This is mostly a fun blog that's not too deep. Don't wanna be getting all serious and stuff!LOL But living on the Gulf Coast changed quite a bit after Hurricane Katrina...and I'd like to start documenting some of my memories weekly. Many little known things stand out in my mind. Please feel free to comment on your own memories if you'd like. These are things we will be discussing with our grand kids one day so I'd like to keep my memories in tact. You know, the "I remember back in the day" sort of things.
Many people lost their homes and were displaced after the storm. We were one of the fortunate families that did not. But, we lost our school, church, grocery stores, gas stations, library...I could go on and on...but one thing everyone shared that was not lost was their perseverance. We have come a long way baby...
A year after the storm, my oldest son, Patrick, started 7th grade at St. Stanislaus in Bay St Louis. The Bay bridge was still out so we would have to drive the LONG way around to get him to school. It usually took about 45 minutes to get there and 45 minutes back. Needless to say, your whole day was driving. They ended up putting a temporary ferry in Pass Christian for people and cars. Looking back, I now think, "how cool was that?" Being able to ride in your car, on a boat, rolling your windows down to feel the breeze, you could even get out of your car if you wanted to. Sometimes we would drop Patrick off at the ferry with some other St.Stanislaus boys and they would ride on top of the ferry and drink coffee (a rare treat for a tween)! My younger kids especially liked it. They loved riding on it and when we had to wait on the ferry we would get out and walk on the beach. I know they will look back on "those days" fondly when they are older.
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For whatever it's worth, my wife grew up in Gulfport and still has plenty of family and friends that went through Katrina including her parents and sister. We live far east of that region in Tallahassee, Florida but ironically we were affected by Katrina. The major phone hub for all the major long distance carries in this area of Florida, south Georgia and southeast Alabama happened to be located in New Orleans and when it went out, no one could make long distance phone calls in Tallahassee. Believe it or not. You could make local calls and in-state calls but not long distance via a landline. Cell phones worked okay for all calls. I worked for a TV station at the time and the situation with the LD calls really played havok.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my wife and I didn't get the chance to go back there until 10 months after the storm (my inlaws were medical evac'ed to Birmingham and had just got back the month before we left and had moved into a new home in Biloxi -- their old home in Gulfport in the Brickyard Bayou area which survived Hurricane Camille with only 5 foot water was covered completely with water [25+ feet] and a total loss). My wife and I drove from east Biloxi all the way to Bay St. Louis taking pictures and see the places we knew like Pirate's Cove restaurant where we used to get roast beef po'boys, Grasslawn where our wedding reception was held, White Cap restaurant at the marina, and even our first apartment in Long Beach (which we referred to as "our love nest over the dumpster" -- long story) -- all completely washed away. We're happy that Pirate's Cove, White Cap and Grasslawn are either back or being rebuilt. If you're interested, many of the photos I took on that trip are viewable at http://anniemayhem.com/portfolio/index.html and also at http://www.panoramio.com/user/1016490
Thanks Carl for sharing your pics. Brought back some memories. My daughter was going to school at First Baptist Preschool before Katrina. Now my youngest is attending in their brand new beautiful church/preschool more inland. I love Pirates Cove's po boys too! You will be happy to know they are rebuilt now too! The Coast is coming back, slowly but surely!
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