Our Brush With Ike

The last 24 hours have been absolutely exhausting. Just leaving my house to be with my daughter and her family meant I had to pack up once again what I would need. I have not quite recuperated from our trip to Atlanta, Ga where we made an attempt to put distance between ourselves and Gustav ... then along comes Ike. I am very happy to say that we came through very well. Last evening the winds were gusting at 30 to 40 mph as it passed us. There was not much rain in our area and personally I am very glad as I live off River Road and the Pascagoula River was rising and spilling over its banks. Had I stayed in my house I would have been trapped as the bridge to my left went underwater and the road to my right was beginning to flood when I left the house but I knew that I could return for a couple of hours and relax as we were at low tide. I returned to daughter's house about 6PM last evening. After a relatively uneventful night, at 10AM this morning I packed and started winding my way back home and this is what I found on the same road I came out on. I made a feeble attempt to drive a short distance through the water before I backed out ... there was a current.


A little later Anita and I went to take pictures. I have still shots of Beach Boulevard but I can't top her video. My video lasts a minute and the syrupy voice you hear is mine but don't let it fool you, "I am tough as nails". "smile" Will post a few more pictures tomorrow.

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I remember saying that I would write about Katrina since we are nearing a third anniversary but sometimes life takes over, either fairly or unfairly. Unfortunately, I moved next door to a problem that most likely has existed for years. Here's how the new problem started ... after Katrina there were vast amounts of debri brought to the front of our properties for pickup and heavy equipment with claws scooped the piles up but also the dirt and grass that was in your yard. My right front yard started eroding and got to a point that it was time to try to do something about it. About three weeks ago, on a Saturday, Dave, Anita and I laid the beginning sod. The next day I had the sprinkler going on the sod and walked out later to change it's direction. The neighbor was standing in his drive and trying to be nice I said, "Hello ". That was the first mistake, the second was that I asked, "What do you think?" He angrily said, "You need to take it up and have dirt hauled in here, it will never grow." I said, "I didn't know what to do, so I did something". He exploded, "I just told you what to do but you think you know everything and you won't listen to me." I didn't respond to his anger, I went inside.

Monday morning I had the sprinkler watering the sod and walked out to change its direction and couldn't believe what I saw. He had backed his car, that was loaded with broken concrete, up the hill on my sod and was unloading it from my yard. I said, "Please get off my grass, you are going to tear it up". He sneered and said, "I am not hurting your grass and besides it won't grow anyway." I kept asking that he get off my property and I bet you kn0w what was coming when someone is out of control. He started cursing me and calling me names and topped off this assault with a threatening finger pointed at me, "Don't you dare ever speak to me again." I waited until I got inside before I laughed. This man has set my backyard fence on fire, piled trees in front of my house and trespasses. Did I mention all the sleepless nights when he chose the midnight hour to hammer or blow his driveway?

It was garbage pickup today and I watched as he dragged his garbage can up my sod, in my yard, to put it back in the unsightly mess he has on the property line. The cops have been of no help so it's useless to call them. The picture below of the sod shows spots but it is growing. Actually, I am suspicious of the brown spots. Wouldn't you be? A moving van is also pictured at the neighbor on his right side that have put a "For Sale" sign in their yard.

I bought a Dell PC and the CD drive was bad as were other things, probably the motherboard since it showed that it had two processors and two C drives. I am waiting on a new CPU as without it this one tends to crash. Each time you get a new CPU you lose everything you have and that requires putting it all back. My daughter helps me with most of it. Our nerves are frazzled from living a Katrina life but we never get to name calling. "smile" Only complete strangers do that!

I shall return!

Well I am working with only a part of my new computer until a new CPU arrives. In the meantime, for your entertainment and to vent my frustration, I have pictures below looking from my front door toward a neighbor with deep seated problems. HELP!



Be back as soon as I can!

I am setting up a new PC and it's a pain. Anything on my blog that requires a plug in is not working at the time but will hopefully return to normal soon.

