Dust in the Wind: Real FEMA Disaster Stories

By Robert Winter

Forget the hype of news reports and what media showed you during history-making disasters such as Hurricanes Hugo, Andrew and Iniki to the Northridge Earthquake. Follow Robert Winter, a 25-year FEMA inspector veteran, at ground level as he encounters the true story, the grit, triumphs and tragedies of how these disasters played out in people's lives around the world on a daily basis. From comical rollicking journeys into the back woods and bayous of the South to the jungles in American Samoa during Cyclone Ofa, or witnessing the heartbreaking devastation of the tornadoes that hit Joplin, Missouri, Robert narrates what he saw firsthand.

In this second edition, Dust in the Wind proves to be an entertaining look at a big man with big personality and through his experiences, personified his growth as a humanitarian. Robert Winter provides a very human face for FEMA. This book provides more than a glimpse of what truly happens behind-the-scenes and what is far removed from the media spotlight during a disaster, and how crisis can bring out not only the worst in people, but also the best.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Winter
• Release date: Oct 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311003560

Robert Winter

Robert Winter is Professor of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is author of Music for Our Time (1992) and co-author of The Beethoven Sketchbooks (California, 1985). Robert Martin is Assistant Dean of Humanities and Adjunct Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Book preview

DUST

IN

THE WIND

REAL FEMA DISASTER STORIES

ROBERT WINTER

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

SMASHWORDS EDITION, LICENSE NOTES

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

DISCLAIMER

This book is a memoir based on events, locales and conversations from the author’s memories of them. In order to maintain the anonymity of individuals and places, some identifying characteristics and details such as physical properties, occupations and places of residence have been changed, and in some instances the people, places and stories portrayed do not in any way alter the outcome of any material portion of this text.

Copyright 2014 Robert Winter Las Vegas, NV

Revised Edition - 2015

ISBN-13: 978-0-9964229-1-8

ISBN-10: 0996422919

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

WWW.DUSTINTHEWINDFEMABOOK.COM

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to victims of disaster. You are always on my mind.

FOLLOW ROBERT WINTER AT:

DustInTheWindfemabook.com

Facebook.com/dustinthewindFEMAbook

Instagram.com/@FEMADUDE15

Twitter.com/@DustInTheWindBk

YouTube.com/FRECKSZONE

Celebrities4DisasterRelief.org

Email: [e-mail]

Release Date: August 2015

Disaster Manual for Financial Recovery:

How to Get the Most Money from FEMA and Your Insurance Company

At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never-All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide. I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now, something of ill-omen, amongst us.

~Abraham Lincoln

The Lyceum Address

January 27, 1838

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

PRELUDE TO A DISASTER

INTRODUCTION

Chapter One:

THE CALIFORNIA SUN

Chapter Two:

YEAR ONE - 1989

HURRICANE HUGO

Chapter Three:

YEAR TWO - 1990

CYCLONE OFA

Chapter Four:

YEARS THREE AND FOUR – 1991-92

HURRICANE ANDREW & HURRICANE INIKI

Chapter Five:

COMPUTERS...CHANGE

NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE

Chapter Six:

WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK

Chapter Seven:

TRANSITIONS BEGIN

CONCLUSION

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Book and Disaster Resources

PROLOGUE

The winds were so intense that they blasted inside the house, tearing it apart, lifting the roof and sending it slicing through the neighborhood. The same scene replayed throughout other neighborhoods with some buildings wiped away as if they had never existed.

Flood waters rose, electric lines snapped, and it seemed as if Mother Nature had decided to turn against every single person stuck in the path of the storm. For hours the hurricane raged and hundreds of thousands worried, watched and waited. It was all that they could do.

Then, it was over. Slowly, dazed and nervous people emerged from their homes to survey the damage and many could not believe the near total devastation that had once been their hometown. They didn't know what to do.

Even before they stepped outside, however, help was on the way. An official decision had been made in Washington, D.C. and legions of first responders were making their way to the areas hardest hit. Soon they'd be arriving, setting up emergency services, handing out food, water and basic supplies. These responders would start to tell the victims what to do, who to call and how to rebuild their ruined lives.

In some of the first planes and cars to arrive were the very people who could start to get their world back in order - one home at a time. This is the story of one of those people.

