Pierre and the Louisiana Bayou Buddies

A small brown pelican struggled helplessly as his feathers stuck together and his little
angled wings were flattened along an oil slick. Time was of importance and utmost
essence to bring him to a rescue center and control his body temperature.
“Oh man, look at that Pierre.” Joe Wheeler said.
“I know, Joe.” “I’ve got this one.” Pierre gently lifted the struggling baby pelican
and put it in a special box to be transported to the wildlife rescue center.
Oozing pools of black oil were effused along the coastal shoreline of St. Mary Parish
in Louisiana after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. At least, forty thousand barrels of
oil had escaped from the spewing well. The dark black oil sat eerily along the top of the coastal
water ways. It was threatening the many birds who spent their time diving through the surface
of the water.
Pierre and Joe had taken free classes offered by the city of Amelia. They were working
temporarily for the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER)
to help rescue and deliver wildlife to experienced people who would warm them, feed them,
and clean them up. Times were very hard. The unemployment rate was at an all time high and
the poverty level was holding strong. This spill had impacted the economy and the lives of the
people in this area in a big way.
Pierre and Joe were dressed in special white suits, boots, and helmets with face masks
to undertake the grueling job of cleaning up the mess. They worked long and hard hours.
When Papa Pierre told this story of the day’s events to his family at the dinner table, young
Pierre envisioned his father as a land astronaut bound to earth to discover new ways
to protect the environment from the ravages of disaster.
As young Pierre recalled this story that his father, Papa Pierre told at the dinner
table last night; he thoughtfully packed his bag to be ready for his first day of school. He
recalled his feelings of distress as he heard about the baby pelican covered in oil. It wasn’t
the first one and surely wouldn’t be the last. But, his Papa along with many out of work
fishermen were doing their best to clean the monumental mess. He would do his part by going
to school and doing his best and completing as many chores as possible to help Mama and
Papa around the house.