Day 5 - The Ohio-Michigan Demolition

The ONN reporters had interviewed us about the Ohio State Buckeyes and University of Michigan Wolverines football rivalry on Monday. We had not been "rivals" at any time on this trip, and as we headed back into the Monoplex, I thought that our group of volunteers should have a name to show that we overcame any rivalry between ourselves.

At the Monoplex, there were five full-sized refrigerators. If they'd stayed vertical, we could've used a dolly to roll them away, but they had all wound up laying down on their backs. Tipping them onto a dolly vertically would let out all that "wholesome goodness" that people at Camp Rowley call "refrigerator juice." Since we agreed that it is the worst smell we've ever smelled, we did not want to let that juice leak out. So that meant the refrigerators needed to get pushed across the floor.

We caught up with two people who were working to align one refrigerator to get it out of the house. With a couple of shoves, we got it through the door into the garage. Then we gave it a couple more shoves, until it was able to slide down the driveway. We kept pushing it until it reached the curb. One down, four more to go.

Back inside, we gathered around the next refrigerator. I noticed then, that our group of four consisted of two people from Ohio and two from Michigan. An idea for a team name popped into my head: "The Ohio-Michigan Demolition" (Or "The Michigan-Ohio Demolition" depending on which state you're from). We pushed the next refrigerator to the same exit leading into the garage, then down the driveway and out to the curb. Two down, three more to go. This was getting tiresome, at the end of a very tiring day.

We went back in. I suggested trying to put a dolly at each end of a refrigerator and trying to roll the next refrigerator out of the house. I was told that we had only one dolly. If we'd had a flat dolly we might've gotten somewhere, but we did not. The only level path to the curb was through that one exit in the garage, so each trip was going to get longer and longer, because each refrigerator was farther into the house than the last.

The third refrigerator hit a snag, and we had to tip it ever so slightly so that the object could be pulled out from under it. We shoved the refrigerator all the way to the garage exit, but lost traction on leaked refrigerator juice. We couldn't get out of the house. The construction worker asked a woman to help us, but she said she was "whipped." He explained how she could still help: she'd have to try to plant her feet as firmly as possible. This gave him a foothold. His pushing got us clear of the spill and onto dry flooring again. We entered the garage and pushed the refrigerator down to the curb. Three down, two more to go.

We walked three-fourths of the way back through the Monoplex to get to the next refrigerator. I was getting tired, and each time we stopped for rest, I prayed for strength by reciting a line from "As the Deer Thirsts for the Water:" I pour out my soul deep within me / Deep within me I pour out my soul! We finished pushing the refrigerator to the curb. As we turned to get the last refrigerator, Chuck and another woman from our team came out of the garage with it.

There was one other refrigerator, but it was a wine cooler, not a full sized appliance. It took little effort to tip it onto a dolly, and it took only one person to roll it out of the house. The rest of us watched and made sure it never hit a bump or leaked on the way out.

Some of the people from the group then gave in to their curiosity and decided to peek inside the refrigerators. I did not care to look. We had a prayer before heading out. When we got back to Camp Rowley, we had hamburgers for dinner. Two of the people who helped move refrigerators ate a total of eleven burgers.

The youth group leader from Michigan led the devotional tonight.