This is the story of Robert Winter - a contract FEMA inspector.

Follow him as he meets people from all walks of life, offers answers and a shoulder to lean on, encountering some of the deadliest creatures (including his fellow man) and at the same time, does all that he can to help the victims of disaster. This is not just his story. It is your story, your neighbor's story - the story of modern America. And it's not pretty. It's all something we should know about because it is one of the most important stories of our time.

Robert Winter is still here to help you on one of the worst days of your life, but he is also here to tell you that Mother Nature may not always be your biggest threat.

Who is? Read these pages, have your eyes opened and learn how to be truly prepared for the worst that nature and your fellow man can hand out.

PRELUDE TO A DISASTER

Wednesday: 1:35 AM:

Meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida begin tracking a tropical depression. Less than twelve hours later, it is upgraded to a tropical storm.

Friday: 2:27 PM:

Meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center now confirm that what was a tropical storm is intensifying into a hurricane, and it appears to be headed toward the southern coast of the United States. Experts alert the proper authorities and word reaches the media that a major storm may be in the works.

Meanwhile...

More than two thousand miles from Miami, a man called Frecks is enjoying some downtime and making plans to dive for abalone in the Fort Bragg (California) area within the next day or two. At the moment the forecasters over in Florida recognize trouble might be brewing, Frecks is standing at the edge of a cliff looking out at the Pacific, squinting in the brilliant sunlight and the reflective sparkles from the water.

He is one happy guy. Below him is water so clear that you can see right down to the bottom…fifteen or twenty feet in depth, with small fish darting about and bits of kelp lazily floating in the gentle motion of the water. He can't wait to get in there and get below the surface in order to enjoy the peace and the beauty of the sea.

Unfortunately, the peace and beauty of the sea no longer exists back in Florida.

Sunday: 4:13 PM

The hurricane is now positioned to make landfall in the southern coastal areas of Florida and Alabama, with a chance of also reaching Louisiana. Authorities in those states are being advised to issue hurricane warnings, to alert residents to make preparations, and to even consider evacuations…as the hurricane is continuing to grow in strength.

Tuesday: 12:51 AM

The Category 4 hurricane makes landfall over Florida. It packs winds of more than 145 mph, with gusts far exceeding that speed. It weakens over the land, but still packs a significant punch.

Meanwhile…

Frecks has headed out for his day of diving for abalone. Occasionally, he recoils at the touch of a languid stretch of kelp brushing his leg. Why? Because he knows that only 80 miles away is a bay known to be the prime breeding ground for great white sharks. In fact, the very bay he is in has already witnessed a fatal great white attack in the past.

Despite this, Frecks takes a deep breath and slowly slips beneath the water. He disappears into the thrill and beauty of this experience. Down at the bottom, he finds his treasure…abalone. He pops off the biggest one and heads back to the surface. He tucks his find into the float he brings for that purpose, and looking over at his dive partner, he smiles, raises his fist in triumph and shouts, Yeah, got a big one!

This experience is something he treasures and loves, and he would do this every day of the year if he could. [1]

However, something else is about to interfere…

Tuesday: 2:40 PM

The hurricane rages over Florida and parts of Alabama. Though it is now toward the end of its path and dwindling down into a tropical storm, as it heads deeper inland, the destruction it causes is substantial. Government officials from both states alert the Office of the President, and it is anticipated that a disaster is going to be declared.

As Frecks emerges in triumph from the crystal blue waters, The Doctor sits in San Francisco reveling in the swirl of information buzzing about him during a tech conference. The Doctor is a wizard with computers and all things electrical.

This seminar is like a slice of heaven for him because it lets him see the latest in gadgets, gizmos, trinkets and programming. He's made a career out of this stuff and it never fails to fascinate him. This is how he's earned his nickname; he's the doctor for computers and all of the latest gear.

Of course, he stays sharp where tech is concerned. A bit of hacking and customization comes in handy in his line of work.

Tuesday: 3:30 PM

The press representative for the White House alerts the media that there will be an announcement on the hurricane situation and everyone knows that it is going deliver word of a federally declared disaster.

