Hurricane Katrina - Mississippi Response

Purging 2005, Part II

2005-12-30T22:02:00.000-06:00

If you visit, please read several post below. All are Christmas to New Year's thoughts. I did not send out Christmas card this year. It was not a real Merry Christmas. I may send out Happy New Year's Cards. Anyway, more purging.

This is one of my favorite photos. The Kennedy-Miaza family apparently had several disasters:(1) the hurricane took their house; (2) the insurance company took their hope of rebuilding. They responded with humor. The sign urges Santa to place Farm Bureau on his naughty list.

I like this cartoon. We in the deep South always have God in our thoughts. Often I find that fundamentalist believe in a strict and unforgiving God, but live their lives like God is a liberal New Yorker. I shouldn't leave the conversation there. I personally believe that Intelligent Design-Creationism does not matter because, drum roll, if you believe God created everything, one doesn't need to limit science because "Science" simply uncovers the intricate creation God made. It seems to me that the fundamentalist simply want to truncate scientific inquiry by the conclusion instead of letting the research prove the conclusion.

This is what the beach looked like pre-Katrina. This is Horn Island which lies South of Ocean Springs.

My personal purging for 2005

2005-12-30T21:40:00.000-06:00

If you walk along Highway 90 you will find historic markers, like the Jefferson Davis Speech Site. The Jones statute (founder of Gulfport) is in a private yard. The church destruction and the sobering "This in Remembrance of Me" was from a Missionary Baptist Church in Biloxi that we took supplies to. These things are laying about. All meant something to someone.

I am tired of the trash, the smell, the difficulties of doing simple things, the fear of insurance adjustors, the constant dealing with loss, and that empty lost feeling that things will never get back to normal.

I am purging some pictures. I may just stop writing on the 1st. I may not. I may ask Tony to please take over. I may just go AWOL. Until I decide, here are some photos.'

Detritus Upsetus

2005-12-30T20:29:00.000-06:00

People have real problems with debris. I understand. You see, I too have debris issues. When my office blew away (and yes it was wind and the insurance company's own forensic engineer concluded it was tornadic activity), I have people's personal records in file cabinets, most of which disappeared and the ones found were partially underwater. Our office credit card was found by some sick soul who proceeded to make charges as they drove to Kansas and South Dakota. We still have debris on the office grounds.

But, my debris problems are minor. It is all perspective.

Part of Gulfport is abuzz. Seems a noted doctor's house also blew apart. Unfortunately, some very personal and pornographic photographs blew around the neighborhood, but survived well enough to identify the doctor and his friends. We heard about it at our Thursday-Mexican night dinner and then at my office and then from a neighbor.

Buildings blown apart, boats shot through the air, giant barges thrown ashore, 50 miles of beachfront torn asunder, but you never know when something you don't want others to know will surface amidst the havoc of life.

Note to readers: Always assume all photographs taken will become public.

Post Katrina Recap 2005

2005-12-30T07:45:00.000-06:00

The Three bridges from 500 feet.

The first bridge is the four lane Highway 90. Its down for months to come. The second bridge is the old 90 bridge, which has had a section out in the middle since the new bridge became operational years ago. The third bridge is the railroad bridge. All three are down. One gets from East Biloxi to Ocean Springs now by driving North on I-110 to I 10 to Washington Avenue, about 18 miles and 1 hour. These bridges center many issues for 2006: do we want the RR tracks defining the Coast; do we need bigger bridges; local control versus state or federal control. Bye 2005.

The Best Things of Post Hurricane Katrina

*Kindness, Cooperation and Compassion ran the Coast
*We realized how many people cared about us and, also,
* We realized how many people we cared about.
*We made new friends across the county (Hello,New York )
*Faith made itself known in the hands of church people
*Perspective, gained by loss, humbled us in our survival; and,
*Perspective, after great losses, refined to center on family and friends.
*The Charatte plans, even if a Disneyland Coast, are a wonderful fantasy.
*Religious tolerance became spiritual acceptance and churches
shared space with other denominations and other religions

The Worst Things of Post Hurricane Katrina
*We lost friends and family in the storm.
*We lost friends and family by relocation, both temporary and permanent.
*Great, old homes and buildings have disappeared.
*Great trees, old stately Oaks and proud Magnolias, were taken from us.
*The water has been fouled by oil, chemicals, debris.
*The tax bases of all the counties and cities has been cut to a fraction.
*FEMA height regulations may prevent poor families from rebuilding
*Atlantis Casino wants to buy our Marine Life porpoises.
*Driving Highway 90 is now a sad, not peaceful experience.
* Missing the large flocks of pelicans and seagulls.

Yours?.

Captain Kirk, I am on Planet Destructo

2005-12-26T10:45:00.000-06:00

Second Street, Gulfport.
Scotty's house, his daughter's old dolls.
Second Street is one block off the beach highway. There are few houses standing. Many are twisted and turned akimbo.
T

The Bui house, Gulfport, Mississippi

2005-12-24T15:25:00.000-06:00

The last line ends, "...warm my broken heart. Tim Bui"
I wish I was a better photographer and could do Mr. Bui justice. His
house is twisted around. There are broken antiques inside. The gray
thing behind the tree to the left of the house is a cargo container.
T

Ship story

2005-12-21T22:25:00.000-06:00

I was at a potluck Christmas supper tonight and saw some friends who I haven't seen since pre-K. One was Captain Louis S. , who runs a charter boat service that takes tourist to Ship Island.
Louis, like all Coastians, listens reverently to weather reports. He did not think the storm would come our way. It is hard to remember now, but the forecasters were saying Mobile to Texas just a day or so before the storm hit us. On Saturday, Louis took 300 people to Ship Island. He wasn't worried, just cautious. But, the storm took a right angle Sunday. So, he and his crew took the boats around through Biloxi Bay, back through the bayous, back into the Gulfport Lake-Bayou Bernard area.
By Sunday night, he had the Ship Island boats--one of which is about 100 feet long-- up the Bayou. As the storm came in, the water rose. Like all sailors, he had storm lines out; however, they kept having to let the lines out as the water rose. Eventually, they were floating around the tree tops, hoping their lines secured to the trees would hold. All the lines broke except one 1 1/2 inch line. Louis felt it and it was so taut it felt like steel. One of the crew saw a seadoo floating, still attached to its trailer. They launched a boat and secured it. Luckily the keys were in the seadoo. They used it to take other lines out and secure them to taller trees. Louis said the wind just didn't stop, just kept coming, just kept getting stronger. They saw other boats break lines and float away. They saw boats tied to tight, just get covered with water. They saw water cover huge areas of land.
They survived... scared to death, but survived.
Just another story of fear and courageousness and perseverance. Another Coast story.

Giving and Getting

2005-12-19T14:54:00.000-06:00

I hope you can blow this up. Mississippi finds itself in the unusual position of both needing and asking for help. We, individually and collectively, need help, but we are hard-headed about asking for help. As the ad states, Mississippians per capita give to charity more than any other state... and done so for years. We believe in charity. We believe in helping others. Most people here on the Coast don't want hand-outs, just helping hands. If you ask us about how we are, you will hear "fine", even though their house may have blown away. Perhaps it is pride. Perhaps it is embarrassment at not being self sufficient. Perhaps it is knowing that, however bad we have it, our neighbor shames us with their losses and their indominatable spirit.

Anyway, thanks Congress for the billions. We need it. And, don't worry, you will get it back in taxes and our generosity, our overwhelming support and service in the military, and our helping others over the coming years. Next time a storm or earthquake hits, I bet you will see my neighbors helping your neighbors survive.

Katrina Jetsam

2005-12-14T19:08:00.001-06:00

Ever feel like Jetsam, something just thrown off because of bad times. That's Mississippi.

Here are some numbers:

Katrina's toll in Mississippi ------------------------$125 billion

Estimated dollar amount of damage
caused by Hurricane Katrina ----------------------$231 billion

Death toll on Coast, identified ----------------------around 70

Missing--------------------------------------------65,380 ( Many just evacuated or relocated)

Houses in South Mississippi destroyed--------------383,700

Estimated cubic yards of debris in South Mississippi---21.8 million

Cubic yards removed as of Dec. 5----------------------20,447

NOW, some things to think about:

The debris. A cubic yard is what you think: three feet wide, three feet long, three feet deep. There is 21.8 million cubic yards of debris. Math is not my forte--and I welcome a math major stepping in here--but , a square mile is 3,097,612 yards if you divide 21.8 million by that number, one gets 7 square miles of debris... a cube of 7 miles. Not possible? I don't know. 7 square miles!

The people. Mississippi has about 2,850,000 people. We are missing 65,000. That is 1/43rd of the population.

Maybe the people are behind that big cube of trash and I just can't see them.

Wednesday Flotsam

2005-12-13T21:40:00.000-06:00

Here are a smattering of stories heard this week.

I met today with a client from a Pass Christian family with a long, long history with the city. I am probating an estate for her family. She is one of ten children, all of whom are between their late 40s and early 60s. Most have children. Many have adult grandchildren. This family lost 30 homes. Thirty homes.
We saw friends at Sam's who told this story about mutual friends in Ocean Springs. This family lived at the beach near the inner harbor.As the water rose, they headed to the 2nd floor. The wife turned around and couldn't see the husband down the stairwell, which was now filled with water. Suddenly, his head popped up. He had been struggling underwater to get his pants unstuck from a piece of furniture. When he had headed toward the stairs, the front doors blew in, sent water rushing through the house and out the back door, and nearly trapped him under a table. They went in a bathroom and then, as the water rose, into the attic. Just as they got to the attic, the house shook, tipped, and just tore apart, with the roof just flying through the air. They floated in the fast stream until the ended up at a large tree in their back yard, where they held on until the water receded. The Wife says she was never scared... she just knew that they would survive.
A client has been waiting three months for a trailer. In today's paper, she sees a hundred trailers just sitting in a lot run by Bechtel and doesn't know how to get anyone to call her back.

Christmas?