Katrina's Children Critique

My daughter was recently sent a copy of a documentary entitled Katrina's Children and was asked to review it and give her critique. As most of you know, she has five children and has been repairing damage to her home so she passed the CD for my review as to its content until she could give her review. This morning I received an email from Katrina's Children and was asked to give a review also since I had grandchildren involved. So here is my attempt to do the well put together documentary justice.

The setting is in New Orleans and one child was from Buras, Louisiana.

The first thing I noticed was that these children didn't need a script. They spoke and cried naturally about what they had experienced especially in the aftermath of Katrina. There is a longing in all of them for the return of a life they once knew. They have lost not only their homes and possessions but, as one young boy said, a part of themselves. They walk through deserted, desolate neighborhoods and go up to houses that they identify as their homes and all you see is a pile of rubble beyond repair. They will show you pictures that they have drawn which clearly depict their emotions. As I watched, I thought about my carefree happy childhood and that of my own children. I cried for these children and the many more that are out there and hurting.

It's an excellent documentary that I highly recommend that you watch. I also suggest you keep the Kleenex near by, I was teary eyed the entire time. To see a child hurt is heart wrenching. What can we do for them? How can we let them know that life can get better?

My grandchildren were ages, 8, 7, 2 and 17 days old when the storm came in on Pascagoula, Mississippi and destroyed their home. During the storm we kept them away from the windows so as not to frighten them further by the horrific destructive force that was taking place outside. The 8 yr. old said doing the storm, "I don't want to die." They have had a rough time at such a young age. They had to sleep on the floor, had to eat whatever we could get together, they were bitten by mosquitoes, they suffered from the heat, they had nothing to play with, they saw all the destruction that no child should have to see, they saw people asking for clothing and food, living in tents and they have seen countless rows of fema trailers. (4500 fema trailers and mobile homes are still in south Mississippi). For 3 yrs. they have been watching their Mom and Dad repair their home. In August 2007, the 7 yr. old who was 9 yrs. old at the time said to me, as we were putting distance between us and an oil refinery explosion, "Nana, I don't think I can take it this time if we lose our house or my things."

Yes my grandchildren are Katrina Children as are children from many cities and parishes in Louisiana and the state of Alabama. I asked earlier in this post, "How can we help them?" Why not add an acknowledgment at the beginning or end of the documentary that recognizes that they are all truly Katrina Children, as indeed they are, and have not been forgotten..

The Fourth of July has come and gone once again. Although the day was an enjoyable one spent with Anita, Dave and the children, I reneged on attending the fireworks display that evening. My reasoning on my reluctance to go was when a person grows older they have seen many fireworks displays and that all of them are virtually the same as previous years, so I stayed home. Well, that may have been my thought at the time but as it turned out my lack of enthusiasm was because I was tired. I have an ever-changing thyroid problem and it became apparent yesterday as I fell asleep many times during the day. I actually was surprised when I awoke this morning fairly refreshed and ready to do something constructive.

Our days are hot and humid here, which is normal but what hasn't been normal this year is there are no bees, butterflies, hummingbirds etc. that are needed to make flowers grow. I literally have two flowers ... a Cosmos and a now beginning to die Poinsettia. I have said that I have seen many fireworks displays and I can also say that I have never experienced a time when flowers refuse to grow and a Christmas flower that refuses to die.


The pictures below were taken on July 4th in a short drive around Pascagoula.






My daughter Anita and I have always enjoyed doing a variety of projects together. She usually finds that such a project exists and I willingly enter into it with her. We have an apostolate making mission rosaries. Mission rosaries are simple to make using twine and different colored beads. So far, we have shipped to Africa and Florida.

I got tagged by Anita over at "Did We Survive Hurricane or Not"

“The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.”

1) What were you doing 5 years ago?

For the first 5 months of that year I was packing, throwing out, giving away "things" I had accumulated over the years so that I could move back to my hometown.

2) What are 5 things on your to-do list for today?

1. Weed the monkey grass that lines the sidewalk.
2. Scrape paint off a wicker mirror that I sprayed.
3. Drive around taking pictures of new construction.
4. Do a little reading and of course browse the Internet.
5. Say my daily prayers.

