The news is not all bad: The worst of times, the best of times.

Dickens had it right. “It is the worst of times, it is the best of times.”

There can be no arguing that Katrina was a horrible storm. It damaged property, destroyed homes, and took over 1300 lives. It was bad, indeed really bad. But it also brought out the best of many people.

You read that correctly. It brought out the best. Sure, it may not be the news we see on TV, but the good news is out there.

Now before I get people upset, to focus on the positive is not to deny the negative. Katrina did bring out the worst in some—the lootings, the deaths, the killings of pets (from both abandonment and from shooting), and the barely concealed racism are all serious problems that must be rectified and rectified quickly. But for now I want to push the negative aside and focus on the positive.

It is too easy to overlook the positive. Bad news gets ratings, and hence press coverage. Good news gets brushed aside. But for every incidence of looting or shooting, there have been literally hundreds of cases of neighbor helping neighbor and of volunteers going above and beyond any reasonable call of duty. Each of these thousands and thousands of selfless heroes deserves to be made known and the story of their valor be passed along as both a reward to them for their action and as an example for other both now and in the future.

Unfortunately today we’ll only meet a few of these heroes. They may not be the best examples, but they are examples I know and because of that I will share their stories. Dave Driscoll, Ron Flores, and Christine Francis but I trust that their stories will be example enough to convince you of the good that the storm has wrought.


Dave Driscoll (who I was fortunate to work with in Biloxi and later interview for podcast) has given seven weeks to the people of Louisiana and Mississippi. Seven weeks. In an era when attention spans are measured in seconds, Dave has worked for seven weeks without receiving a cent.

Dave has worked with Handson, with DisasterCorps, and independently with a friend from New Orleans. He has gutted flooded homes, hauled garbage, cared for abandoned animals, handed out food, clothes, blankets, cleaning supplies, bikes and even Halloween candy. He has served as an airport shuttle service, cleaned lots for FEMA trailers, and most importantly shown the survivors that they have not been forgotten. From all if us, Thank you Dave!



In the days after Katrina, chaos reigned. Reports of lootings, shootings and death (of people, animals, and even a city) filled the airwaves and the papers. And on NOLA’s volunteer forum a hero rose above the rest of us. Ron Flores, Ronnie, had been in the midst of a move from Covington Louisiana to Las Vegas when Katrina decided to alter his plans.

While FEMA and virtually every other large relief organization were spinning their wheels, Ronnie dropped his plans and returned to the Gulf Coast. With seemingly endless energy Ronnie was everywhere. He was online, on the phone, and on the ground. He was there at 7:00 AM and at 2:00 AM. Directing supplies to those in need, encouraging would be volunteers, while simultaneously working himself “gitting ‘er done.”

Ron became an instant legend.

My first direct interaction with this legend came as a result of an attempt to find a place to volunteer in early October. I emailed him at about 1:00 AM. He got back to me almost at once telling me to call him. I hesitated. “do you know what time it is?” I responded. “Yeah, so what?, I’m up.” So I called.

By the time I hung up Verizon was a little richer and I had been sold on the importance of volunteering, on HandsonUSA, and on various ways we could help from hundred of miles away. I was just lucky he wasn’t selling used cars or I would be driving a 1975 Pinto.

Not knowing Ron, I fully expected him to fade into the horizon as more established relief agencies got their footing. After all, it takes quite the person to be the “go to person” for hundred and then suddenly step aside and take a smaller role within a larger group. But when we got to Biloxi, there he was—cutting trees, clearing lots for trailers, and still leading by example. Lead on Ronnie, lead on.


The final hero, or more appropriately heroine, is Bonaventure’s own Christine Francis. I did not know Christine prior to an email I received from her in September. She had heard I would be taking a group of Bonaventure students to Mississippi and wanted to go. However, she was busy with a job and school and could not make the meetings. Then she could not make the make-up meeting. But she wrote that she still wanted to go. Finally, when we did meet, she seemed both too busy and too nervous to go. She went anyways.

By the end of our October trip she was so sold on the idea of helping that she has to be talked out of dropping out of school to work in the affected areas. Back at Bonaventure she quickly assumed a leadership position in the planning of our March trip.

In late November she announced that she was forgoing her Christmas break at home with her family and instead was going to volunteer in Mississippi for the entire break. What is that about college students not caring? Christine made short work of that stereotype. Keep up the awesome work Christine, you have done more to show that college students care than you will ever know.


In coming blog entries Iplan to introduce you to more of these heroes, but for now I hope that these three are enough for you to realize that Katrina did bring out the best in some people. And so the next time you read of such-and-such happening bad as a result of Katrina, remember that the bad news is only one side of the story. Remember it is the worst of times, it is the best of times.