2005-12-10T19:24:00.000-06:00

FEMA: what are you smoking

2005-12-09T22:56:00.000-06:00

Friends lived on a Bayou and lost their first floor and garage. My friend is living upstairs to protect the property and his wife is at her mom's. Now, if you can imagine, the first floor is slab and studs; the second floor has an upstairs porch, walls, and though no sheetrock, it habitable in a camping out sort of way. Anyway, they applied for a FEMA trailer months ago and were turned down. This week another friend passed by their house and saw a truck there and, like good neighbors, stopped to see who it was. It was FEMA. They wanted to know where they wanted the trailer. So, turned down three months ago, okayed now.

The trailer was delivered. The next day they got a call. Someone from FEMA was coming by with their trailer and needed directions. So, turned down three months ago, got a trailer out of the blue, and now they are delivering an unwanted 2nd trailer.

On the other side of sanity, I commiserated this week with Mrs. F, who has been living in a 5 x 7 tent for three months.

Pogo was right, we are the enemy.

2005-12-06T15:03:00.000-06:00

katrina response

FEMA: Its never too late to be late

2005-12-04T21:25:00.000-06:00

Early after the storm we heard that each family qualified for $2,000 to help with evacuation costs. We applied. Never heard a word in September. In October we had a computer message from FEMA that we qualified for some relief under FEMA guidelines as we were in a definate disaster area. Then, November. Nothing. December, I get a call. FEMA is coming to talk to me. I , of course, assume that it is about the $2,000, but it is not. FEMA shows up Sunday around noon and tells me that he is an independent contractor hired by FEMA to check out my house and see if it is liveable and whether I need help. Well, it was a special moment. I never applied for house damage relief. He filed out a sheet, gave me a copy that said as much, and left.

I still haven't got the $2,000.

Tom

More Hurricane Humor

2005-12-01T14:27:00.000-06:00

A friend sent this to me. Don't know who to credit:

The list of the top wanted Barbie dolls this holiday season:

Evacuee Barbie - Comes with suitcase, three changes of old clothes, abox of photographs, and pets.

Rooftop Barbie - Comes with an ax for chopping a hole in her roof, aflashlight to signal helicopters, and a blue tarp to patch the hole when shereturns.

Red Cross Barbie - Comes with Red Cross uniform, her own Red Cross truckcapable of serving 1,000 meals per day.

FEMA Barbie - Comes with laptop computer, cell phone, and plain whitetrailer. Trailer not delivered until 90 days after purchase.!

Going Home Barbie - Comes with haz-mat suit, boots, gloves, respirator mask,shovel, and bin for holding recovered items.

Looter Barbie - Comes with shotgun, hundreds of gold chains, and shoppingcart filled with electronic equipment and case of Heineken. Looter Barbie's boyfriend, NOPD Ken, equally outfitted, can be purchased separately.

personal status post

2005-11-28T15:21:00.000-06:00

I am sick and miserable with either a cold, the Katrina cough-crud, or something. I found this on Mike's Homiletic site, with a nod to another site. I would look it up, but my nose and eyes are both running. Talk about it amongst yourselves. Later,T

Faith and Hurricane Response

2005-11-24T07:01:00.000-06:00

The Mississippi Coast Interfaith Disaster Task Force has a forest of faiths: Catholics, Jewish, Muslim (there are not many here), and the great divisions of the Protestants--Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Assembly of God, Mennonite, Church of Christ, and so many others. Dogma divides all, but they meet at the basics. Each believes in helping those in need of food, clothing, shelter, and justice. Nothing really unusual there.

But, does Faith have a political position on the larger issues concerning rebuilding? On FEMA regulations that affect poorer sections of the Coast? On zoning out the poor from their homes, even if an unintentional, unplanned act of government? On providing equal treatment of people and their properties?

So much of the Bible speaks to the issue of poverty and justice. Check out the prophet Micah, who admonishes us to " do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God." Think of Isiah's promise of just, secure and healthy communities. Go to an internet Bible and search "poor" and see what comes forward.

How we treat others is our personal test.
How we treat the poor is our communal test.

Extreme Community Make Over

2005-11-23T16:18:00.000-06:00

This is a friend's house. They got flooded, holes in roof, 2 cars damaged, but left a sense of humor undamaged.

We are all thinking of rebuilding. See, Governor's Commision on Renewal, Rebuilding and Recovery. Good site.

There are, as always, problems.

FEMA maps have a new designation which virtually makes all poor areas finally inaccessible to those owners for rebuilding. Simply stated, they have little resources, scant insurance, and now have to build with different materials and at a higher elevation. In such a way, the poor and elderly will be forced to leave their prime lots in East Biloxi. One would think that our federal authorities, under Republican rule, would think this a criminal act--- an unfunded mandate !

Biloxi is considering zoning changes which will have a similar effect. East Biloxi is the immigrant section, the place where waves of Yugoslavians, French, Greek, and Vietnamese moved into and, mostly, stayed. Within about 3 blocks you have the French Club, the Slavonia Lodge, a Buddhist Temple (mostly Vietnamese) and Catholic Church (where everyone mixes). The City wants to change the minimum lot size for building. Unfortunately, most of the old city lots are small and there is almost no space between houses now. If they change, people can't build unless they acquire part of their neighbor's property.

Who speaks for those not trying to develop casinos and condos?
Who speaks for sense of place?
Who speaks for the poor?

Ut Oh!

2005-11-20T21:06:00.000-06:00

Looked up the StopGlobalWarming.Org site, having seen the Earth to America show.

See article: "Study Links Hurricanes to Global Warming"
by Amanda Gardner Forbes.com 15 September 2005 , who writes:

An increase in the ferocity of hurricanes around the globe over the last 35 years may be attributable to global warming, a new report states.The study, which appears in the Sept. 16 issue of the journal Science, is perhaps one of the strongest scientific statements yet on a connection between hurricane activity and global warming."I'm heading towards being a little less cautious," study lead author Peter J. Webster, professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, said at a news conference Wednesday. "I think [rising] sea surface temperature is a global-warming effect and I think the change in [hurricane] intensity, which is a universal thing, is following sea surface temperature."

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/learn/read.asp?1382611172005

A Bill of Rights for Katrina Effected Citizens

2005-11-16T20:44:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking of the rights we, citizens of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, should have in relation to the governments response to our situation. For instance, shouldn't we get to decide what our community looks like or where federal disaster monies are spent or what type of assistance we want first. Here are my thoughts. Yours?

HURRICANE KATRINA BILL OF RIGHTS
FOR THE CITIZENS OF SOUTH MISSISSIPPI

We, the faith community of Southern Mississippi, believe that great tragedy provides great opportunity for great kindness; and,
We, the faith community of Southern Mississippi, believe that our rebuilding efforts should be based on rights that will affirmatively effect the lives of local citizens as each of us rebuilds our homes, our families, our jobs, our communities, and our sense of place;
Therefore, we assert as follows:
1. The Right to Return
We believe that all displaced persons have the right to return to their homes, secure their personal items, rebuild their houses, and rebuild their lives.
2. The Right of Self-Determination.
We believe that all persons, both current residents and residents displaced and living outside their home area, should have a voice in the rebuilding of their communities; further, no plans should be implemented until it is the clear will of the citizens.
3. The Right to Vote
We believe that government should recognize that displaced persons have a right to vote locally as long as they intend to return to their homes.
4. The Right to Neighborhood.
We believe that government should work to ensure the viability and sense of place of residential neighborhoods.
5. The Right to Housing.
We believe that all citizens should have adequate and affordable housing available to them.
6. The Right to Work
We believe that local citizens should have some priority in obtaining work and contracts that effect the local area.
7. The Right to Fair Dispensation of Government Benefits
We believe that all citizens should expect fair dispensation of governmental benefits that might apply to them and that, for some persons, this may require legal or administrative aid.
8. The Right to Know
We believe that citizens have a right to know where government monies are being spent and have some voice in such spending above and beyond being represented by elected or appointed officials.
9. The Rights to a Sense of Place
We believe that the Gulf Coast is unique. We believe that citizens have a right to expect that all rebuilding efforts will ensure the continuation of that sense of place and our local culture.
10. The Rights of Everyman
We believe that we are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide shelter for the homeless, and to let justice flow like a mighty river.

Why Southerners like large front porches.

2005-11-15T08:01:00.000-06:00

Really, what can you say?

"We Care" from South Alabama

2005-11-12T17:56:00.000-06:00

A number of contractors in South Alabama came over last month and built a house in the Magnolia Grove neighborhood of Gulfport. Mrs. Corinna Robinson's house was badly damaged by the storm and she had no funds to repair. Those fellows built her a house in 7 days. 7 days! Their wives were envious of their work and did some themselves-they bought all the furnishings and even decorated the house. Wonderful people.

Now, November.They came back this week and started house 2, which they will build in, again, 7 days. We are cooking gumbo in a cook off on Wednesday--come by if you want, St. James Baptist Church (Rev. Eddie Hartwell's), Hewes Avenue, Gulfport, Ms. Its for the workers but there will be enough. Its Hurricane helper vs. Ms. Corinna's daughter.

T

Reconstruction Notes

2005-11-11T20:00:00.000-06:00

Here is what I believe:

Great Tragedy

provides Great Opportunity

for Great Kindness.

Several years ago the South Mississippi Interfaith Disaster Task Force was established to deal with problems resulting from Hurricane George. The group lay somewhat dormant over the intervening years, but is back, is broader, is stronger, and is more ambitious.

Currently, the IDTF has a variety of faith based groups involved, including---I know I will leave some out--- Assembly of God, Church of Christ, Baptist, Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Jewish, Mennonite, and, among others, Islamic. We have more in common than our differences. We all agree that we need to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and help the poor.

Joining the local churches are the national groups: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance; UMCOR (Methodist); Lutheran-Episcopal Disaster Relief. Also, we have national organizations joining in, such as the Amos Network and the Perkins Trust.

