A Little Background

I mentioned last night that I was updating my blog while we were lying around in our hotel room. Nikki was lying next to me on the bed and she would glance over occasionally to see what I was doing. She read the part where I explained the canoe trip and, seeing all of our names, she asked if I had explained who everyone on the team was. I realized that I had never done that before, I had only mentioned people in passing. Those of you who read this (all two of you) might be curious as to who all of these people are. Thus, I’ve decided to take this time to introduce you to my team and maybe a few others.

Earth 5:

Ervin Jeffers – Aka, “Swerve.” Ervin is our team leader. He did NCCC last year as a corps member and this year he’s back to give us rookies a little guidance. He’s 21, from South Carolina. He has an older sister with whom we’ll be working when we start our wildfire rounds. Ervin may seem like a man of few words at first, but he’s actually a funny guy. He’s a bit of a wilderness man. He loves hiking and sleeping in his hammock. Ervin was my first temporary TL and I’m definitely glad to have him as my permanent TL.

Harrison Entwistle – Harrison is 21, from North Carolina. He’s actually an NCCC vet, he was a member last year along with Ervin. He was studying acting while he was in college, so his impersonations are dead on and he’s a total character. I think he’s funny as hell. He can be a real gentleman and, though I can’t really seem to tell you why, he’s definitely a southern boy.

Adrienne Call – We’ve managed to coax Adrienne into letting us call her “Addy.” If I had a sister, I’d want her to be like this girl here. Addy’s 23 and from Michigan. She actually lives directly across the hall from me in the dorms but I hadn’t gotten to know her until she ended up on my team. She loves her coffee and she’s really sarcastic, but I adore that about her. She’s also not afraid to be honest or be herself. And she’s one hell of a runner, she keeps me motivated. I tend to have more close guy friends than girl friends, and I’m delighted that Adrienne has proven to be an exception to the rule.

Levi Ashley – I actually knew who Levi was before we got to Denver, thanks to an NCCC Facebook group. My first impression was that I wouldn’t like him at all. But on our first temporary team, we ended up together. He’s pretty much proven my first impression to be wrong and I’m glad. Levi’s the youngest of the group at 18, but the kid has done a ton of stuff in his life thus far. He’s on a search and rescue squad back in his home state of Maine. Ask him about that, cars or motorcycles and you’ve got him started. He’s got a story about everything.

Paul Gerhart – Paul actually reminds me of my brother in a lot of ways; the funny things he says or the way he always has to show me something on YouTube. He’s 20 and also from Michigan. He spent some time in the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) before coming to NCCC. Paul is always a surprise, you never know what he’ll do or say next. The kid is a cluster of energy, he is always bouncing off the walls or jumping around.

Michael Mitchell – Alias M Squared, Squid. For the purposes of this little bio, though, I’ll refer to him as Mike. Mike adds the spice to our team. He’s 23, from the Bronx and he is one cool cat. He’s totally chill and he’s a sweetie. He’s also a joker and an all-around fun guy. He’s “married” to Nikki, but he keeps divorcing her so he can flirt with other girls. And speaking of Nikki …

Nikki Adante – Nikki was among the first friends that I made during CTI. She’s 23 and from Ohio. She is frequently described as the sweetest girl you will ever meet. This is true, but don’t let her fool you – she’s more than meets the eye. She’s a great girl to hang out with and, like Adrienne, she’s an exception to the rule. I was so happy when I found out she was on my team. Nikki is the Jane Bennett to my Elizabeth (brownie points to those of you who get the reference). We are each other’s motivation and she is one hell of a trooper.

John Bowen – Aka “Uncle John.” John’s the oldest of the group at 24. He’s from Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, but he recently lived in Philadelphia for a time while he was doing another AmeriCorps program. So he actually knows where Lansdale is and we’ll occasionally talk about Philly. John was also on my first temporary team at the beginning of CTI. He’s got a quirky sense of humor that I adore and he shares Adrienne’s passion/obsession for coffee.

Travis Barton – Travis was another person whom I didn’t know prior to having him on my team. He’s 23 from “the streets of Brooklyn … Connecticut.” Travis is witty as hell and has flawless timing. Before I got to know him he struck me as an all-round nice guy and that’s exactly what he is. He loves baseball, playing soccer and he’s a loyal teammate. He’ll also blow you away at karaoke. And his purpose in life seems to be toughening me up, heh.


Some others worth mentioning …

Wolf 4: As I mentioned, while we were in Texas we stayed with a team from the NCCC Perry Point campus. If I didn’t have my team, I think I’d want to be with Wolf 4. They really were one of the main reasons we had such great experiences during our first spike. Everyone was great fun and hilarious. Their team dynamic is priceless. Noelle, Sarah, Emma, Renae, Mark, Mike, Pete, Nash, Wade, Tisha: I adore you all and miss you terribly.

Rory: Rory was one of our site supervisors for Habitat for Humanity in Port Arthur. He is truly a great man. He’s a genuine southern man both in his kindness and humor. My favorite thing he said was, “He was so high he was driving around town without a car.” He was a great teacher and we learned a lot from him, both about building houses and about life in general. We always looked forward to a day of work with Rory because, even when a situation was less than ideal, nothing could go wrong while he was around.


And while we’re at it, a word or two about Texas …

First of all, Texans LOVE being from Texas. I think they’ve figured out how to put the lone star flag on any object. I saw a car with not just one bumper sticker of the state of Texas, but two. Do you know anyone who has a bumper sticker of their state? I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one in the shape of PA. I can’t imagine where I would get one. And this car had two. They’re not just from Texas – they’re REALLY from Texas. I don’t say any of this to criticize. It’s just different, something I find it amusing and endearing.

Now, when they say that everything is big in Texas, they aren’t kidding. It’s not even really something materialistic. I mean, yeah, I’ve never seen so many raised pick-up trucks in my life. But I think it’s more of an existence, an experience. There are miles of fields and, even in the more developed areas, the sky just seems bigger. It’s a sensation. There’s room to stretch out. You feel like you can breathe easier in Texas and I don’t think it’s because I went from being a mile above sea level right down to the coast.

And I have to say, we were lucky to be in Texas for the time we were there. The weather was gorgeous. It was as if we skipped spring and went straight to summer. For someone like me who hates to be cold, it was delightfully rejuvenating. Even when it was too hot for others I loved it because, in the back of my head, I knew it was snowing in Colorado and it wouldn’t be long before we were back in the mountains.