Frecks is diving, the Doctor is enjoying the latest electronic marvels, and then there's Lynnski working on a floating barge, now both a restaurant and bar on the Sacramento River. She's working toward her dream: to own something like this in her future. She's already served as a waitress, cook and almost every other job possible in this establishment. This is what she knows she loves and wants to do. In her many travels throughout the United States and its territories, she has amassed an impressive collection of recipes - most of which she perfected and made for friends, family and others. Now she just waits for the day when she will get a shot at owning and operating a place of her own. Until then, she's happy to be doing something she truly loves.

Tuesday: 5 PM

It is official, and the entire region in which the hurricane had an impact is declared by the President to be a disaster area. This triggers a whole array of activity and gets many of the first responders moving toward the location. It also means that major relief agencies - FEMA, the Red Cross, etc. - start making their own plans.

The sun still sparkles on the Pacific waters as Frecks goes down again.

Lynnski thinks about a recipe she is hoping to try as she pours a tasty cocktail for the next customer and the Doctor flips happily through a complicated text that explains how to use programming for one unique purpose or another.

At the same time, their friend Tin Man is in Santa Monica surrounded by bikini-clad beach babes. He is getting prepped to enter a surf competition - more interested in the conditions out in the surf than in all of the tanned ladies standing around him. Many believe the guy was born with a surfboard in his hands he loves the waves so much. Of course, he isn't oblivious to all of the women around. After all, they're the reason for his unique nickname.

Not only is he gorgeous and fit, but he's a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. Too bad because it has been broken more times than you ever would want to count. Still, it's a great day to be a guy like Tin Man as he takes his board and heads toward the sea.

Tuesday: 5:10 PM

With the formal declaration of a disaster, phones start ringing, all around Washington, D.C. In the next 24 hours there will have to be a tremendous amount of work done. One of the first steps will be to get the teams of relief workers rolling toward that scene of such horrible destruction.

Somewhere at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's offices, people prepare to initiate the sequence of events that will lead to a huge surge of activity all over the country.

As they do what they love, Frecks and his buddies may not yet realize that a clock is ticking away in the background. The timer for their good times and favorite things is about to run out...

There is one more in the group to meet nicknamed Stud Muffin. The ultimate athlete, she's running in the famous Iron Man Triathlon on the Big Island of Hawaii. Grueling isn't a strong enough word to describe the intensity of this event, and she's been training for the past six months in order to handle it.

This year is The Year and she is determined to be one of the top ten women over the age of forty to cross that finish line. Blond haired, blue eyed and as fit as any warrior, she would rather be doing this intense activity than anything else. She's approaching an aide table and she can see one of her team members waiting to hand her a glass of water. She's going to do this! She's going be in the top ten and taste victory…

Then she sees the look on her friend's face…something is up.

She realizes that her friend has a phone and not a glass of water. Her friend is pointing wildly at the phone and Stud Muffin realizes what this means…

Maybe she'll cross that finish line next year.

Oh no, she sighs and heads off the road.

Frecks is inhaling and getting ready for yet another dive when he hears shouting. Looking up, he sees someone at the cliff. Robert...you got the call!

Oh no, he says, and starts to swim in to shore.

Lynnski is mixing up a batch of drinks when someone pokes their head around the door and says, Lynn, it's one of those calls.

Oh no, she says and starts to get her stuff together.

Tin Man is all the way out at the breakers and glances toward the shore. He sees one of the good looking women waving at him. Wait, he thinks. She's the one that has my phone.

Oh no, he says, and heads back to the sandy shore.

The Doctor feels the buzzing of his phone in his pocket. He looks at it and sighs.

Tucking his pamphlets and new gear into his bag he says,

Oh no, then heads toward the exit.

Why all of the Oh no's? Because each of the team knows that with The Call, they are going to be heading into a disaster.

In the next 24 hours, they'll meet up with one another and head into an area where there is no water, power, air conditioning and probably few places to sleep or to get food. Conditions could even be deadly with downed power lines, collapsed buildings and ruined roadways. Regardless of this, they will each stop doing what they love…and drop everything to respond.

Why? They will be leaving everything behind in order to do something bigger, higher and just as satisfying.