What I have been working on is IDTF vision and community. Thursday, I met with Mississippi State University's School of Architecture about adopting at least one neighborhood and helping plan a better, stronger community: gridding the neighborhood; planning some urban design to bring the community together at its heart; have some architectural design for houses and yards, such as fencing or landscaping motifs; figuring out what we need from the city, the county, the state and the federal government. MSU wants to help, wants to help us organize other schools to help, wants to have an office on the Coast. Last night, I had a wonderful and instructive telephone conference with Aurora Robinson of Drury University, who is anxious to help.Next, I meet with Auburn University this Sunday afternoon. I should say here, thank you Jane Greenwood, MSU Architecture school dean, who forwarded my inquiry to apparently every architecture school she knows.

A lot of people want to help. A lot of people see our destruction and see the opportunities for mission and charity and kindness. A lot of people need to be thanked...thanked over and over and over.

Thanks.

Thanks.

AND, also

2005-11-09T09:14:00.000-06:00

My friend, Rick Brooks, still operates the Methodist church in Bay St. Louis, which lost 80% of his congregation after the storm through evacuation, relocation, and other. Buy a mug for the Methodist.

http://www.cafepress.com/kudzushop

Sunday Sermons

2005-11-06T07:40:00.000-06:00

Ministers know what preaches. Hurricanes preach. Great destruction preaches, as does the great efforts to help others. Some local sermons topics:

The Sermon on the Mold
and the sequeal
Blessed are the Sneezemakers

The Flood: Wind or Water Damage?

Lamentations about Laminations

The Parting of the Road Debris

FEMA memos, Part 1

2005-11-03T17:07:00.000-06:00

I have been intrigued by the Michael Brown FEMA emails. Its a while-Nero-fiddled thing.

Here is my imagination about a Brown memo:

From the Desk of Michael Brown at FEMA:

Dear Staff:

The media seems to have focused on us. Go figure. We must be careful. From now on watch your language, especially when discussing me. Here is what I am doing:

If I say that "I am surveying the levees", I am out to lunch.
If I say that "I am personally speaking to the president", I am getting my hair cut.
If I say that "I am giving an exclusive interview right now", I am in the bathroom.
If I say that "I am in the communications room, directing trucks into Mississippi", I am still in the bathroom.
If I say that "I am helping with FEMA applications", I am taking a nap.
If I say that "I am in a helicopter and can’t talk", Governor Blanco is trying to track me down.
If I say that "I am looking for a dog sitter", I am trying to avoid George Bush.
If I say that "I am helping serve meals in Gulfport, Mississippi", I am having a long lunch in Baton Rouge after which I will give an "exclusive interview" and "help with FEMA applications".

More memo later, I am helping "an old widow woman with her flooded house".

MB

storm stories

2005-11-01T16:56:00.000-06:00

This is the Biloxi McDonald's restaurant, sitting on the North side of Highway 90, which runs along the beach. Like the locals, Ronald is welcoming even in his current state.

Just a few stories in passing:

* A Gulfport resident says he was looking out his living room window on the morning of the storm and saw a large refrigerator flying down the road at about 10-15' off the ground.

* A Gulfport resident stayed in his 2nd Street house. He was watching the storm and saw a building just explode, with part of the building hitting his house, part hitting a neighbor's house. Either a sudden pressure change or a tornado. Who knows.

* Another older Gulfport resident was in his house, near the beach, with his sister. As the water rose, he wanted to leave. The sister would not leave. When the water got stomach high he said they had to go, but she would not. He told where he was going. He left and got to place in the back when he could go no further... things were flying around, things were moving in the water, and there was no place he could get to safely. Unfortunately, he was stuck in the open, clinging to a secure post. He watched the water rise slowly. He said it was 95 minutes of water rising slowly. He knows because he watched a cheap wall clock in the kitchen. He was sure his sister was dead. When the water lowered to knee heighth, he waded back to the house. He found his sister in a closet. She was alive, but barely. The water had risen to within a foot of the closet ceiling.

* A local lady, a devout Episcopalian who will remain nameless, was in her house with her family near the beach. Water rose. They moved to the attic. Water came up in the attic. They tried to get out of the roof, but could not break through. Thinking that this was the end, that she would died, she pulled out her cell phone and called her good friend, another devout Episcopalian. Connected, she told her friend the story--- water, attic, death coming---and before her friend could react, stated something like, " For God's Sake, whatever you do, please don't let anyone play that ****** Amazing Grace at my funeral."

* An attorney could not find her boat. It was found miles away, having rammed a judge's house.

No rhyme or reason in hurricane season.

S'BAd to the Bone

2005-10-31T13:22:00.000-06:00

As everyone knows, Re-build is connected to Re-borrow. But, on the Coast, Re-borrow is connected to re-maining assets, which assets are (a) blown away, or (b) the subject of underpayment by one’s insurance company, or ( c) still in insurance purgatory. What do you do if your usual good credit and usual middle class lifestyle was devastated when your assets were damaged or destroyed? You hope the SBA will give you an emergency or regular loan. You don't want charity, just a fighting chance to reclaim what you had. While the SBA is mouthing excuses that don't have the ring of truth, one hopes that the Blue Fairy will say to the SBA what she said to Pinocchio, "Follow your conscience."

The Rockford Register Star had a story with the following excerpt:

"As of Tuesday — eight weeks after Katrina walloped the Gulf Coast — the agency’s numbers show that of 162,265 loan applications the agency had received, 143,577 were still awaiting a decision. Of loan requests that have been decided, the SBA rejected 15,823, or 85 percent, and approved 2,865, or 15 percent."

http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20051028/NEWS0107/110280013/1004/NEWS

Then, Inc. Magazine’s Angus Loten writes that "Feds Slow With Disaster Loans Business Owners Say," in the October issue, lamenting the problems. Angus’ says :

"As of last week, just 661 of 66,819 emergency loan applications, or fewer than 1%, had been approved. That accounts for just $41.45 million of several hundred million dollars at the SBA's disposal."

In other words, there is money.

And,

"SBA chief Hector Barreto, under attack from both Democrats and Republicans, defended the agency's efforts and blamed interrupted communications systems for the agency's slow issuance of loans, saying loan inspectors have had difficulty staying in contact with home and business owners in the worst hit areas. Many disaster zones remain inaccessible, he said, making it impossible to verify losses and assess damages."

In other words, they can’t verify the damage because the damage is so bad?

"Also hampering efforts were glitches in the agency's new $23 million computer system, which was overwhelmed by a surge in online applications, according SBA associate administrator Herb Mitchell."

In a version of My-Dog-Ate-It, my computer cyberspaced it.

See, http://www.inc.com/criticalnews/articles/200510/sba.html.

Further, I hear, but can't verify, that the a higher echelon SBA bureaucrat testified that there were few SBA acceptances because the Coastal people were a pretty poor lot.

Talk about Catch-22. We are too poor to help ourselves and too damaged to get financial help.

Halloween and Hurricane crossroads in Mississippi

2005-10-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

Favorite scary costume: FEMA worker

Favorite treat: insurance coverage

Favorite costumer's saying at door: "We're from the government and we are here to help you."

Best place to trick or treat: 2 states north.

Your thoughts.
Tom

Saturday at the Crossroads

2005-10-22T08:16:00.001-05:00

I think I have the Blues myself. I am tired. It is eight weeks out from the storm. I miss my old normal days and I am just fed up with burning debris, traffic congestion, gold rush fever, and the bueacracy of getting even good things done.

Highway 61 and Highway 49 are the Crossroads. Every Missisippian knows the legend of Robert Johnson selling his soul for his music up there near Clarksdale. We are now at our own Crossroads, selling our souls for Progress or Business or Commercialization. If you just listen to people, you know what road they are travelling. Just listening gives you the Blues.

So, here are some songs we should be and are singing these days on the Coast:

Blind Lemon Underwriter's " Wind or Water Insurance Blues"
B.B.King's "The Sill (and the rest of the window) is gone"
Muddy Waters "I can't find my underwear"
Howling Wolf's "What's your boat doing upside my head"
Four Blind Boys of Brooklyn "FEMA ,SHMEMA"
Son House's "The House of the Rising Sun is now in Cinncinati"
and
Muddy Diapers' "O, Adjuster, Where art Thou?"
Lightning Billy Biloxi's "They done took my Casino and gave me the Slots"
Johnny Red Eye's "Ain't no Sunshine when they Burn Debris"
Crosseyed Sammy's " My Head hurts, My Feet Stink, and I don't love Nationwide"
And yours, if you are reading....
Tom

Friday: Humor as such

2005-10-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

People are strange. Just browse the internet. I am not talking about people who wear mohawks or color their hair green or wear wild clothing. I am talking about how they think. Again, I can't say it enough. People are like the fingers on your hand: four head straight, but one just can't help angling off the wrong way. I am constantly amazed at the variety of human responses to the same stimuli.

Let me point the way:

First, there are kind people. See the four fingers represented at the UMCOR, PDA , and these sites, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4837076; http://www.worldvision.org/donate.nsf/child/katrina_stories?Open&lid=katrina stories &lpos=rightnav.

Then there are people who will try to squeeze a penny out of pebble:
http://search.ebay.com/HurricaneKatrina_W0QQfromZR8QQfrtsZ200QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1

Then, there are people who one must assume are normally sane, but come up with the galdurndest thoughts: http://www.blogger.com/Ý°Ô
[ katrina sparks fear in French of no more alligator purses. Mon Dieu.]

And, the fear of people without homes eating British MREs:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3446555a4560,00.html;

And, people who are scared that Katrina unleashed killer dolphins: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/9-30-2005-77806.asp

Or, in a similar vein, believe that God is punishing us for sin or because we have not been the best friend to Israel: http://www.antiwar.com/blog/index.php?id=P2335, and http://www.stcynic.com/blog/archives/2005/09/more_wingnuts_in_katrinas_afte.php

And, my favorite, because its how I feel: http://blogs.dfw.com/startle_grams/2005/09/katrina_notes_f.html, wherein the writer talks about his relatives moving in with him after Katrina and says:

Tim: a 47-year-old who looks and acts like a New Orleans cab driver, 'cause that's what he is, or was. Speaking on the severity of Katrina, he commented: "I don't think we ever had a storm this bad when Elvis was alive."

