take every restorable photo that they own. (a couple of orders are well over the 100 image mark)

2. Ordering food in Biloxi is just plain impossible over the phone and not much better in person. Following are some of the highlights:
     a. Ordering pizza can take over 20 minutes, especially if the local pizza place is not familiar with the town's main roads.
     b. If your meal comes with a salad, don't expect to see the salad. Just be happy if your drinks arrive at the table within 20 minutes of ordering them.
     c. If you order a salad, never ever order the fat-free sun-dried tomato vinagrette. Even if it's on the menu, it's a conversation that's not worth having.
     d. If they tell you that they don't have any grilled chicken left, they're lying.
     e. If you order a hot sausage po'boy with cheese, onions and mustard, you'll get a sausage sandwich hidden under a salad pile. You will, however,     
         get what appears to be a gallon of mustard.
      f. Being first in line at the drive through means you'll the last to leave by 5 minutes.
      g. Chicken must be 165 degrees in the middle before it can be served.
      h. If Rusty offers to lead the whole crew to "a great little seafood dive", immediately run away and head for  the nearest Taco Bell.
      i. I don't care what the health nuts say, donuts and chocolate chip cookies provide adequate sustenance for an 8 hour workday.
      j. There's no shame in traveling all the way to New Orleans and having a hot dog for dinner as long as it's a "Lucky Dog" purchased from a cart on     
         Bourbon Street.

3. When you're the resident "expert" and you're instructing everyone else how to avoid getting sick from the contaminated photographs, you're digging your own grave.

4. There's reason to be concerned about the state of taco crops in the midwest.

5. The new copystands worked and were certainly portable, but I think OPR is still not done trying to find a better system.

6. I think it's been a long time since Michael (Big Mike) has had a friendly relationship with any fruit or vegetable.

7. Brad Pitt was nowhere to be seen despite our best efforts.

8. There's so much more work to do and so many people in need that have yet to find OPR.

Lastly, I want to thank my Angela (OPR's treasurer) for making this trip possible. She handled every little detail like a professional travel agent. She provided her unmatched homemade chocolate chip cookies when we needed them most. Best yet she sent me photos of my boy to remind me that all that I do in this life is to make a better world for him to live in.

Dave

[John]

 

[cmpentecost]

Very nice words Dave.   

Chris

[cmpentecost]

I have one more.

9.  Don't believe what the airlines say...your luggage will NOT arrive when you do.

[kiska]

Nice. 

[Lorraine]

Beautiful, Dave. 

Thank you.

Lorraine

[OPRAng]

I am a lucky girl!

Angela

[sanbie]

Interesting read Dave...

Sanbie

[Tess (Tassie D)]

Great read Dave. Sounds like getting nourishing food was a real problem.

[glennab]

Hi Dave

It was great to get your perspective on the copy run.  Since you've been a principal in all of them, you had something with which to compare the experience. We had no idea what to expect.  I can tell you that I'll go on every run I'm able to manage.  Our Biloxi trip will be one of the most memorable times of my life, no matter how many more years I accrue.

You and Angela are very lucky to have each other.  Special people deserve to be with special people.  I love the feelings you expressed for Jack.  Kids make life exquisite, if sometimes challenging beyond endurance.  Doing your utmost to make the future good for your son is a journey you've made even more meaningful by founding OPR.  When he's old enough to realize what you've accomplished, he'll be so proud!

I'm gratified that you feel we did a good job.  The effort was definitely there.  I can't imagine a better team than the one you gathered to take on Biloxi.

Let's hope the area restaurants don't put you over the edge on the next trip!  It's pretty sad when Taco Bell is your fondest remembrance of the local cuisine.  Try not to lose any sleep over the taco crops.  I'm sure they'll be fine.

Your comment on big Mike's feelings toward fruit & vegetables was wonderful.  I can picture him disgustedly spooning the lettuce out of his sandwich at lunch one day.  It was priceless.

It was wonderful working with you!  I look forward to doing it again.

Bless,

Glenna

[Mhayes]

A big salute to all of you!

Margie

[rockthumper]

Thanks for the insights Dave those little snippets help me to realise what a top job you and the team did. 
Can you explain a little more about the protection from photographs? I guessed that some of the photos had been exposed to some highly unpleasant substances but foolishly assumed that when everything had dried out it was all over with. There are so many facets to the operation that I did not realise existed.

[Dave]

Rock,

The photos are mostly contaminated with mold and covered in layers of dust/mold. The only defense that you can employ is to try not to breathe this stuff in and get your hands clean immediately after handling the images.

We went through at least a couple of bottles of hand cleaner.

I think I got sick from the last batch of photos that I handled. They had been kept in a sealed tub for quite awhile, so in addition to the mold there was a lot of dust flying as I cleaned images and took apart frames.

Dave

ps: Believe it or not, we sometimes came across prints that still felt damp.

[sanbie]

Wow..I didn't realise issues like that..but when you explain it...it is rather obvious! Shouldn't you all be wearing masks then?

SAnbie

[amedina]

Hi All:

And thank you Dave, Christine, and Glenna for your humorous, thoughtful, and memorable observations on the Biloxi trip...I tell you it's been an adjustment easing back into my "regular life", but reading the forum has helped to sustain the incredible experience I had in Biloxi with OPR and the wonderful people connected with it.

It's been mentioned before, and I'm stating it again...we have an amazing staff at OPR! Their organization, dedication and humor help direct us newbies to "set up shop" quickly and efficiently, and whipped us into making this a successful trip.

As for trip observations, allow me to add my two-cents:

10. If you see a sign for I-10 in Pass Christian...don't take it. If you do, be prepared for a loooonnnngg, convoluted, confusing ride through the backroads of Miss. Stay on US 90 instead; get to Biloxi sooner.

11. We had a few people bring in their defrosting photos for us to review....they had heard from somewhere, if you sealed your photos in a plastic bag and placed them in the freezer it would kill the mold. So when they were brought to us, fresh out of the freezer, we had smelly, damp, moldy ice-crystal melting photos to handle. uuuummm, pass the hand cleaner, please.

In the end, the residual feeling I'm left with is one of gratitude: to have played a small part in this wonderful experiment called OPR and be connected to such a awesome network of volunteers worldwide. 

Angelina