Today is the last day of September and Fall is not in the air ... will be in the high 80's today. Of course, the local weather forecasters have already called it a "gorgeous" day. I am not faulting their upbeat mood, maybe that's the way they see it, but predicting a high of 87 today is not Fall weather. Some of you may have noticed that I have been reminiscing about the past. That's normal, my late husband and I met in the Fall, married in the Fall and I celebrated my birthday this month... his would have been next month. So when October ends, I will be happily preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I have not been posting many pics as there has been nothing new to show you, All the problems that have been reported in our areas are still on-going. People who lost their homes were given a rightful reprieve on their mortgages but that is to end on October 4th and a demand for payment of entire mortgage could take place. It's such a dilemma for the lending institutions too. A foreclosure means the house and property is taken back and sold but now, in so many cases, there is only land that remains. Someday, this too shall pass.
It looks like the red roofed house below is going to be repaired, it faces the beach.
Cruisin' the Coast is back! Blake Shelton will be at Pascagoula Beach Park on the 3rd. Nobody But Me
It's 6:30PM and I hope the weather has settled down. Dave, my son-in-law, called this morning asking if he could come pick me up as I live in a low lying area. When he arrived I told him I was taking my car too and would follow behind him .I would wager a bet that most everyone who lives in this area have become reluctant to leave their transportation behind. It was flash flooding when we left my house and we soon found ourselves driving through some pretty deep water. A few days ago Dave bought a nice Jeep Wrangler and as I drove behind him I was thinking, "I bet he is having fun". I was too! It sounds nuts but our lives have been so unsettled in the past two years that we have learned to enjoy what is presented us. We made it safely to their house where we went through a couple more heavy downpours. I mentioned to my daughter that we have been RUNNING for a little over two years now... she agreed. So this song is for all of us down here. There is always victory at the end.
Oh! I am not smoking the cigarette, the pianist is..
Chariots of Fire
When there was a break in the weather, I decided to come back home. There has been one heavy downpour since I came home and more rain is expected tonight. I still have the backporch furniture inside and my bags are still packed .. so I am ready!
Before the night is over, I just have a comment to at least document the craziness that is going on with the weather. What is all the hype about a depression? A depression doesn't call for evacuations unless someone knows that it is going to "sneak" in as Humberto did. It's just not me stumped about the weather... so are meteorologists. Many times I wonder if it is all about oil especially when it involves our coastal areas. Is it just a coincidence that all these storms are hitting Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi?
In Mississippi, the Corp of Engineers has plans to build an 8ft. or higher concrete wall on our shoreline from Jackson County to Hancock County and levees that extend back to the railroad tracks to catch the runoff. That would pretty much destroy the coastline wouldn't it? There are people that have homes under construction on the beaches.
I will let you know tomorrow what happens here.
There is a tiny bit of autumn in the air, the temperature has dropped from the high 90's to the high 80's. I certainly will be glad as there is no tree on the west side of my house and it gets very hot. Years before I moved into my house the next door neighbor had a huge oak in his yard cut down. He likes to tell me how it shaded my house at one time. I told him I was going to plant a tree and he said , "I sure hope it's not a popcorn tree, I hate them." Well guess what, I have been nurturing a popcorn sapling (a Chinese tallow) in my backyard and it is almost 5ft. tall now... it will be planted in October. They grow very fast so maybe in a couple of years I will have shade.
Today I watched the New Orleans Saints play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I had watched their first game of the season and the Colts ran all over them. Sadly, it was no better this time. Anita, Dave, I and the boys were cheering them on but very soon our spirits went down. How can one team be defeated so much? You actually get angry with them. Maybe having a name like the Saints makes them too nice and they should change their name to the New Orleans Grinders. Regardless, we are there for the Saints and will watch their third game Just maybe with any luck... they will win.
Gone are the days that I will have many pictures of construction. It is moving slowly, very slowly. The picture below is of the apartment complex off Ingalls Avenue. I had reported it should be finished by the end of the year but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. Still ... it is looking good.
The next picture is of linemen working. They are in front of a new Chevron gas station and convenience store that are being rebuilt.