They book their flights, grab the bags they always have readily packed, then head to the airport. Some of them might be trying to find a rental car or a hotel room ready to use when they arrive. Others might wait and partner up later with a member of the group. A few of them will meet at the airport and head in together. Either way, they are all going to the same place and are about to begin doing the same heartfelt and challenging work.

For all of them, it begins in much the same way, but we will now follow Frecks as he heads out for his first day of work.

Still remembering the tang of the sea air and the glistening crystal reflection of the waves, Frecks will stumble through debris, rub his tired eyes and make his way to someone's door - or whatever remains of their home. As the door opens, he will set aside his memories of what he loves best in the world, and say:

My name is Robert Winter. I'm from the Federal Government and I'm here to help you.

INTRODUCTION

WELCOME TO MY WORLD!

Yes, that maniac diving with sharks is me. And if you had told me in 1988 that I would ever say something like this and say it at least twenty times a day, I might have laughed at you.

Back then, I was running a successful contracting business in the San Diego area keeping a crew of guys busy on a year-round basis and saw myself as generally happy. I was doing karate, lots of other sports and attending college. I had a social life and other things not listed about myself to prove to you that I was a contented guy, but then I got a call. Or I should say, THE Call.

No, not some religious awakening or anything like that. The call was from a buddy telling me that he’d heard about an amazing opportunity - one that was right up my alley. It was over twenty years ago now but I still remember the entire conversation:

This guy has an incredible job that you can do…it sounds really interesting…

Yeah, I interrupted. I’m in the middle of finishing a house… Now it was his turn to interrupt. No, this is a job! It's something you shouldn’t mess up.

Sighing, I asked him, Well, what is it?

Hey, I can’t tell you about it. You really gotta talk to him…

THE PATH LESS TRAVELED

THE CALL

Because I like a mystery as much as the next guy, I took the bait. I got the name and number and made THE Call. Right away, this friend of a friend seemed to be offering me something that sounded too good to be true. He was offering me a job, but not just any job, and here’s what he said to me: Robert, it’s not a job…it’s a living adventure! You will do more in a year than most people will do in their entire lives.

Now, I don’t know about your mother, but my mother was someone who made sure I had a bit of common sense, who warned me long before that if something sounds too good to be true…well, it probably was. Right, I answered, trying not to sound too sarcastic. Why aren’t people beating your door down for this ‘living adventure’? I thought I had him with that one - but without missing a beat, he answered, Two good reasons."

Oh, really? I said. His confidence had grabbed my interest. What are they?

Well, the first one is that most people have a job they can’t leave, so they can’t go and check this out. The second is that they have families they can’t leave in order to go.

Huh, I thought. I don’t have those hurdles in front of me. Well, I said to him, my family is all over the place because my parents are divorced. I own my own business and can come and go as I want. That was all true. My folks had divorced when I was seventeen so my family was not living all together in a hometown sort of setting. Also, I had put a lot of time in mentoring a guy at my company and felt he was more of a partner than an employee. I knew I could trust him to handle everything in the construction company if I became unavailable. I really was free to do as I pleased. I briefly explained my situation to the guy on the other end of the line.

You’re in construction! He sounded pretty happy to hear that. Did you go to college?

Yeah, I answered, I majored in psychology, child psych and sociology.

He paused for a moment. Robert, you’d be perfect for this.

By now, I was tired of the mystery and just flat out asked him, What is it? What is this job?

Did you see the hurricane on the news last week…Hugo?

Sure, over on the East Coast.

Well, he said, that’s it! That’s the job.

And…? Now I was confused.

When the President declares an area to be a natural disaster, he continued, the government contacts FEMA. They have two contractors who in turn contract out all of the Contract FEMA Inspectors, also called CFIs. The CFIs go out and inspect houses and buildings. From their reports, FEMA determines if people are eligible for the assistance needed to do repairs and to rebuild. When I didn’t respond, he kept going. With this job, the more people you help, the more money you make. If you are someone who is a go-getter and willing to work eighteen-hour days, not only are you gonna help a ton of people, but you’ll make a great living doing it.

Helping people. Well that sounded good, but I was already comfortable in my own business. Why give up this sure thing of mine to work in a disaster area? For some reason, I was on the fence…torn between just hanging up the phone and hearing more of what he had to say to me. Then he said what you could call the clincher: the thing that sort of sealed the deal. I can’t even begin to tell you about the adventures you are gonna have out there doing this work.

