After more than 80 days of oil spilling into the Gulf, everyone is getting frustrated as things seem more and more discouraging. One U. South Alabama student is helping to bring hope to the situation as he spends his summer assisting in the oil cleanup effort. His name is Barrett Johnson, and he is working for BP PLC out of Bayou La Batre as a member of the Boom Team.

In his first year at USA, Barrett is a BFA Theatre major, and his proudest moment occurred last semester as he graced the USA stage in the production of “Twelfth Night.” As a child, he wanted to grow up to be successful, no matter what job he found, and his first job was working at his father’s shipyard, B & B Boatbuilders.

Barrett enjoys reading the Harry Potter series, listening to Modest Mouse, and grabbing a snack at Taco Bell, and he said that to find relaxation, he would lay in a hammock on a tropical island “with a few senoritas and margaritas.” His hero is Thomas Edison, and he names his grandfather as having the greatest influence on his life.

His favorite memory is when it snowed in Mobile for the first time in his life, and his love of snow continues to his chosen way to spend a perfect day: snowboarding down a mountain in the early hours of the morning.

Helping to remove oil is helping to save animals, something that is close to Barrett’s heart, is seen in his collection of pets at home. To date, he has a hedgehog, a deer, an emu, a horse, a fox, a duck, an alligator, and a flying squirrel.

The oil spill is tragic, and it takes a strong personality to face the seemingly endless problem each day. His work for BP has progressed as the spill has grown. At first, his team simply anchored down and watched the boom for eight hours, recording the status every three hours and calling if anything went wrong.

A few weeks later, he became an oil observer, idling around the inside of Dauphin Island on the search for signs of oil. Again, if oil was found, the team simply called in without coming into contact with the oil.

The oil problem has continued to grow.

“We are a member of the boom team and are required to do more labor than we ever expected. There are three types of boom that we are working with, the hard boom, sock boom (absorbent) and snare boom (pom pom).

“The hard boom is the solid barrier that we attach the sock boom and snare boom onto to collect the oil. The sock boom looks like link sausages of rolled-up socks and the snare boom looks like cheerleading pom poms stranded together on a rope. We attach absorbent and pom poms on the boom, and pull up the dirty or faulty ones, then repeat.”

He works from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and said the only thing that helps him get up in the morning is “the fresh smell of coffee.”

Barrett said that the hardest parts of the job are “straining my back every day while pulling up the old water- or oil-logged sock boom, in the blazing heat while the waves are beating the boat against the hard boom. Also, when the wind starts picking up, it makes it way more difficult to hold on to the boom when trying to attach the sock boom and pom poms.

If oil is being picked up or messed with, the individuals on the boat are required to wear a full body, hazwoper suit. The suit is to be duct-taped around the gloves and shoes to make sure that no oil comes in contact with your skin. With the suit being almost airtight, this increases the heat by about 30 percent.”

Being on the front line, Barrett has an opinion on the spill. He said, “My feelings have definitely changed since I now get to witness the oil first hand. I see how crucial this situation is becoming while the clock is ticking.”

The worst thing he’s seen while on the job? He said, “Seeing acres and acres of reddish brown muck covering the surface of the ocean.”

The people of the community, though, are coming together.

“Everyone seems to be doing a great job as well as getting along and cooperating with each other to help fix the whole incident,” Johnson said.

Barrett has a hopeful outlook on the tragic situation happening in our Gulf, and he is spending his days helping to make sure our beaches, wildlife, and fishing industry return to their original state. Barrett said, “Your mind is the only one in the way.”

It would not be a bad idea for everyone to soak in those words of wisdom, face the problem and join in on the cleanup taking place on our beautiful coast, just like Barrett.