You KNOW that's true. I could go on. Please don't make me.

Thursday: Mexican night

2005-10-20T09:38:00.000-05:00

Thursday is my Mexican night. For at least seven years, my family has eaten at a local Mexican restaurant and had friends join us. We have had several families over the years as regulars, more than 20 people at one time. Recently, it has been bittersweet. My daughter is in the Carolinas at school ( we didn't think our schools would open), my son is working at a Pizza place, and everyone else seems to be gone, be working or be somewhere else.

All my Thursday friends have been affected by the storm. One Thursday family was flooded out of their house. They had no content insurance and lost clothes and their library and kids things. Another family-who have not been regular attendees lately--has the father going through depression over his losses and his business and debt. Another family lost their house and their boat. Then, there is another family where the wife out of work and the husband hoping to make megabucks with new construction. Everyone is thinking about money. Some to get back to normal. Some wanting to make a fast buck. I am worried about my friends. I am worried about money. I am worried about how money will affect them.

Money, money, money.

The State had a marvelous group of designers, architects, and new urbanists redesign the Coast. Of course, they did not let the locals in except for politicians. Then, they started inviting developers in to meet with them and see the plans. Of course, these developers don't have roots here, don't know us, and are looking at a gold mine and not the golden rule. They see a chance for high priced high rises, not neighborhoods. They see a chance for casinos on land, not quality of life. Unlike the churches, they are not here because they were called by their faith, but are called by their investors and bankers. Different machinations working here.

This morning the air was a mixture of fog and burning debris. It smelled. It was hard to see through. All this money is like that smog. It will be here for a while and disappear. Will we like what we see when it lifts?

Monday: photo site

2005-10-17T16:08:00.000-05:00

This is an excellent site for aerial photos of Katrina devastation.

http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/psds/katrina.htm

Tom

Sunday: Random Thoughts

2005-10-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

This is the Methodist Church in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, after the storm. It is also the subject of the mug and t-shirts for sale on Cafe Press. See post below. Buy a Mug for the Methodist. Or a t-shirt. Looks good, helps out.

Bay St. Louis and Waveland, west of here in Hancock County, lost scores of houses. People left. Many won't return. Many artists will find a place to set up shop else. I spoke with John McDonald, who wants to return, but just doesn't know when the arts community can re-establish itself. As much as we like art, if your needs are roof, fence, your business, and other damaged necessities, you just don't buy art. Artist, for the most part, just don't make enough money to weather a disaster. Many of them, like John, lost all their stored art supplies, their prints, old art pieces, and photographic copies of ther professional portfolio. They don't have money. They don't have a product to sell.

Speaking of returning. There are still lots of people missing. There were 1,135 people missing as of October 6th in Harrison County alone. See, http://co.harrison.ms.us/assitance/missing/. Remember, the brunt of the storm hit Harrison and Hancock Counties, but all the counties in South Mississippi suffered tremendous damage. Where did all these poeple go? Everywhere. See, American Diaspora-Katrina, at http://www.epodunk.com/top10/diaspora/.

Thursday: Jetsam

2005-10-13T07:19:00.000-05:00

Flotsam and Jetsam.
Flotsam is floating debris, the floating wreckage of a ship. Jetsam is that part of a ship or cargo that is thrown overboard to lighten the load in time of distress.
I wonder what part of our Coast's culture, people, architecture and spirit will be Flotsam or Jetsam.
We have a new type of predator-carpetbagger in town. They are bankers, large contractors, land speculators, developers and others who see the wreckage at the beach and don't think "let's rebuild", but think"now we can make its best use, condos and high rises." In Florida you can compare Destin to Seaside. Wholly different ideas. There's the problem. Locals may not have a say: we lost our homes and businesses; we don't have the money to rebuild without insurance; the insurance companies are fighting and low balling; people get desperate and sell out.
Currently we are Flotsam. We can come back and rebuild. Will the moneyed interest make us Jetsam after the distress has come and gone?
Tom

Friday: More Humor

2005-10-11T22:48:00.000-05:00

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/40987

Can't do better than The Onion, which parodies FEMA with a notice that
states should give a two week notice before suffering disasters.

Now, having laughed, go below, find the mug, go to the site and buy
a Mug for the Methodist!

Tuesday's Flotsam

2005-10-11T17:25:00.000-05:00

First, please look at yesterday's post and buy a mug for the Methodist.
I noticed in today's paper that there were a large number of missing pets. Like people, we are all displaced. It was about two weeks after Katrina before I saw a squirrel and about three weeks before I saw any birds except seagulls. Where do all the wild animals go during a hurricane?
For another perspective on Katrina, see Lawdragon, an on-line newspaper in Los Angeles that had reporters come to the Coast after the storm and report from a legal perspective. See, http://www.lawdragon.com/.

Monday: T shirts and Coffe Mugs

2005-10-10T19:12:00.000-05:00

I have a friend in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi named Rick Brooks. He is a Methodist minister. His church was damaged in Hurricane Katrina, as was his house.

I have another friend, John McDonald, an artist from Gulfport, Mississippi, who lived and worked in the Bay for several years. John lost a lot of art work in the storm...not only paintings that were hanging in houses along the beach, but stored items, murals and other wonderful works of art.

I asked them if we could do a t-shirt and a coffee mug and perhaps help them both. So, look at the site below and buy something. Half goes to the church; Half goes to the artist.

Tom

http://www.cafepress.com/kudzushop

Another View of Katrina from Pearlington, Mississippi

2005-10-09T20:43:00.000-05:00

Operation Eden

Sunday. Thanks again.

2005-10-09T18:02:00.000-05:00

This weekend Tony Sparks, St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Greenville, South Carolina drove in pulling a trailer of supplies for the Ruth Memorial Presbyterian Church in Poplarville, Mississippi. Tony is coming back, to see more, to work and to bring friends. Thanks ever so much.
Poplarville's church was doubly blessed. Patrick Rini and friends from the Connor Group from Centerville, Ohio, drove and flew to Poplarville and brought more supplies. The Connor Group had somehow found this little place in Mississippi and asked them to find needy families and see what they really needed. Ruth Memorial found people, not really of the church, who needed more than they did and the Connor Group unloaded hundreds of dollars worth of individually boxed goods for 30 specific families, including a television and $500.
I emailed Patrick thanks and he emailed back this letter:
Thomas: Great to hear from you. We had a quick flight to Gulfport and flewthe coast at about 500 feet. Stunning. Unimaginable. You look at this and think, "How could this be rebuilt, mile after mile?" But you know the GoodLord will help people find inspiration. Good always triumphs.We were so privileged to be a small part of your lives and the goodness ofyour church and your people and we're humbled and hopeful and so happy tosee you all.Stay in touch. Pat
It is continually amazing that people you don't know, never met, and, if not for this disaster, would not have meet, will do something extraordinarily kind. It is amazing to see how grateful people are for the kindnesses of others and, equally, how grateful people are for the opportunity to be kind.
Thanks for your kindness to others.

Friday: Hurricane humor 1

2005-10-06T17:04:00.000-05:00

Ask anyone. If you want to survive a hurricane you must have the four F's: faith, family, friends, and a funnybone.

This is my house. I borrowed the sign and have been taking photos of my neighbor's houses, which they will get framed as Christmas presents. And, yes, I will crop out my nose or finger.

Here is some humor sent to me about the hurricane which I have modified slightly.

YOU KNOW YOU LIVE ON THE GULF COAST WHEN ...

You have FEMA's number on your speed dialer.
You have more than 300 C and D batteries in your kitchen drawer.
Your pantry contains more than 20 cans each of Spaghetti Os, tuna fish, and spam.
You are thinking of repainting your house to match the plywood covering your windows.
When describing your house to a prospective buyer, you say it has three bedrooms, two baths and one safe hallway.
Your SSN isn't a secret, it's written in Sharpie on your arms.
You are on a first-name basis with the cashier at Home Depot.
You are delighted to pay $3 for a gallon of regular unleaded.
The road leading to your house has been declared a No-Wake Zone.
You decide that your patio furniture looks better on the bottom of the pool.
You own more than three large coolers.
You rationalize helping a friend board up by thinking "It'll only take a gallon of gas to get there and back."
You have 2-liter coke bottles and milk jugs filled with water in your freezer.
Three months ago you couldn't hang a shower curtain; today you can assemble a portable generator by candlelight.
You catch a 13-pound redfish in your driveway.
You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner's insurance policy.
You consider a "vacation" going to fun filled D'Lo, Mississippi.
At cocktail parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw.
You have had tuna fish more than 5 days in a row.
There is a roll of tar paper in your garage.
You can rattle off the names of three or more meteorologists who work for the Weather Channel.
Someone comes to your door to tell you they found your roof, your boat, your dog, your grand piano, or your freezer.
Ice is a valid topic of conversation.
Your "drive-thru" meal consists of MRE's and bottled water.
Relocating to South Dakota does not seem like such a crazy idea.
You spend more time on your roof than in your living room.
You've been laughed at over the phone by a roofer, fence builder or a tree worker.
A battery powered TV is considered a home entertainment center.
You don't worry about relatives wanting to visit during the summer.
Your child's first words are "hunker down" and "don't touch that."
Having a large tree in your living room does not necessarily mean it's Christmas.
Toilet Paper is elevated to "coin of the realm" at the shelters.
You know the difference between the "good side" of a storm and the "bad side."
Your kids start school in August and finish in July.
You go to work early and stay late just to enjoy the air conditioning.
and some I have just added...
You see your uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers and sisters everyday ...because they are sleeping in your living room.
Sunday sermons are interrupted by the minister wildly talking about different ways that God could smite FEMA... and after a moments silence, the congregation breaks out in applause.
Your wife gets mad at you because you didn't immediately jump on that vacancy at the run-down 1 bed room apartment near the sewage treatment plant.
If you play golf, you walk and take three clubs and a machete.
Everyone goes silent when the phone rings because it could be your insurance adjuster.

