Eight months ago....

Eight months or so ago my world changed forever, the physical part anyway. We are now working on a new normal. Highway 90 goes right along the beach from Bay St Louis to Ocean Springs. It is still makes me sad to drive down it. It's like a friend said, it is almost as if we are in a funeral procession, because we are still stunned to see the devastation that Katrina brought us. The beach front had some beautiful hundred year old houses and churches that are just gone.

I spent the hurricane in Baton Rouge with my youngest daughter. And, I have to admit that I did not believe that the hurricane was going to be as bad as it was. There was wind damage even in Baton Rouge and that is about an hour and a half from the coast. We prepared though. We got in extra food and diapers and bottled water. And, then sat back and waited. It was not an option to go anywhere, traffic was so bad that some of the people who did try to evacuate gave up and came home.

I slept on the couch and woke up early Monday. The wind was already howling around the buildings and the power was off. Over the next three or four hours we watched tree limbs breaking and falling. We watched the parking lot to see if it was going to flood. But, mostly we sat and wondered what was happening over here on the Mississippi Coast. If you are ever here when we are expecting a hurricane, you might hear us joking about how we need a new roof or that we wanted to remodel anyway. Trust me, these are just whistling past the graveyard jokes.

Since we had no power to watch TV and the phones were iffy, we did not know the extent of the damage. I tried to call my oldest son who sat out the hurricane up in Saucier.....which is only about ten miles north of the coast. Finally, my oldest daughter who lives in Michigan got through to us to tell us what she was seeing on CNN. I could hear the stress and fear in her voice, so I knew it was worse that even she was telling us. Just before we lost connection she said that David (my son) had managed to get through to her. That was a relief to know that he and his family were not hurt. He told her that he was told that all the houses down by my house had gotten a lot of water. My house NEVER floods. Suddenly the jokes about remodeling were no longer funny.

That was the last news we got until Wednesday, two days after the hurricane. David got through to tell me he had checked my house and it was ok, except for the roof. I started breathing a little easier. We still did not have power, which meant no news. (It also meant no A/C. And, I can tell you that it is seriously hot and muggy after a hurricane. There is not even a breeze. I will tell you too that when the guy across the street came in every afternoon and started up his generator we told each other all the evil things we would like to see happen to him.)

Finally, Wednesday evening the lights came on. The sounds of windows and doors slamming lasted about ten minutes. I am surprised that there was not a brown out from all the A/Cs coming on at once. Then, we turned on the TV and sat down to see what the world had been seeing for three days. Still, I guess because it was on TV, it did not seem real. My son turned on the computer and found a NOAA website that showed the area. He found his best friend's house. It looked as if a giant had come through and ripped the roof off the house, swept the house itself away and then put the roof on the ground.

I did not come back here till the next Wednesday. I drove over to see for myself that my house was really ok. The first thing that struck me was that there was hardly any traffic on the interstate. And, what traffic there was, was convoy's of National Guards, and of electric company trucks from all over the country. And, the smaller convoys of people from the different churches and organizations from all over the country who were on their way to help. People, ordinary everyday people, took time from their jobs, and their families to come to the coast to help. Just because help was needed.

Driving into Gulfport was surreal. The power was still off in most areas. Debris was still on the roads. People who had stayed home and rode out the hurricane had a look in their eyes. The Katrina Look. I drove down my street and when I saw the live oak tree in my front yard I stopped the car and cried. That tree was only as tall as my waist when I bought this house and now it shades the whole front part of my yard and house. Most of it was still there, but it had taken a beating. It's still lopsided, but I see new limbs sprouting, so it is going to be fine.

I did not go down to the beach that day. I was not ready. It was late October before I finally did drive down the beach. Pictures and news footage are ok. It does not compare to actually seeing the church that is just a shell now,or the yards piled with debris and garbage, or Marine Life gutted. Not one building was left untouched and most were destroyed.

My oldest daughter came down last month. It was her first time seeing it firsthand. Her youngest son was surprised to see that things were not all cleaned up and rebuilt.

The coast is coming back. Houses are being rebuilt and businesses reopening. There are still piles of debris and blue FEMA roofs though.

Hurricane season begins again in June.