The locals call it the “Parma Dome” because of the immense concentration of rain in the small town of Parma. “You never can trust the weather radar because we live in Parma,” my resident Betty said. Betty was a retired factory worker who lived in Parma her entire life. After standing on cement floors, she had no cartilage left in either knee.
My church arrived in Ohio along with 500 teens, all looking forward to a week of service to the Parma Community. I was placed on a crew of teenagers and adults from across the country. Our assignment and challenge: construct a wheelchair ramp in four days.
Day one went smoothly, as we plotted where to dig the post holes. Each hole, fourteen in all, dug 42 inches deep, in the hard clay packed soil of Ohio. As the day came to an end my crew leader announced, “Kids, we are going to pull overtime to get this done.
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The next morning, after the torrential downpour the night before, we looked in the post holes. There were 14 inches of water in each post hole, and another five inches of thick, gooey mud. It took us half the day to re-dig all the post holes, sucking whatever confidence we had going into Tuesday. With only hours left we hurriedly, yet near expertly, cemented nine of the fourteen post holes. As we prepared to retire for the evening, our resident reminded us, “This is the Parma Dome, don’t forget.” Hearing this, we quickly covered all the remaining post holes, just in case of another Dome downpour. Only having to nine post holes dug and cemented, we had stacks of wood looking us in the face, with two days left.
Thursday went smoothly. With no rain the night before, we cemented the post holes within an hour. Then, we picked away at the huge stack of wood that would put Home Depot to shame. By the end of the day, we had the framing for the ramp completed. Although proud of our accomplishments, with only one day left, our crew knew that we still had great deal of work ahead.
Friday, our final day, was the toughest. It had rained nonstop Thursday night and there were no signs of the rain letting up. However, on our way back to Betty’s house, the “Parma Dome” lifted. Though the rain stopped, the wood was still soaking wet, which caused our saw to seize up on every cut. This continued throughout the morning. By three o’clock in the afternoon, our usual departure time, we had the flooring in place, but we needed railings and spindles.
The assignment handed to us early in the week was simply to build this wheelchair ramp. Leaving now, with the job incomplete, was not an option. So we ventured on. We formed an assembly line. Someone cut spindles, another the railings, and I hammered and nailed securing them all in place.
By dusk we were exhausted, but the task was complete. Our crew had come together and built a sixty foot wheel chair ramp in four short days, despite the “Parma Dome.” We did not give up, unlike several groups who left their sites earlier.
Betty, and her ability to move about more freely, was far too important to us. We overcame obstacles: heavy rain, damp wood, bad materials, and time. As a crew we practiced problem solving. There are several ways to complete a job, but only a few ways to do it productively. I was teamed with five random strangers and given a challenging task. We came together, fought through the difficulties, and tackled the wheelchair ramp head on. What went unnoticed that week was the mental toughness that I gained, though the trial and tribulation of the ramp. Now no matter what the challenge I know I have the mental and the physical toughness to succeed, all thanks to a group of strangers and a women named Betty.