Add your own.

Tom

Thursday thoughts on Wednesday

2005-10-05T10:14:00.000-05:00

The photo is my former office. Gone with the Wind! But, life goes on.
I went to court Wednesday. Wore a suit. My file was made up of papers from the courthouse file and what the other attorney sent me. We are all trying to be gracious about providing copies. We had our legal argument and left. Felt good to do something normal. The newly installed security guards waved wands across me and made me take my keys and coins out. I explained that attorneys are the ones people want to kill, not the killers. Didn't get even a perturbed smile.
While at court, heard more stories. Everyone has them. My clients today have a family problem, but they also lost a business ( coffee and deserts and things), had damage to their house, and had to live relatives in Alabama and Georgia for 2 1/2 weeks before they could come home. They, like everyone, know people who have lost it all and so feel grateful. They also lost their Baptist church in Long Beach, which may not be able to rebuild. They fear they will not be able to get insurance for the church. They mourn the loss of church friends who have decided to leave the area. They also tell of a newly retired Seabee church friend who was unloading trucks of delivered goods from another church. One of the other church's members asked his pastor if any of his congregation were trying to start or restart a business. The pastor pointed the Seabee out. That church left three delivery vans with him to keep.
One elderly couple moved into their attic when the waters came. They survived, but it was a long day. They were tired but only one could sleep at a time. Someone had to keep the snakes out. For days later, they remained on this schedule because the house was the only dry land around and the snakes were trying to move in.
People greet each other like they haven't seen each other for years, like they have been away overseas or at war. Happy that they are alive and well. Everyone gets the first greeting ( how are you) and the second (how did you fare in the storm). Saw a lady at court who , in response to the usual 2nd question said, "Great, only lost my house." Everyone is almost humble about their loss, not knowing whether the person they are talking to will shame them with a horrendous story of fear and loss. Makes one listen carefully.
Everyday, someone calls wanting to help. Sometimes it is a church wanting to adopt a local church. Sometimes its just a regular person wanting to help with their talents. It doesn't take a lot to help, just think about what you normally do and pivot. If you are a plummer, find a plummer who lost it all and give him your extra things. If you are a landscaper, find a local one who lost it all and lend him some gear. Get with people in your field and help them. If kids want to help, let them send some gift certificates to Walmart for school supplies. There is always something.
Tom

Wednesday: Commune-ity

2005-10-04T22:33:00.000-05:00

This is my friend, Eddie, that is, Rev. Eddie Hartwell. He created and built this smoker unit and now cooks for his congregation, his friends, visitors, and anyone who is hungry. He has been cooking for a month.
Eddie's church, St. James, is in the Magnolia Grove section of Gulfport. This week contractors from Alabama came and built a new house for Ms. Corrina Robinson, a wonderful and wonderfully joyful elderly lady in his church. Ms. Corrina is the mother of the church. They are building two more houses right after this. One for a lady who is caring for special adults.
We have been discussing an interfaith alliance, sparked by the Methodist, but centering on an idea of smaller communities. Inside every town there are recognizable areas, with their own centers, and though part of the larger place, they have an identity. We believe we should encourage these, embrace them, make them more what they could be. So, we want to match architecture schools and urban planning schools with a smaller community, let them design together elements that say, for instance, this is Magnolia Grove, and web them by walking paths and sidewalks to the center, whether that is a church or a school or a grocery store.
Mississippi is not a big place, not a rich place.We have less people than live in Brooklyn, New York and probably less gross product. But, we are rich in other things, like music and art and literature. What state can boast having the gamut of B. B. King to Elvis, of Walter Anderson, of Faulkner and Welty, of Oprah to Morgan Freeman. That richness comes from being small, of a culture of small towns and neighborhoods, where people know your business and where you grow up learning to talk, tell jokes and tell whopping stories.
We need the help of national and regional groups to rebuild, but we don't want to lose what makes us who we are. We want to improve and grow, but we don't want to lose our neighbors.
If you come to Gulfport, drive down Hewes avenue, try the ribs. Say hello to some of my neighbors, Eddie and Ms. Corinna.

Causation

2005-10-04T05:04:00.000-05:00

An Alabama politician said the storm was God's wrath on a sinful area. I also have heard this Old Testament hurricane theory seriously discussed by people of faith.

I don't know God's mind. But, for me, a lay person, I see God's hand not in the destruction, but in the aftermath. I see God's hand when people drive 1600 miles just to help clear rubble. I see God's hand when people give their money, their supplies, their empathy to their neighbors near and far. I see God's hand when people just stop what they are doing and find some way to help... as if Jesus strolled by and said, "Follow me."

Acts of kindness are like a form of communion. Take your heart and feel what I feel. Take your body and do what I would do.

Tom

my computer

2005-10-01T22:45:00.000-05:00

I found my office computer. It was filled with light, fluffy dirt--like potting soil without the wetness. We took the hard drive out of another one and it looks like it might work. I will take mine out tomorrow.

We also found an elk head, once hung majestically over the stairway, which had lost its horns, had a torn ear, had crashed into someone freezer a hundred yards away, and was just under a motorcycle helmet.

I found pieces of my chair and the hard drive 50 yards away, but my flat screen was on the ground right under where it had sat on my credenza.

I found my partner's cherished gold Zulu coconut.

Soon after the storm, I was touring some churches and saw one house where K Mart items had landed. I told the ladies cleaning up that one gets a strange impression of them what with 6 cases of Depends & 40 mattresses in their front yard. Gotta laugh about the absurdity of things.

2nd Sunday of Thanks

2005-10-01T22:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday again.
People are filled with equal portions of fear and hope.
As bad as things were and are, we are here, we are upbeat, and we are hopeful that the insurance companies won't argue flood and deny coverage for most of the displaced people. We hope they won't decide it is cheaper to argue the law, than pay the claims. How, for instance, can one get flooded when not in a flood zone? How, wind driven water. How, if your home is destroyed, can they say flood? What we fear is that they will because they can.
We are all also hopeful that the right thing will happen. I personally believe that the government failed us. I personally have faith that things will work out, especially about the insurance. If not, homes will be foreclosed and sold to condo developers; businesses and individuals will file bankruptcy; and, a second disaster will occur on the Gulf Coast. If the right thing doesn't happen, it won't be home ever again...just another place.
But, we are hopeful. My wife is finally home and things seem more normal. I am noticing that maybe we didn't clean up the house as well as we should. Maybe there is an odor of many guys living in a contained environment. I notice that I slept late, did not have to rush in getting up to make everyone that is living at my house some coffee and breakfast. I notice that the stress rash on my hands seems to be healing. Wife brings care and concern and sweetness and normalcy, all of which are facets of hope.
I hope that all those lost in the storm, away in the diaspora of the disaster, find their loved ones, their beloved homes, their way back.
I hope that every day people find something absurd and funny to laugh at. I hope that everyday people decide to take the destruction as a clean palate and start designing something new but based on that which makes us Coastians.
And, we are thankful. Thankful for the Christian response . Thankful for our neighbor's response(neighbors here, neighbors everywhere). Thankful for our blessings (too numerous to count). Thankful for all helping hands, healing words, tearful eyes, embracing arms, and empathetic souls.
Thanks.

Wednesday: If you lose your sails,...

2005-09-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

My father lost his small shipyard in the Hurricane of 1947, before storms were named. One day he had a bustling shipyard, the next day he had beach. Back then, people said that the '47 was the worst storm ever. One of his employees, Mr. Poppadoupolis, lost the boat he fished from (my father's), but saved his net. He said he would get another boat and just sat down on the beach and patiently and precisely repaired his net. My father took a picture of him and ,with admiration, we keep that photo in an honored place and still remember our old friend's indefatigable spirit.
My grandparent's home was lost in 1969's Camille. At that time, my Aunt Dede lived at the Palmetto Lane house, less than a 100 yards from the water's edge. The storm raged, poured water down until the ground would soak no more, and then pushed water up the beachfront. Aunt Dede grabbed her dog and hopped on the bed when the water rose slowly into the house. She balanced on the headboard when the water covered the bed. She held both her head and the dog's up to the 11 foot ceiling as the water rose and then, just as slowly, receded, sparing her life. My brother and I, just teenagers, climbed over hills of debris to find my Aunt, stuck in the house from water-jammed doors. We got her out and then heard a faint voice. Out back, about thirty feet up in a tree, a man had tied himself to her sycamore tree with his ties and belts. We walked out and asked if he needed help and he asked, "Lady, do you have a cigarette." My aunt laughed and laughed . Until she died a few years ago, she said Camille was the worst storm ever, but would also tell her funny hurricane story.
A few blocks from my grandparent's old home, I renovated a 100 year old house into an office facing the beach. We moved in around October of 2004. I filled it with family memorabilia, including my grandfather's desk and a painting of my father's shipyard after the '47 hurricane. I loved that office, enjoying getting there early, putting the flag out, and spending my first cup of coffee watching the pelicans and skimmers. I have front steps and a driveway today. After the storm I weaved through the debris to check on the office. I was devastated and felt empty and depressed. But, as I walked back, I saw a lady searching through the trash and crying. I asked her if she needed help and she said, " My daughter died two years ago and I just can't find a picture of her." I haven't felt sad for myself since.
I now tell people, Katrina was the worst storm ever, but I also tell them that we, my family and friends and neighbors, have a fearsome ability to rebound. Terrible storms remind us how much we love our family and friends. Terrible storms remind us that when you laugh at adversity, adversity loses. Terrible storms remind us that great tragedy gives one great opportunity for kindness. We, your South Mississippi coastal neighbors, believe in our hearts the old Roman proverb, "If you lose your sails, row."

