An eye for the storm

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An eye for the storm

Lexington Winchester Star - Lexington,MA,USA

.... " The streets were littered with glass and wood, the houses were

split in two and everything was covered in toxic mold. " .

By Lydia Crafts/ Staff Writer

Thursday, July 27, 2006

http://www2.townonline.com/winchester/localRegional/view.bg?

articleid=544342

When WHS senior Miles witnessed the aftermath of Hurricane

Katrina, it was far worse than he had ever imagined it. The

experience had such a strong affect on him that he decided to make a

documentary to communicate the horror of the situation to people

back home.

To 's surprise, the attention his film, " With Our Eyes

Wide Shut, " has received not only spawned local attention, but was

recognized by a national audience as well. In June, it won the Youth

Voices Award at the national Unitarian Universalist General Assembly

in St. Louis. traveled to St. Louis for the screening of his

documentary and also to give a brief speech on its background.

The material for 's film arose out of his two trips to New

Orleans over the past year. When he heard that his youth group from

the Unitarian Church was going to volunteer with the cleanup of the

hurricane, said he'd nearly forgotten the photographs he had

seen of the destruction on television, but he always had enjoyed

service trips.

Once he arrived in New Orleans and witnessed the wreckage first

hand, however, would never again forget the plight caused by

Katrina. " There was such an atmosphere of abandonment and ruin, " he

said. " The streets were littered with glass and wood, the houses

were split in two and everything was covered in toxic mold. "

Much of the work the group performed involved stripping the mold

from the dry walls in houses. explained that before an

assessment can be made over whether a house can be rebuilt, the mold

has to be removed and the bare studs examined.

One of the most emotional moments experienced in both

trips occurred while he was stripping the mold. He said that

whenever he worked in house, he'd find remnants of bottles, stuffed

animals and bikes. In a particular house he worked on, found

a photo in perfect condition amidst the rubble. It was of the four

people who had once lived in the home, all approximately 60 years of

age, sitting at a table and smiling at the camera.

" It looked like a big party, " said. " And it struck me

because happiness seemed so absent in the place where we were. I

tucked the photo into the wall because I didn't want it to get

thrown out with the rest of the trash. I tried to picture the family

living in the house, but it felt like nobody could have ever lived

there. I wondered where they were and if they were still alive,

even. "

said that all of the other members of the Youth Group had

similar moments when they were overwhelmed by the seeming

despondency of the situation. " Each of us were reduced to tears at

one point, " he said.

He expanded that some of the most powerful times for everyone

occurred when meeting the people whose houses they had worked on.

One man, whose home the youth group had focused for nearly the whole

trip, came to see them on the last day. said that the man

hugged every member of the group and thanked them. " It was a real

affirmation that people were really touched. That we had made a

difference in some way, " he said. [continue]