Now, that was twice during our brief conversation that he had offered me an adventure! Not just work, employment or a job, but an adventure - helping people!

My life, at the time, was not what you could call an adventure. Is building a few custom houses overlooking the ocean each year an adventure? Sometimes it was. Handling my crew could be called an adventure, but not one that I particularly enjoyed.

In fact, I was finding it pretty tough not to feel frustrated and annoyed on a daily basis. I had even started to envy the many surfer dudes I had on my staff. These guys put in their eight hours, went home, kicked back and lived a good life.

On the other hand, I was constantly following up on the work, dealing with all of the guys I paid to do construction and juggling the millions of things that a busy contractor has to handle.

I thought I was happy. If you had asked me, I would have told you I was happy, but what this guy was dangling in front of me started to open a new door in my mind. Adventure! Man, that one word had its hooks into me now. That along with the idea that I would be out there helping people on the worst day of their lives! Still, I was struggling with the idea. Yeah, really…but I’ve never even heard of FEMA. Just what is it? I asked.

It means Federal Emergency Management Agency, he answered, and then he cautioned me. Listen, this is a really short window here. As soon as they recruit enough people out there, the window closes. You may not get another shot to do this.

Happy or not. Adventure or not. Helping people or not. Short window or not. I couldn’t just chuck my business and let down all of the people that were counting on me. But I was so tired of dealing with my crew, their problems and always putting myself in the back seat. What I really needed to know, right then, was that I wasn’t about to set aside my business and all of its headaches for a new line of work with many of the same headaches. I didn’t want to find myself just handling a bunch of other workers with their own problems…and so on, again.

All I’d have to worry about is me? ‘Moi’? No one else?

Yeah, he answered. That’s it. You are your own boss and do your own thing. By this point, it was becoming less of a struggle, but I still wanted some time.

You need an answer right now?

No, but that window is closing. As soon as you can give an answer, call me.

Over the next day or so, I picked up the phone and called him with a bunch of questions. I needed details: I needed confirmation about how I would be paid, how it all worked and so much more. I couldn’t just head off to a disaster zone without knowing if this thing was for real. I wanted to do this, but I still wasn’t convinced.

Living in the era before the internet and ‘googling’ to get answers, I picked up the phone and started asking around, trying to find out if anyone else knew about the opportunity my buddy had just tossed into my lap. Most of my friends and colleagues didn’t really know what I was talking about, but then I got in touch with a pal in Okinawa. He gave me the answer I needed.

Hey, I asked him, have you ever heard of this job where you go to disasters and look at the damage?

It’s FEMA. That’s FEMA! he said, with a note of excitement in his voice.

Uh…yeah, I answered, waiting to hear more from him.

Someone called you to do it?

Yeah, I said, starting to see more light shining through the door that had cracked open for me a few days before.

He blurted out his answer. Hang up this phone and call them back right now. Jumbling his words together in excitement, he said, Call and tell ‘em you’ll do it now! Is it too late? Tell ‘em you’ll go. Hang up and call me later. You’ll be great at it!

Only five days after making that first call - THE Call - I heard myself saying into the phone, Okay. What do I do?

In a short period of time, I went from being a busy contractor to a guy preparing to head into the middle of a federally declared disaster zone, and not long after that, I began to offer my ‘line’ - my introduction to each person whose call for help I would answer for many years afterward…

My name is Robert Winter. I’m from the Federal Government and I’m here to help you.

Those words probably sound comforting to you as you read them, but here’s the thing: people are hearing my introduction during or immediately following one of the worst days of their lives. I am usually rolling into town just as flood waters start to recede, or as the clouds break after a hurricane or tornado, or as the smoke is clearing from an enormous wildfire, or as the ground beneath them is still trembling with aftershocks following an earthquake.

I may even be arriving while all hell is still breaking loose and the fate of their home or even your home, town or city or a loved one’s life, is still in question.