Tuesday's Child Again

2005-09-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

Harrison County has a list of missing person's which currently totals 1,135, which can be searched by City at http://co.harrison.ms.us/assistance/missing/.

Sunday and Thanks

2005-09-25T08:06:00.000-05:00

Sunday, an hour or so before church. A constant theme this month has been people telling me that they have a safe family and thanks be to God. As Mrs. Corrina Robinson said, " I'm too blessed to be stressed." Once you realize that your personal loss is not as great as your neighbor's, you are thankful...thankful for your family's health and lives, thankful for your home, and thankful for the kindnesses shown.

So, just a few thanks here:

Thanks to the local churches. In the first days after the Hurricane, there was no Red Cross and no FEMA and little government. What filled the vacuum was church relief. Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterians, Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, and others---cooking, cleaning, chain saw gangs, providing supplies, checking on their neighbors far and wide, doing mission work at home. This is what church should be, what it was and what it is as I write.

Thanks to the larger church. Churches called me from New York to Florida to California. Everybody wanted to help. Again, I cannot name them all. One day I will. But, one example. A little Presbyterian church in Otega, New York, maybe 50 members, wanted to help. I have received calls, emails, and now photos of what is being sent. Kindness from afar.

Thanks to those of kind hearts.Without thinking, people came. I could mention again the Laroccas from New York City, who are my new adopted cousins, but they are a constant in this blog (read back) and, though back North, call me daily to check on us. How about that Texas family who brought food and cooked (Texas camp style) for several days at Trintiy Methodist Church. Thanks, Don, Anna, Wheeler and Wayne for chili, red beans and rice, biscuits and your presence. Again, I could go on and hope to thank them all again.

Thanks to all the power, water, and utility companies. They worked tirelessly in deplorable conditions. One example: about two weeks ago, the Burger King on Highway 49 caught fire and there, still high on the pole working in front of the store, was a power company fellow, oblivious it seemed to the smoke and confusion and fire engine sirens. These fellows came from everywhere and go us functioning in just a few weeks. A true Herculean task.

Thanks to the police (from everywhere) and firemen and National Guardsmen.

Thanks to all who thought others needed them.

Thanks to all who thought others' needs were greater than their own needs.

Thanks to all who gave what they could of time, money, heart and spirit.

Thanks to all I have forgotten to thank.

Just thanks

Tom

Saturday morning: I have power+cable=internet!

2005-09-24T07:02:00.000-05:00

A friend's on-going blog notes his own Katrina experience:

It is chilling talking to grown people who relay true stories that leave the teller unable to finish them. Here are a few beginnings
An elderly couple in Hancock County who escape from the tidal surge through their roof, climb aboard a children's pontoon boat, wrap themselves in a tarp against the chilly rain and heavy winds, float more than a mile inland, walk up a road where a man offers to take them anywhere they want for $150. In Biloxi, Vietnamese monks evacuate to the attic of their temple then hear knocking at the door. A monk opens the door to find a black family seeking refuge. Together they ride out the storm on the point that left so many others dead. Back in the bayou, a friend and his crew fight the tide and winds, with lines to shore in several directions trying to keep several large vessels from crashing into the docks and waterfront lots. A Seadoo drifts by and one of the crew commandeers it to handle one of the lines. A little Waterworld scene in the middle of a storm. In west Harrison County an elderly couple place their pets in a back room when the flood comes and slams the door shut between them. One manages to smash the door through to rejoin the other and the pets. Bluffs along the coast are slumped down to the shore. Whole islands disappear or are reshaped into shadows of themselves. A 12 foot tall 300 year old bronze Buddha that survived Camille, cracked into three pieces by Katrina. Going into neighborhoods where people tell you they are too blessed to be stressed, until someone explains what the codes spraypainted on the doors of houses mean.
How many dead, how many injured. Entire communities completely erased, not a building standing, with no idea how many have evacuated. Erased is such an easy word to pass over, but when it happens to an area you know, and you confront it, mile after mile, it is profoundly disorienting. So then when I step back and realize that all I am missing is an office full of files and some family memorabilia, I have to ask myself, what is the crisis personally? Well, it is a crisis. It is a crisis for us all. What affects the coast affects the individuals on it, including me, and vice versa. And this is true for each and every person who makes up the coast. It runs both ways from the micro to the macro and back. We are not ourselves anymore, we are dissipated and dispersed, and we will need a long time and a lot of effort to reconstitute ourselves.
http://homepage.mac.com/reillymorse/iblog/
C1288640466/E20050913221408/index.html

Friday night: random thoughts

2005-09-23T22:49:00.000-05:00

Where great tragedy happens, great opportunity for kindness exists.
Kathleen Norris speaks of grace like Buddhism's mindfulness: don't think about the past; don't think about the future; think about the present task and work as if that work is prayer. Being in a disaster area keeps one generally thinking about the now--- how to I get this; how do I get to this place when some roads are blocked or crowded; working on a current project.
On the other hand, it is nice to think of the future, thinking about how to make things better, imagining the possibilities now that the slate is wiped clean. We have individually grieved over our losses for weeks. It is pleasantly refreshing to think about the future.
I think: (a) can we remake our neighborhoods as they should be- have university architecture schools adopt neighborhoods, plan a community, redesign public housing to be individualized and Southern, center them around a church or school or gathering place, spider the community with sidewalks and picket fences; (b) can we redesign our front beach to provide better protection for the beachfront, with a deeper beach, larger sand dunes, and perhaps a breakwater several hundred yards out; (c) can we study which trees withstand hurricanes better and plant them everywhere (as I had 21 trees down in my yard); (d) can we figure out a better environmental and engineering design to forestall future flooding; and, though I could go on,(e) can we take this hurricane spirit-- those sharing and helping hands, that joking good attitude, that sailor's knowledge that the weather is always better after a good storm.
Today I spent with people rebuilding offices and businesses and thinking about where we all need to go next.
Today I saw a Pecan tree, partially uprooted and laying on the ground, but leafing out anew. Even our trees have faith.
Tom

Wednesday

2005-09-21T10:12:00.000-05:00

No tents yet. Still hoping for call backs. Called a friend at Keesler Air Force Base today.
Keep hearing of people who have chosen to stay where they evacuated to before the storm. Keep hearing of people looking for jobs. I believe we need a new WPA to get people working.
Also hear comments about what to do with the debris. If one can imagine, think of a string of cities with 200,000 homes, each with a pile of tree, branch and other debris of 8 by 30 by 6 feet high. Then, add the debris of houses, businesses, contents ( lots of once frozen chicken bags) and other materials that were in the first two blocks of a 26 mile beach front in Harrison County alone...say 50 x 100 x 8 feet high times another 100,000. Get the idea. Where does that go? What is toxic ( batteries, gas, diesel, chemicals...)?
Tom

Tuesday: You get what you need

2005-09-20T13:24:00.000-05:00

Morning:
I woke up this morning to a phone call. I slept through Son's snoring (how, I don't know). I slept through Son's new puppy playing and barking (again, I don't know how ). I awoke to a phone call from a minister. He had gotten a call and waited as long as he could before calling me. Apparently, there are 70 to 100 people living outside, without tents, in the Lakeshore community. Lakeshore is South of Bay St. Louis and Waveland, which were terribly effected. He asked me to help.
In my mind, I am saying, "Where is the government?". In my mind, I am saying, "Why call me, I am not a minister or state official." In my mind, I am saying, " Please, I have enough on my plate already!" So many people needing so many things. Yesterday, I made calls for a bush hog (and found one, my 2nd call from the day before called back), but it took hours. Today, tents and supplies. I know that I need to get back to my own professional work, but, out of my mouth comes, "Let me call you later today."
Like the song says, "You don't always get what you want, but if you try real hard, you get what you need." I want to be at my old office, in my old chair, drinking coffee and practicing law. I don't like the feel of our temporary offices (small, crowded, in with another business), even though I am appreciative of the space. I don't like using my cell phone for everything. I don't like not having the comfort of files, cases, billings, income. I really enjoyed arriving early, putting up the American flag, and having the first cup of coffee with my law partner. I could see the beach every day. I liked watching the pelicans. I miss the normalcy of my past days.
But, I guess this is what I need. I need to be helping others. I need to keep my mind occupied and, frankly, there is nothing more creative than trying to find necessary things in a disaster area. I have found that most people have something they don't need, which is generally what someone else desperately needs. Basically, you call and tell everyone what you are looking for and wait. So, more phone calls today.
By Lunch:
I have talked to about 50 people today, including clients, cpersonnelonell, ministers, and national guard officials. No tents yet.
I have heard numerous stories. Who knows what is true or rumors. No one knows about the missing. People don't know if someone is missing, evacuated, or are dead. Because of our dependency on phones, cell phones, and the internet, all of which have serious problems here, you just have to hope for the best and be patient.
I do know these things. *True: One judge showed me a photograph of water in his second floor. He lives up the Tchoutacabouffa River, where the river crested at 28 feet above normal. A shrimper friend told me that this river crested at 32 feet just Â½ mile away. *False. People are scared about the new hurricane, Rita. A limited number of people know about it since most people have cable tv and it is down; however, most people just can't imagine a 2nd hurricane coming this way. *People need clothes: False. Clothing is being sent, but people don't need it and churches really don't need it. Clothes take up a lot of room, have to be cleaned, have to be sorted, and have to have people re-sorting everyday. No one has that kind of time. *The internet is helpful. False. Most internet is down because satellite dishes blew away, the cable is down everywhere, and telephone lines are down or getting high volume everywhere. I just check things when and where I can. If you will note, I don'thave any locals posting on this site. They probably can't. * Work Crews are needed: true and false. We don't need chainsaws. Locals have them and the early on both locals and work crews cleared the roads. The trees that are left need professionals with cranes and Bobcats. What is needed are people who will pull insulation and sheet rock out of houses so that the wood framing doesn't rot. We also need people with bleach and disinfectants cleaning salvageable houses. *We need money. Well, true. I am sure I will qualify for an SBA disaster loan, but, if you are an hourly worker, you are up the creek. Those people work for other people and those jobs won't exists until the business community gets up and running. We need a new WPA, putting people to work in government jobs that help the community--- cleaning streets and houses, working on infrastructure, doing environmental work in the Mississippi Sound and river-bayou systems--- public service work until regular jobs are available. Work, not handouts. Work.
Later.

