Marcus Daniels didn't get a long holiday weekend like many people did, nor did he get a relaxing three-week break from classes. In fact, Christmas Day was like every other day since he began working with the American Red Cross on Dec. 14 in east New Orleans.
      "If you didn't have a calendar, you wouldn't have known it was Christmas Day," Daniels said, adding that people there couldn't put up Christmas lights if they wanted to because they still don't have electricity since Hurricane Katrina made landfall Aug. 29.
      Daniels, a 20-year-old Iowa State University sophomore from Rochester, Minn., is using his semester break to serve meals to thousands of people who still need help. His day begins by loading trucks with food at 7 a.m. Then, he helps serve the hot meals for the rest of the day.
      "There is a constant stream of people," Daniels said. "We honk the horn, and people just come out because they recognize the sound of the horn."
      Each of the 19 trucks makes the same assigned route everyday, Daniels said. The truck he works with serves about 450 meals out of 33,000 total meals that two American Red Cross kitchens distribute each day.
      "They definitely pump out a lot of food," Daniels said. "And it is amazing to see the look on people's faces when they see you, especially since you are someone from the outside who hasn't been affected."
      Daniels said many of the residents and construction workers there are dependent on the daily meals because there is still no electricity or clean water to drink. In the areas he delivers to, the nearest place to buy food is an hour away. Many residents don't have transportation, either, which makes them all the more dependent on the food delivery.
      "They don't have anywhere to get a meal, (and) if they have money they don't have anywhere to spend it," he said.
      Daniels said he has wanted to go to New Orleans since Katrina hit.
"It is just something that needed to be done," he said.
      But, since he couldn't dismiss his classes, Christmas break was the next-best option. With his family's support, he signed up for training classes through the American Red Cross and went.
      "It is way more important than one Christmas at home that we can still have in January," Daniels said.
      Daniels will have time to celebrate the holidays with his family when he returns home Jan. 3.

Amy Wahle can be reached at 232-2161, Ext. 472, or awahle@amestrib.com.