MEETING ME

LOSING NORMAL

What sort of comfort can someone take from a big guy like me standing on their front doorstep offering his help? Interestingly enough, it really varies. Some people ‘keep it together’, get business done, do their paperwork with me and figure out how to start rebuilding. Some people give me the brunt of their rage and anger, fight me and worse. Some need a shoulder to cry on, and others? Well, the list goes on and on. What I have also found is that a lot of people still want to share something with me in the middle of a disaster. It isn’t always just me coming to the rescue or saving the day with supplies, or the hope of some funding needed to start to rebuild shattered homes and lives. Instead, it is just me, bringing…well, me… somebody who cares and knows how to listen. I show up on the doorsteps of many people who want to just sit down and share a meal, a laugh, a story, a cup of coffee - something that brings us all back to a place we like to call normal.

Unfortunately, when disaster strikes, one of the first things it takes away from us is normalcy. From the clean water we expect to come out of our taps to the pavement that lets us drive to town…a disaster can erase these things in seconds. It also means that you might start to see a lot of Me First panic behavior or the complete opposite! That means that part of my job has always involved working in a world that is the farthest thing from normal. I have learned to find food, housing, cars, guide services, phone access and just about anything else you can imagine at times when the world around me has gone nuts. And by going nuts, I mean that some of the worst behaviors show up with some of the best.

There is an old saying: It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters (Epictetus). This is absolutely true. Who someone really is can be clearly seen by how they react, particularly to a disaster. I’ve seen responders, like myself, react badly, greedily and stupidly. I’ve also seen victims behave in all of the same ways. People who are meant to be the heroes, the helpers, the rescuers, may bring less than perfect attitudes into the chaos following a disaster. They may also bring prejudices, greed, impatience, indifference or be unwilling to really go out of their way to truly help. I have also seen people suffering from the impact of a disaster make it tough for those, like myself, to even hang around long enough to do our jobs. Even the roach motel, not worth fifteen bucks a night normally, might suddenly skyrocket to more than $400 because federal agencies are rolling in and need accommodations. Cars that rented before for $150 per week now start at $1500. Places with empty rooms stop opening their doors to anyone but V.I.P.s. I’ve also seen racism, unreasonable anger, jealousy and even murder.

Yeah, in my 25 years working as a CFI, I have literally seen it all and none of it is what could ever be called normal or average. What quickly becomes pretty clear to people in my line of work is what is considered normal to people before changes during and after a disaster. As I will show repeatedly on the pages of this book, the meanings of the words normal and average are very personal, and it can be incredibly enlightening to witness what goes on during a crisis. When people are blasted out of their comfort zones by a disaster, you never really know how it will affect them. While on these pages, I am going to share some of my living adventures with you, I also want you to walk away from reading this with more than a handful of funny, enlightening and sometimes scary stories. I want you to learn just what a big guy standing on your front step wearing a FEMA logo on his hat or shirt or carrying a FEMA badge can and should do for you. I want you to also learn what you should and should not do in the days after a federally declared disaster, and more specifically outlined in my upcoming book, Disaster Manual for Financial Recovery.

Through my many stories, I hope you will also see something truly good about your fellow human beings. I do tend to see some of the worst behaviors that people can show, but I have also seen some of the best. Though I have had to rapidly build a set of skills that equal to such characters as Max Klinger and Radar O’Reilly (from the TV show, M.A.S.H.), I don’t always need to wheel and deal to help people out. Instead, I’ve seen that we can all behave as if we’re really in it together. I have witnessed this over and over again. I’ve seen people pull together in the days and weeks after a terrible catastrophe and actually help their neighbors and communities. From the Aloha Spirit of the people on Kauai to the neighbors cooking up food in South Carolina, the worst times can bring out the best in all of us. Then, at times, I have also seen something shift - and suddenly the Me First or negative stuff goes back to what was normal before. Why? Why do people suddenly start acting, again, in the same ways that they did before the disasters? Why do they stop seeing their neighbors in a good and positive way? Is it the fatigue of living in rubble, waiting for help, enduring difficulties?

I don’t have an answer. I just know that this does happen…over and over again. That’s okay. It doesn’t make me want to stop heading into chaos and trying hard to help people return to whatever version their normal might be. I don’t give up because I know what it’s like to live like a disaster victim. I have lived with the victims. I know that FEMA’s had a bad reputation since Hurricane Katrina, but with this book, I want you to begin to learn the whole story. I want you to realize that many FEMA folks on the ground are really trying to do nothing but good for those who have suffered through a disaster. I want you to understand how challenging that job can be.