Tom

Monday: A New Week!

2005-09-19T10:47:00.000-05:00

As an attorney, I mostly get calls from people who need help. It is a pleasant change to get calls from people wanting to help. People, not government, people. Churches, not government, churches. Very touching. I believe that if the people lead, the government will follow. People and churches are leading here in South Mississippi. You have already read in previous posts about the Methodist and Presbyterian response. The Baptist and Catholics are here also. I know, also, I am forgetting or not seeing the work of others. The Interim Presbytery Executive, Samford Turner, called me this weekend and noted that they are setting up tent cities for relief workers all along the Coast. The Methodist are already getting started on a permanent housing movement under an Interfaith Alliance umbrella (More later). Here are some recent calls to me:
Presbyterian church groups:
Sarah Kopacz
Grassboro, New Jersey
racoonlevens@hotmail.com
her church wants to adopt a small church in need
Rev. Andrew Chaney
Beaufort, South Carolina
islandchaneys@aol.com
his church wants to adopt a small church in need
Rev. Bill Bertzall
Orlando area, Florida
his church was to adopt a small church
I am leaving out many churches, but keep calling and writing and posting. We will match you up with a church. We are also starting another blog, Church to Church, with Blogger at Blogspot.com. When it is up fully, we will post a needs survey from various churches of all denominations.
Thanks again.
Tom

Saturday: One More Note

2005-09-17T09:43:00.000-05:00

We started this blog to record people's stories. Forgive me for bloggin my own. We got so busy with physical work, that we did not have time to sit and get stories. Next week, when things calm down, we start stories anew. Tom

Thursday's Child

2005-09-15T08:37:00.000-05:00

Thursday Child has far to go.
Yesterday was a good day. I have power. My plumber came and fixed the leaks (yes, plural) in the yard from fallen trees and telephone poles and from tractors. I bathed in my own house and changed into really clean clothes. Wonderful. Better than any movie I have ever been too. Of course, after bath, because the water is still suspect, we do a second peroxide bath.
I also have office space thanks to my partners and we have ordered computers and all the other equipment of offices. Capitol One was stinky about raising our credit limit by more than $500, which is silly because we don’t generally use credit because we pay cash. So, we had to use personal credit to buy things. I will think different about those Capitol One ads forevermore as I now feel the barbarians are also running the company.
My 17 year old son followed and helped me all week. He saw what I saw, heard the stories I heard, and smelled what I smelled. He saw grown men cry. He saw death signs. He saw signs of destruction on houses he knew and had visited before. He delivered food and water to people. He helped deliver generators and chainsaws to smaller community churches. He helped build temporary churches in flooded and destroyed neighborhoods using tarps and rope. The other day he said he really wanted a puppy. I took out and we drove to Hattiesburg, 75 miles away, and found a little yellow lab-ish puppy at that shelter. We call him Guv’nor, which is a story for later. Son is happy and very occupied.
Tony is back on the Coast and staying at my house. We hear the Habitat for Humanity is pledging to build 20,000 homes. We believe an interfaith alliance is possible and could build another 30,000 low income homes. I think we should re-think everything. We are a clean slate. Let’s build communities and neighborhoods and not just homes. Let’s build places where children are safe and where you can walk to school and church.
We have a clean slate, but , of course, we are Thursday’s Child.
Tom

Wednesday: Thinking about Life after Katrina

2005-09-14T12:07:00.000-05:00

A friend came back from evacuation in Jackson. She was in line at a convenience store talking to people about losses of houses, businesses, and things. The East Indian behind the counter heard everyone talking and said, " You are lucky to live here. The USA will build it all again."
He's right.
Today, my law partners and I found new office space. We have no files, no computers, no phones, no fax machines, no copiers, no pens or papers, but we have space. We had an office meeting at McDonald’s and assigned projects. We start work tomorrow at 8 a.m.

Tuesday: picking up pieces

2005-09-13T08:12:00.000-05:00

Tuesday.
Some days ago, I am not sure when, I was at my office. It is a block off the beach and has been redecorated: it used to be a 5,000 square foot law office filled with law gear but also antigues, paintings, my grandfather’s desk, and much more; it is now a driveway, concrete-tabby steps, and debris. I did not find a lot of my things, but I did find framed photos, some photo albums, and some personal things of others. Things that only a family member would want. I started setting them up on the concrete steps to dry, thinking maybe someone would find them. Saturday when I went by, there was only one picture left.

Monday: Sadness and Humor

2005-09-13T08:02:00.000-05:00

Monday.
This weekend we started to hear about deaths. A doctor in Hancock County died and, we hear, a doctor in Jackson County who had a hurricane proof house died along with all his family. I began to hear stories of tragedy in families. Now that two weeks has passed, people have already mourned the loss of their homes or businesses and I guess they are now finding about their friends and relatives. People have figured out the signs on houses. People are starting to look for others by cell phone or just visiting. However, the problem is that so many have had to abandon their homes, have no phones and no way to communicate. So, there are plenty of missing people, which adds to the fear of death. One Hancock County minister told my wife that he cannot find his congregation and is sadly making decisions about the church alone.
Amongst all this, people have kept their sense of humor. It is a remarkable human gift to make light of what can’t be changed. Here are some examples:
* We were driving down Highway 90 to Biloxi and saw the local goofy golf, Fun Time USA, and still standing was Humpty Dumpty, still on his wall.
* In Biloxi, the Ronald McDonald statute still stands and welcomes people, but the building is just beams and strewn about bricks.
* One torn up house has a sign in front: "Extreme Home Makeover".
* A Dodge Ram truck with a large tree imbedded across it has a sign, "Ram tough, not Katrina tough."
* A sign in front of one house has " Coast 0, Katrina 1, 1st half."
* One store had a sign that said, " No shoes, No shirt, No-rmal."
* We have borrowed the garden club sign that says "Yard of the Month" and are sticking it in front of friends houses and taking pictures of the sign in front of a damaged house, trees down, and piles of debris. We will frame and present them later.
*As we were making deliveries one day, our church van sputtered and spat and turned over and over with out starting. One of the ministers put his hands together like prayer and it turned over, then they laughed and laughed.
* Speaking of that van, it kept backfiring a lot and often in uneasy situtions, like when we passed police or Guard blockades. We started laughing that the National Guard was going to shoot back. Well, it was funny at the time.
* One resident who lives on 2nd Street, which parallels the beach highway, said this was really a good thing for the real estate market... now we have beach front for two and three blocks back from the beach.
* We are constantly laughing and marvelling about small things----
like how a house will be missing from a lot, but the periwinkles are still blooming in the front bed; or
how two 30-40' boats are just sitting, not crashed, in a cemetary about 300 yards from water, having mysteriously gotten through 50 yards of large trees, yet all the real and plastic flowers in the vases on the gravesites are still there;
how a wall will be missing but the dishes in the shelves against that wall are still there; or
how a piece of pine straw can be imbedded one inch into another tree trunk;
how people can laugh with such sadness all around.

Sunday: kindness

2005-09-11T16:39:00.000-05:00

Stories of salvage and little acts of kindness
"I stored a friend’s depression china at my house. My house blew away. When I finally went to the house, someone had found the china and carefully stacked it up on the front steps."
A neighbor found a civil war sword and carefully placed it at the nearest house where it could be found.
A friend was flooded and swam out to move his vehicles. He saved one. The next day he drove to Florida, which he thought might be the closest place open. He went to a Target store and was stopped because he had no shoes. He told the person that he had no shoes and was let in. The first thing he did was buy shoes and socks and put them on. Remember, he is in the clothes he had on the day before. He went up and down and bought his supplies. They took his credit card without even asking for his identity. Some miles down the road, he realized that he had walked out and not paid for his shoes. He drove back and apologized. The lady said that she and her co-workers already bought his shoes and to go on home.
An evacutee from the Coast was up state . Some of her friends wanted to help and wanted to know what they could do to help her or the Coast. She said she would find out. Later, she was at a convenience store and was, as we do, laughing off her loss of home and business with another person, also from the Coast, who lost their home. A third person in line said they lost their home also. They asked where he lived and he said, "Ridgeland" ( mid state near Jackson). His house had caught fire when the power came back on. She told him to follow her and led him back to her friends, who helped him. Random Incessant Acts of Kindness. Tom

Sunday: church and Dawn's story

2005-09-11T16:09:00.000-05:00

Great tragedy. Great church. Nothing more to say.
Dawn’s story:
Yesterday (Saturday, 9/10/05) was the toughest day I have experienced since I have returned to the coast. I came back to a slab 2 blocks off the beach in Waveland. I have been able to process loss of a home and contents. My family is intact. I have seen the papers each day with the body count. It was not until yesterday when I was told the names of two people I knew who had died. They had drowned. I was very upset. I had called a friend several times and finally made contact. I told him the names of the people that we both knew. He then told me the names of some other people we knew who had also drowned. He said there will be a lot of people we will know who have died. I was shaking my head in disbelief. I asked him how in God’s name he was still here...why I was able to talk to him today. He swam out of his home with his 2 dogs in the title surge as his home collapsed. He said, "I guess I’m a strong swimmer." The he said he had a lot to get done, he had to go and he would call me later.
I came down from Collins to Diamondhead on Monday afternoon, at 6 p.m., after the storm had hit. We got in at 12 p.m., a six hour drive that normally takes an hour and a half. We were going down Highway 59 and were about 7 miles south of Hattiesburg. Every community had its chainsaw brigade that had cut a swath for one car. All the traffic was stopped dead, head light to head light. I got out of my truck to see what was happening. I passed about 30 vehicles and saw about 40 vehicles coming toward us. No way to pass. A National Guardsman was up front and I said we need to let people pass and he said he did not have the authority to make that decision and so he can’t ask people to move because the Southbound people have the right of way. ISo, I just talked to everyone in my south bound line about backing up and letting people through and then we could all go our own ways, which we did.
My aunt and uncle had to leave their house. Water came in, the gas spilled and the fumes were everywhere. They couldn’t breathe. They climbed out from the attic vent and jumped into the water. The water was at least 25 feet deep and my aunt said it was surprisingly warm. They climbed onto a pontoon boat that was half sunk. The rain was cold though. They grabbed a tarp that was passing and wrapped themselves in it to protect them. They stayed there 4 hours. When the storm died down, they hitch-hiked North.
Dawn, Waveland, Ms.