Has the world gone mad? I read news from not only our local area but the BIG networks like CNN, FOX MSNBC and somehow it is all twisted. For instance... a local woman gave birth to a stillborn baby and she was charged with manslaughter because cocaine was found in her system. Yet each day all over the world babies are aborted and the abortionist nor their patient is accused of murder ... that's twisted. I followed the story of the woman who killed her minister husband with several shotgun blasts and she was set free ... that's twisted. I sense the despair in our young people who have no role models. The suicide rate around the country should alert us to take action and do a "turn-a-round".
In our local areas, so much time seems to be wasted. I can understand the high ideals of each city but can't understand the slow approach to bring us back to a more normal way of life. Downtown Pascagoula has a beautiful new locally owned bank, a very nice city library and a new post office is under construction but the condition of the city streets detracts from the beauty. It's sort of like a birthday cake that is not garnished with "rosettes". Street Repairs
How about "sneaky" Humberto? I have often remarked in my blogs that Katrina didn't fit the description of a normal hurricane but, I have to hand it to her, she didn't sneak in.... she knew exactly where she was going! Humberto
At this writing, the skies are overcast with distant thunder. It is predicted that Humberto will bring drenching rain to the central part of Mississippi. Somehow I am not satisfied that the coast is safe now that hurricanes can "sneak" !
It was pretty frightening about the B2 stealth bomber carrying nuclear weapoms from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana wasn't it? I have been searching for news today and I have found nothing. Yesterday it was "chalked up" to just a mistake. There were warhead tips on the weapons and they were mounted under the wings of the aircraft. I call that more than a mistake don't you? We were told not to worry as enemy aircraft couldn't have overtaken the stealth as it never left the US. I guess that was suppose to make us feel good.
Of course, this reminds me of a story.... My young husband was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. In those days girls stayed in their parents home until marriage. I had never been alone until the evening my husband was called to nightshift. I couldn't call him but he said he would call to check on me. He left to go to an offbase destination site. They wore badges and were told that if the badge turned red to notify whoever was in charge and he would reset it. Nothing to worry about.... very little radiation. Anyway, I am getting off the subject. I heard all kinds of noises that night and by the time he did call, I was hysterical. He said, "Hang on." A minute later he was back on the line after getting an okay from someone and said, "Ruth get in the car and drive here, I will meet you at the gate." True to his word he and several other young airmen were waiting at the gate to let me in. I spent the night with seven airmen ... one of them was my husband. We played cards until dawn until George was off duty. Was that a breach of security? You bet it was! Was it a mistake? No it was a deliberate action!
Today is Thursday... where did the previous days go? I take it as a good sign as I have been so busy with other things that time seems to fly as it did before Katrina. The problems I am attempting to take care of are not "fun" ... they involve the dreaded "doctor". My last appomtment was with a neurologist that wants to take care of the two numb fingers on my left hand. I sat and listened to what the surgery would be like and the complications that can follow and then made up my mind. At this writing I can live with numb fingers.
On the anniversary of Katrina, I didn't attend the "celebration" as it is called ... there were only a handful in attendance and most of those were officials. We (Dave and Anita) marked the occasion in a personal way by visiting one another. Of course, we reiterated the storm. In my writings there are things that I didn't speak about that we went through, as I considered them too personal. We had no bathroom privileges at all. The sewage had backed up into the house and thus we could not flush the toilets. There were three children , the fourth being the newborn baby. So my daughter (Anita) put each of the children's name on a large coffee can and labeled it their "potty". My grandson George was the oldest and he absolutely refused this "atrocity" saying "I will never, never go to the bathroom for the rest of my life." Luckily, we didn't have to use these primitive cans as we didn't have enough to eat or drink. Anita also put a makeshift clothesline in the backyard where she hung underwear that she had washed using a gallon of drinking water. The few towels that were on the line dried as hard as concrete. Seemingly, overnight, we were setback to what existed over 100 yrs. ago.
What I didn't tell you was, when I went to my home on August 31st and stayed the night, as I lay in the recliner I thought I would die that night. The heat was unbearable so I opened the door that leads to the garage hoping to create a draft. I had laid a flashlight on the washing machine to give me some light in the darkness.. there were roaches everywhere. I closed my eyes and went to sleep knowing if it be God's will that I would wake up in the recliner or paradise. I awakened in the recliner. went back to my daughter and her family. God is great, later that day we would all come back to my house and air conditioning. All of us who experienced Katrina will never forget nor will we ever take for granted the things we do have. I have posted a few pics below of ongoing construction. We are progressing but personally I don't think we will have all the things that were envisioned.
Westwood
Westwood
Washington
