Glenn Beck's "Restore Love" volunteers, Walt Branson and his better half in Dalls, Texas, last week!

Blogmaster's note:
Walt Branson and his wife traveled all the way to Dallas to volunteer and to establish ties to others of like mind.  Thousands attended and the following is a report from Walt on one or two of their activities.

The Boss is on the left!

There were so many meetings and informational speeches all over the Dallas Ft. Worth area it was impossible to attend more than one or two.  We had to pick and choose just which ones to attend.  This is the highlights of what we did and saw.
　
The Mrs. and I spent a week in Texas and attended a few get togethers and informational meetings.  Getting a fresh look at our Constitution and Bill of Rights from people that can tell about them in plain English and not legalese was great.   We also had  a in depth discussion on the 2^ND Amendment.   I won’t bore you with the speaker’s names since most won’t know or care anyway. 

I was offered the chance to play a part in our own SCOTUS hearings!  On the agenda were flag burning and the Second Amendment.  It was my role to defend flag burning, (as distasteful as it is).  After the stage fright, (a room with about 600 people gets a little intimidating) I pleaded my case and actually won the argument!  Remember, these are flag lovers that are “judges” right from the crowd.  The 2^ND was next on the agenda. I had to step aside on that one since the Mrs. Was chosen as a judge on that one.  We lost that one,  (Thank You!).  It was just a small taste of how the system works for those who didn’t know the process.  It was very educational and fun for everyone.

That was just the first two days.  Then at the Freepac convention, the first “World Tea Party” gathering, well, I won’t bore you with that one.  Consider it a Tea Party rally on steroids and a roof raiser.  People from all over the world that subscribe to Tea Party values were in attendance.  They came from Greece, Italy, Ireland and Australia just to name a few.  So Consider the Tea Party as Global from this point forward.  The United States has a new “export” once again.
　
The big thing for us was the day of service.  This was what it was all about.  First off, we really didn’t know what project we would be assigned.  All we had was a job number.  We got on the bus from our motel and headed over to a church.  A real BIG one!  From there, we were supposed to get a lift to Cowboy Stadium, but somehow the transportation was all mixed up.  This was a logistical nightmare for the most seasoned of planners, so we didn’t get all bent out of shape over it.  A small group of us called a cab to make the trip over since we didn’t want to miss anything.

TJ and me

The parking lots were full of buses, cars, trucks, u-hauls full of supplies, tools, and food.  Once we were signed in we were given our assignment.  It was working in an elder care home.  Right up my better half’s alley.  I was told that my skills could be put to better use somewhere else and the event planners had a plan for that too.  I was sent over to another table to find a job better for my job skills.  While in line, I started a conversation with another gentleman (a gentle giant is more like it) who also was a construction worker.  His name was TJ.  He is an industrial electrician.

  TJ is one of the local contractors that made a snap decision just to show up that day with a truck load of tools.  He really hadn’t planned on coming in the first place but did.  We decided to pal up and work together on what ever job we got.  We were handed a list of jobs to look over and pick a few to go check out.  We wrote down a few and hit the road.

We got to know each other and what kind of work we did.  He happens to own a company that builds those super sized wind turbines all over the world.  We got to the job, which was a halfway house for recovering alcoholics and in one of the worst parts of town.  We almost moved on to another job since it looked like there was more than enough people there,(about 15 or so) but stayed just to give it a good look, ( like I said, we almost left!).  Not one tool to be had, save for a sledge hammer that somehow turned up.  Only one other person there had any construction experience.  He was a surveyor by trade.  It just so happens my new pal had the right tools for the job.  I’m not an overly religious man, but I found true meaning in the words, “The Lord works in mysterious ways”.  

Just a little sheetrock to remove

I can’t claim that this happened by pure dumb luck by any stretch.  TJ and I took a quick look and figured, “It’s just some sheetrock removal and remove a few feet of wall,  cut out and remove an ugly drop ceiling that looked more like a shark took a bite out of it, (literally)  Our time table changed when we sunk a hammer into the wall.  Sheetrock?  NOPE.  A good inch of Portland cement style stucco!  We now had our work cut out for us.  This was no longer a four hour job.

Some of the volunteers had no choice but to leave after their four hours due to the transportation scheduling, but still hated to leave.  The ones that could, stayed all day.  The working conditions were beyond horrible, but no one complained.  104 degrees, humid, no wind,   just two box fans to move the air around, and that was it.  Our crew took directions well and each did what they could.  From demolition to removing the refuse.  Some who never held a power tool before stepped up and did fine work.

The surveyor and his wife are the real heroes here.  They paid out of pocket on the spot for needed materials and special tools.  Bag after bag of plastering compound, high end lighting fixtures, the proper wire for the task, hole saws that would cut through the cement, food and water for the crew.  The only question they asked was “what do you need?” and it was there in record time.  My guess is they spent about 1500 bucks without question.

Even the men that lived in this house wanted to help, and got right to work. They just needed a little direction.  TJ, myself and the nice couple came back the next day to finish the job.  We spent two full days there.  I had no choice but to leave after day two, since it was time to go home.

TJ on the other hand, went back for a third day to finish the task. So I can now say the job is 100% done.  He has now adopted the house and will be rewiring it as time permits in his work schedule, at his own expense I might add.  There were so many people willing to come and help that I heard they had to start turning people away.  Local contractors donated equipment of every shape and size.  Their employees gave up their pay for the day.  Rental yards got cleaned out and charged not a dime.  This is the stuff you will never hear on the news. You won’t read about it in any paper.

The crew!  All volunteers!

We just have the testimonials from people who were there and took the time to say what they saw and did is all you may find.

The generosity of the people this last week was beyond anything I have witnessed in my lifetime.
　
　
Walt Branson

Penn Valley, California