Super Bowl Spots

Well, pretty underwhelming this year. I've chosen two spots.
Spot number one: Career Builder, the only spot that made me laugh out loud.




And Go Daddy, one of the spots that made me embarrassed about being in advertising.

Ads I wish I'd done 2

Really, can they be any more simple?

Ads I wish I'd done 1

Pretty sure these ads were created out of David & Goliath in El Segundo. And they're really good. Simple is bigger.

Huh?

OK. Not the end of the blog. But the end of the trip. The end of those tragic silly-colored pictures that described the conditions down there. But, as bad as things are down there, my stupid sense of humor and odd perception of reality hasn't been altered. And, as bad as things are down there, the people lived up to their reputation for southern hospitality.

Just a little more aware that there are people out there that we, not the government, need to care for. It's just going to take more of us. That's really why I blogged about it every day, so both of you who read my blog might remember there are some folks down there in trouble. (Sorry, the Libertarian beast appeared for a second, try not let it happen again.)

Anywho, too many things going on to blog about, can't pick just one, so I'll pick none.

The End

What most of the houses in St. Bernard Parish look like.




















Schools are still closed.












I'm seeing about 5% of the people building like this.



OK, so we helped a few needers this week. It's time to go back to the unnecessary fast-pace of our former lives–now to be our current lives again.

I'm not going to give you a laundry list of things we did because that would be like taking a video crew to film me hugging babies and helping grannies across the street. But we were able to help several people who desperately needed it. Not the silly people who spent their relief money on Hummers and Escalades but people who are really trying to rebuild. It was good for my soul. It was good for my older boys. It was good for my Pops who will be 73 next month. I wish we had more time to spend down here, but I'm also can't wait to get back home to the girls and my 3 foot walking demolition device.



This is why he's The Boss




In honor of TKW's Flip-flop Day

No, right here

I just nodded my head like I knew what he was saying. I mean, I'm usually pretty good at deciphering but typically when there isn't a band rockin' 12 feet off my left ear. He brought his son all the way over from Scotland and now he plays guitar in this band. I have no idea who they are or what they're called, but they are loud and live.

I'd never seen anything like this. They set up their gear on one of the platforms in the skate park. As they were playing they'd have kids riding the curved rail that was the edge of their stage. It was awesome. I wanted to skate but I like standing upright too much.

I picked out one kid who wasn't on a board. He was wearing skates and he was hitting every rail in the park. I talked him into riding a rail until he got right to me to bail out. He did it probably half a dozen times because, I'm telling you, art director–not photographer.

Love life.

A neighborhood near where I'm staying in St. Bernard Parish



Many, many and many people are still living in trailers in their front yards, waiting for someone to help them reclaim their home.



Nearly everyone took a total loss because their insurance company told them they didn't need flood insurance. All the houses lost in St. Bernard Parish was from flood.




I would imagine this house has been for sale since August 2005.





People aren't the only victims of this catastrophe.




They live in a trailer in the front yard. Their house is still standing but it has just been mucked out. Two inches of mud needed to be shoveled out and everything with it. Carpet, tile, sheet rock, and wiring. These houses need to be completely stripped down to the frame.

The Kid and Man Child went with a plumber today. They were assigned to install a bathroom at a local VFW. After they got all their supplies, they were reassigned. As the work coordinator described it, "That's what it's like working down here." No worries, we're here to help, not to fulfill our own agenda. So they ended up installing gas lines for the family living in a trailer in their front yard.

I went another way and worked on framing and drywall with my dad. When we met up at the end of the day, the boys rolled in dirty and tired, but the look on their faces told a much different story. The story I wanted them to learn. Sacrifice. Thinking of others before themselves.

They have a pretty good life. We've traveled all over the US with both of them so they can chase their dreams as athletes. We aren't a wealthy family but the kids have everything they need and most everything they want. When I told them that they were going to spend Spring Break in New Orleans sleeping on a cot and doing hard labor every day, they were a bit confused. Leading up to the trip I tried to explain why I wanted them to experience this. For The Kid, who will start his first year of college in August, it was understandable on an intellectual level, but not an emotional level. He is still his favorite person. And for Man Child, it was neither intellectually understandable nor emotionally relevant to him.

They walked into the building at the end of the work day and we sat down and ate together. I could tell by the look on their faces and the difference in their language that I didn't have to explain to them why we came anymore. They are seeing the need and they are doing small things as their part to help make things better. But the thing that makes me most proud as a parent is their willingness to do it. I wanted to bring them in hopes that it would change lives, theirs included. Perhaps my life will be changed most. They are my heroes.


The boys at Gulfport, Mississippi. Sunday, March, 16, 2008