Saturday: building churches

2005-09-11T16:08:00.000-05:00

Saturday.
It was a sad and happy day. We have visited a lot of churches and helped where we could. Some churches we looked for just don’t exist anymore. I know of a Methodist minister in Bay St. Louis, whose congregation has just dispersed and relocated temporarily. A few churches expressed sadness that they had no where to hold services. So, Saturday, my little group ( some New Yorkers, a retired minister and wife, Jack and Sally Smith from Grenada, and others and took all the tarps, rope, and other supplies we could pack and headed out. We built two churches. Well, not the Vatican, but as good as amatuers could muster with blue tarps. One church had no open space. Everything was debris covered. In fact, we had to make several detours to get to the church and were amazed at all the death signs on houses–for three blocks, both sides of the street, in this one section. One road had an old oak tree cleared just on the street. It must have been about 5 feet in diameter and the middle section had been cut and cleared out. So, we used the street and made a 30 x 50 tent right in front of the church. The other church had some space and we were able to put up two tents, side by side, and had a 24 x 30 covered area, with clean chairs and a place for the podium. We had driven there almost on empty, and just hoped we could get back. That poor, destroyed church found 3 gallons of gas for me.
A lot of the ministers we see are shell shocked. They are used to dealing with tragedy and death and destruction, but not so much, so long, so heart wrenching, so pervasive. They all look like they need a day off from tragedy. I was speaking with a minister and one set men and they asked me what the painted signs on the houses meant. This area flooded 7 to 8 feet high. They don’t have radio or television. I explained what I knew and how some of the signs mean a dead person. They were stunned. I saw great sadness overwhelm them. One man went into his destroyed church and just cried and cried.
We got back late and heard about a third church that needed some place to hold services. We headed back.
Long day, Tom

Friday report: WHERE IS FEMA?

2005-09-11T16:01:00.000-05:00

Friday was one of those days when you have found yourself endlessly busy during the day but at night you wonder what you really did. Nothing and little things are time consuming.
Friday morning, our New Yorkers, fresh after breakfast helped a local pediatrician clean out his flooded house so that he could get back to his clinic, where he is really needed. My son and I worked on the satellite—yes, again -- with seventeen year old son figuring out a short cut to evade the problems within an hour. I helped a few people send emails and then left Trinity Methodist Church.
I should say, at this point, that the church response to Katrina has been wonderful. As we deliver things, we play a "Where’s Waldo" like game, "Where’s FEMA". After more than a week, I saw my first FEMA people, four or five guys taking photos on Highway 90, the beach road. On the other hand, I have seen plenty of evidence that church people are responding. By no means is this a definitive list, its just what I have seen or can remember: Trinity Methodist Church, Gulfport (lunch feeding program, bagging two days supplies of food, and provisioning families), with special Kudos to Lonnie Shelton who runs the work crews and other things; St. James Baptist Church, where Rev. Eddie Hartwell is feeding the hungry and clothing the poor, along with helping other ministers organize their own response, with special kudos to Miss Correna Robinson, the "Mother of the Church" who I wish would adopt me; Westminster Presbyterian Church, which is supplying the generators, chain saws, tarps, roof tacks, lights and other hardware items (the items I am helping distribute to smaller and needful churches of all denominations), with special kudos to Pete Bloss and Dave Carlson; First Presbyterian Church, Gulfport, working from my law partner’s house (his message machine answers with the name of our lawfirm, First Presbyterian Church, and the home of Tim and Libby) and passing out provisions wherever they can; Pass Road Baptist Church, which has partnered with a North Carolina Baptist Church and runs a free café; to name a few. I hear from ministers whose congregation wants to adopt a family or provide a home for a year. I have not mentioned everyone and every church, but, believe me, without the churches feeding people and providing services, the death toll would be much, much higher.
Besides the churches, people have responded. We see tractor trailer trucks of things coming in from Indiana, Florida, Tennessee. I meet people, like my New York friends, who just came, didn’t have a plan, but just came.
Random, incessant, acts of kindness.
Tom

September 9- Hope Returns

2005-09-09T10:36:00.000-05:00

Sometime, everday, I well up and cry. Can't help it. Its not my losses (business, personal items, building), its the kindness I see all around me. I hear so many stories, so many I don't have time to write them down, so many that if I wrote them down, I wouldn't have time to do anything else. Everyone needs to and wants to tell you there story, but after the telling--they are relieved, they laugh, they generally have a wonderful attitude.

I am fortunate to know Greg Stewart. Greg left the law practice some years ago (which some say is a sign of his great wisdom) and owns a local Holiday Inn. You may have heard of his business as he let Marine Life porpoises stay in his pool during the Hurricane. [ I understand they are vacationing in Florida now]. Greg is housing my son and I, a variety of aid workers, and a number of Methodist coming into the area. He is a kind, gracious, generous, and funny host and is unfazed by our use of his beds, his couches, his showers, his washer-dryer, and his red wine. Hopefully, Greg will write his story and I will post it later.

This morning I awoke with Rivers, Greg's dog, nudging my face. Everyone stirred, had coffee and we went off. This morning is typical. Yesterday, I heard from two churches who need tents, one who wants to hold services where their church used to be and the other who needs to shade people eating at their kitchen. I mention this to about five people. Today, I have two tents available and being delivered. I feel like Moses, trusting that things will just appear. On the way to our two church homes-- Westminster Presbyterian and Trintiy Methodist- we stop at a working Waffle House. We let a lady join us, Miss Genna, whose story is here . I take my New Yorkers to a doctor's house. He can't get to his clinic because his house was terribly flooded. The New Yorkers, the LaRoccos, have posted here. I tell people they are my newly adopted 1st cousins once removed-- removed by the Civil War. The New Yorkers will help get the doctor back to his clinic. Meanwhile, my son has the satellite and internet working.

Outside is like a beehive. You hear sounds from all over--generators at houses; chain saws; bulldozers; power company trucks (who do an outstanding job. Thanks); trucks pulling in; the sounds of unloading and boxing and bagging and cooking.

Most people seem happy. An incredible thing, but a thing of hope and assured better days and the aftermath of a good meal and a bath. Tragedy always puts one's life in perspective.

Until later, Tom;
Hoping Tony will post some more pictures later.

Here are some photos from Wednesday. While preparing and posting the shots from our trip to Waveland and Bay St. Louis, I noticed these two images of hope. In the midst of unspeakable damage we can choose to see only cinderblocks and siding... a broken tree with some cloth... or perhaps, with eyes of faith, we may see the cross and hope.

Tony

Photos: "Crucifix" (above) and "Cinderblock Cross".
Tony Proctor, 09-07-2005, Waveland, MS

Thursday, September 8th

2005-09-08T17:19:00.000-05:00

We had another day of hard work, organization, and phone calls. Today, we delivered more generators and chainsaws to small churches, directed work crews to homes, and ran around trying to answer people's questions and see to their needs. Everyone gets tired. We have some wonderful volunteers here and coming here. Some great Methodists from Ackerman helped in the kitchen and food distribution. Some NYC guys, wonderful guys, cleaned a house that had been flooded with water and sewage AND were grateful for the ability to give their time and cheerful. Pretty remarkable. Some of the comments today I am loading myself, having had the persons either type them into my computer off site or having had them dictate them. Read their stories. Tom

Wednesday, September 7th

2005-09-07T10:42:00.000-05:00

As a Mississippian, I am proud that the Magnolia trees are standing straight and tall while the pines and oaks have cracked and fallen. As a churched person, I am proud of the individual efforts of persons of faith who, despite their personal losses of houses, businesses, cars, and possessions and who despite their own fears and sadness, pick themselves up, come to the aid of their neighbors and those they don't know. I am proud of the community soup kitchens that have sprung up at numerous churches. Mission work at home. Today, we deliver. The Presbyterian Church has obtained generators and chain saws and we will be going to community churches that need power. Trinity Methodist is still distributing food. Westminister will be delivering the supplies to other churches. We hope that the personal stories related here, not diluted by news media, provide a human face to this inhuman tragedy.

Photo: Katrina's waters lay a pair of boats to rest in a cemetary off Old Cowan-Loraine Road.
Tony Proctor, Gulfport, MS.

Tom and Tony

Tuesday September 6th

2005-09-06T09:40:00.001-05:00

We got the site up yesterday, late, and were unable to do more before the main generator had to be turned off. We have a large commercial generator that is helping run the kitchen and fans and the computers. We have a sattlelite dish that is transmitting this signal. We hope that during the day those people eating lunch here will post their stories. We will also be posting pictures. We will also post sites that will have more information on helping.

The photo ,"Katrina's Cross With Stole", was provided
by Fallon Jewel, Gulfport, MS

Tom and Tony

Aftermath

2005-09-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

This blog intends to record the personal experiences of residents of Coastal Mississippi during and after Hurricane Katrina passed over. We are not attempting to be a news format, only a vehicle for people to tell their stories.

We are connected at the Trinity Methodist Church on the Coast, which is acting as a distribution center and, also, cooking several thousand meals a day. We hope that you will hear from a wide variety of people who have lost their homes, their offices, their family memorabilia, and businesses. We hope that you will also those governmental and church people from various parts of the country who came to help.

Tony and Tom