Insights > Diary of a Dynamic Duo

Diary of a Dynamic Duo
By: Leyla Goodsell • Senior Communications Specialist

10/25/2021

Some heroes wear capes. Some wear work gloves and safety glasses. Most just want to do a good deed for those in need, often because someone else once extended them a helping hand.

David Rose, an analyst in Entergy Mississippi's economic development department, will tell you he's no hero. Erica Jackson, a senior project manager at Entergy, may beg to differ.

Rose says he's just a regular guy trying to teach his 10-year-old son, Alex, the importance of volunteering to help others and the value of a hard day's work. Jackson says they were a godsend after Hurricane Ida heavily damaged her family's southeast Louisiana home. While she's weathered many storms, Ida was the first to cause significant damage to her home. When she was finally able to return and begin cleaning up the debris, the Roses were there to help.

Hurricane Ida: David and Alex's Volunteer Diary
David kept a diary of his and Alex's volunteer experience. 4:09 a.m. Truck is packed and loaded. We did a safety check on the truck, double checking everything as a taillight had recently been replaced.
4:09 a.m. Finally got a good pic of my son, Alex's, smile. He joined me on this quick Sunday, Sept. 12 trip to Louisiana to help a fellow Entergy employee clean up her home that was damaged in Hurricane Ida. We buckled up before we hit the road!
4:15 a.m. Stopped to grab ice for our ice chest.
4:15 a.m. The machine gave us dollar coins, which Alex had never seen before. I know who Susan B. Anthony is, but Franklin Pierce? Had to Google him before setting off.
6:56 a.m. We'd been on the road for a few hours. Stopped to grab breakfast before we got to the worst hit areas. I think we were north of Hammond.
6:56 a.m. We'd been on the road for a few hours. Stopped to grab breakfast before we got to the worst hit areas. I think we were north of Hammond.
6:56 a.m. Alex kept me company all morning. While we waited for our food, he finally reclined his seat to take a rest. He was back in an upright position when the food arrived!
7:10 a.m. Just south of Ponchatoula, we got a good view of the blue roofs and devastation from the interstate. Alex did a great job snapping photos!
7:21 a.m. We just got off at our exit and passed utility crews on the way to their jobs. Street lights were working!
7:24 a.m. Our first glimpse of the neighborhood we worked in. At this point, we still didn't know if this area was flooded. It looked to be mostly wind damage.
7:37 a.m. We drove around for a bit trying to locate the house because the mailbox was gone. Finally found the house and started unloading tools. Snapped a pic of Alex (in front of a neighbor's home) as we were getting ready to have a great day. Thankfully, the weather was not too hot.
7:42 a.m. We helped the homeowner first by cleaning up the back yard. A fence gate was in the way, so we needed to remove it before we could get along the side of the house.
7:42 a.m. Alex jumped at a chance to use tools, put on his safety gear and got to work!
7:42 a.m. Alex jumped at a chance to use tools, put on his safety gear and got to work!
7:42 a.m. Note to self: we may need to invest in some work boots for him.
8:51 a.m. We cleared the back yard of shingles, fence boards and other debris with the homeowner. Alex was such a big help. I stopped to snap a pic of him moving another load to the street.
8:51 a.m. This was almost the last load from the back yard. The debris pile extended along the whole property line!
9:09 a.m. Our first hard-earned break. Alex grabbed an extra breakfast sandwich we bought earlier in the morning.
9:11 a.m. WHOOPS! Forgot to make him wash his hands. I made him promise to not get me in trouble with mom. Thank goodness for hand sanitizer!
9:12 a.m. Looking down the street on our break - the neighborhood reminds me of what it was like after Hurricane Katrina.
9:30 a.m. The homeowner had work to do inside, too. Her front room ceiling had collapsed and was water damaged. Alex and I helped empty the room and removed sheetrock.
9:54 a.m. On a quick break, we took in a view of the cleaned-up back yard. That's a good feeling!
11:50 a.m. The neighbor asked if we could help them with their back yard. Of course, we said yes! Snuck a picture of Alex and the neighbor's son, who is also our homeowner's godson, moving a big fence section to the street. Great teamwork!
12:37 p.m. Another quick break. The debris pile kept growing. Also, it was starting to look like bad weather was on the way. We decided to head out a little earlier than planned due to weather, so we could make the drive home safely.
1:09 p.m. Traffic stopped for some crews doing electrical work. We grabbed a photo while we waited for them to do their jobs!
1:19 p.m. We were headed north out of town. There were still lots of lines down.
4:22 p.m. Whew! We made it home safely - a little earlier than planned, but I'm glad we left when we did. I'm so proud of my son. Couldn't have asked for a better partner!

"We were overwhelmed," Jackson said. "David and Alex came from several hours away to help my family and that was a big deal to us. I was amazed at how hard a worker Alex was all day long. David had done this before, so he knew how to help us. You don't find people like them much anymore. We're so grateful for their help!"

Together, the dynamic duo helped Jackson clear rubble from her home and yard. They picked up shingles that had blown off the roof, pulled moldy sheetrock from the house and identified safety hazards to address. David saw trampoline parts scattered throughout the yard and worried they could damage Jackson's lawn equipment. So, Alex meticulously searched the yard to retrieve all the springs. That attention to the smallest detail meant a lot to Jackson.

The elder Rose knows how she feels, with extreme devastation and so much to do. He was in the same position after Hurricane Katrina. Volunteers from a Pennsylvania church group helped him clean up and since then, he's vowed to help others in the same situation.

"If I'm able to help someone who has lost their home and belongings in a hurricane, I will because I've been in their shoes," he said. "I thought this would be a good experience to share with Alex. He was a trooper! I'm so proud of how hard he worked and what we accomplished together for the Jackson family."

The day got a thumbs up from Alex, too. "I loved using tools to work on the fence and ripping out sheetrock," he said. "It was good helping someone else."

It seems like the Roses may have just begun a father-son tradition of paying it forward through volunteerism.

Tags
CorporateLouisianaMississippiNew OrleansStorm CenterEmployeesGiving BackHurricane IdaLA EmployeesMS EmployeesVolunteerism
Leyla Goodsell
Senior Communications Specialist

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Entergy Corporation published this content on 25 October 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 25 October 2021 21:35:02 UTC.