I might be out on the road for nine months before I get to go home. I may bounce around between so many disasters that I wake up one night without being able to recall just where I’m sleeping, what State I’m in or which disaster has brought me where I’m at. I know what it is like longing to be home in my own comfortable bed with plenty of hot water and food and, at the same time, also knowing this might be weeks or months from becoming a reality.

I hope that my words will prove to you that we are all in it together.

A LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN

Like all of the people who do the work I do, I jump into the unknown each time I answer the call when a disaster has been declared. We don’t know what conditions are going to be, if we will be ten to a room, have to wear dirty clothes for a few days or if civilians won’t be waiting to pick us up at an airport because there are no cars available. These things are all entirely a mystery each time we get the call. Is that why I keep doing it? Because there is a thrill to the mystery? I will admit that my inner adrenaline junky probably does like the unknown, but that is hardly enough to make living for months in some of the most challenging conditions really appealing! No, it is because my life as a CFI demands that I am resourceful, awake and open to the moment. It is not a job you could ever hope to sleepwalk through.

More than twenty-four years ago, I hit the ground running and haven’t stopped since. I was promised a lot during those five days before I changed my life forever. Those promises were nothing compared to what I have encountered ever since. I most certainly live an adventure. I have lived in a lot of places, seen a lot of things and met a lot of people. I have learned what it means to live through a disaster and to be stuck waiting for help at the other side of one. I would like you and others who read this book to take what I have learned and put it to use should you ever face a disaster. I really hope that everything I’m sharing in these pages can help improve your daily life too. People do reach out to one another as a natural instinct but something about their world usually has to change in order for them to do that. It could be the way we’re raised, it could be poverty, or it could just be something about our personalities. The point is, we don’t often reach out in ways we should until something shakes us so hard that we’re forced to. That shake usually comes from a disaster. I am there after people get that horrible shake, and have learned what comes from treating everyone equally, with respect and with the aim of giving hope, help and comfort. It makes the world a better place, right away, no matter how chaotic or how large a disaster.

Hopefully, you can read my stories and learn what comes from listening to people, really seeing them, and then doing all you can to reach out to others. Being able to do this has given me the best life possible, and I know there is benefit for you in this as well.

CHAPTER ONE

THE CALIFORNIA SUN

The word average makes about as much sense as the word normal. There really is no such thing as normal. It’s just too personal. What’s normal to you might be bizarre to me, so I won’t go there now. I would like to be able to sum up my early life by saying it was average and normal, but that leaves too many things unsaid. To keep it short and sweet and as informative as possible: I was born in San Carlos, California, just south of San Francisco in 1957. I led a relatively idyllic life all of the way through high school. We were a family with three boys, and my brothers and I did all of the stuff that kids of that era found themselves doing. We played sports, we enjoyed the usual mischief that kids tend to enjoy and we lived in times of block parties on the 4th of July, newspaper delivery routes and secret games of spin-the-bottle with our little gang comprised of all of the kids who lived on the street. The cul-de-sac was the limit of our kingdom. Essentially, we enjoyed a peaceful and pleasant lifestyle.

BUILDING BLOCKS

Throughout those years, I was an active and successful athlete doing well in track, baseball, football and other team sports. However, life was not all sports and games, and the occasional bit of doorbell ditching or Halloween pranks was always happening too. Because my dad owned a construction company, he had designed a few house rules for us boys as well. Chief among them was that when we turned twelve, we did not receive an allowance any longer. Instead, it was time for us to work with our father and begin to earn a good income. While my buddies might have earned something along the lines of $1.65 per hour doing odd jobs or at McDonald’s, the work I did with my old man brought me a massive $10 per hour. I had a Social Security card, a small stack of my own hard-earned money and the chance to learn skills that would become very handy for me a bit later in my life.

As I got older, my friends and I would make trips up to the Haight Ashbury area of San Francisco and enjoy the amazing music scene thriving at that time in the city. There was another pretty interesting societal shift that also happened during my first year of high school. It was 1971 and the schools had just received federal court orders to desegregate. This was the period in which bussing