3) What are 5 snacks you enjoy?

Cashews, cereal, hershey bar with almonds (the big one). bananas, milk

4) What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?

1. I enjoy giving to people and with more money I would do much more.
2. I would go to Paris if I could get there without having to fly.
3. I would have a professional gardener take all the dead plants out of my yard on a regular basis and put in new ones.
4. I would hire a handyman that specializes in doing the difficult work around the house, like cleaning rain gutters and changing light bulbs that can't be reached easily.
5. I would buy a yacht and go fishing for the big ones.


5) What are five jobs you’ve had?

1. My first job was as a box office cashier at a movie theater.
2. My second was at Ingalls Shipyard where I served as an executive secretary.
3. A Wife
4. A Mother
5. Did doctors and merchants general ledgers (bookkeeper) also served in the capacity of personnel manager and when husband died I served as CEO of company.

Okay now comes the tough part of this... I do not have anyone to send this to. Annitta!! So here's what I will do, I am going to tag everyone on the list that I received. How about that?

1. George of the appropriately titled blog The Procrastinator
2. Pisceshanna from Cost of Living
3. Mama T at Life Changes after Birth
4. AlexnStephensMommy over at Toddler Tactics
5. Anita at Did We Survive Hurricane Katrina or Not

Just a short post to catch you up on what I have been doing especially to explain the montage video posted below. We are still rebuilding and will be for a long time. I drove around for only a short time yesterday and today snapping a few pics as it seems when gas prices rise the additives that give good mileage are no longer "added". Personally, my fence that was burned back in December by a neighbor's explosive attempt at burning trash was repaired less than a week ago, by HIM.

I will write later about all the pros and cons happening down here. Until then...!

Pascagoula, Mississippi

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Today is Sunday and I am almost "boarded up" in the house. The weather has been very hot and is in much need of rain. Friday Dave and Anita cut the grass for me as I sometimes am not quite up to the chore. Anita came in after cutting the front yard and said the noise of the lawnmower had chased a snake out from the monkey grass which lines the front walkway. While Dave was cutting the back yard small newly hatched frogs were jumping up into the air. Lots of them. I don't want to turn on the sprinklers as more will come for water. Poor creatures.

I read again that the state, in case of a hurricane threat, will send buses to pick up people if they have no way to evacuate. Taking your own vehicle is sort of frowned on as it always causes traffic congestion and now, with the price of gasoline, it's a good time don't you think for all of us to board a State bus that will take us away from the coast? I certainly don't feel that way. There are catastrophes all around us and for some reason Mississippi and Louisiana are the two most singled out states that they say do not prepare for disasters. Everyone should know that no matter where you live, you can't stock up on medication. Luckily, for a lot of us, one lone pharmasist gave us what we needed. We had a lot of non perishable food and water but all that was destroyed. In my lifetime, I have been in a couple of shelters and many times what is predicted to happen doesn't happen. Those of a certain age with health problems will not make it out alive or later it will hasten their death.. It's miserable. You are just as hot, hungry and thirsty. Dave, Anita and I used ingenuity and survived. We were in control and found a way. If I read one more article on us being complacent, I will explode.

On a lighter note, about the weather and strange things happening. Every Christmas, I have always had a couple of poinsettia flowers which never lived past Christmas. They usually shriveled up and died before the season ended. This past year I put the two I had outside in freezing weather in their pots. No big deal there as they like cold. Even when the heat arrived and stormy weather blew them around the driveway, they survived (Like Katrina). They are now planted in my yard, one is still "red"... I took the picture this morning.

BOOMING AND SPLASHING

I am thinking about going out next week to take a few pictures to show you. I haven't been doing that for awhile now as there is nothing new in the way of development ..... that speaks for the rest of the Coast too. But let me tell you ... we are certainly Ka-Booming and Splash Padding. I don't see that as development when people are in trailers and nothing much has been done for them in the way of affordable housing. People are worried about insurance on their homes and cars. The cost of food is outrageous as is gasoline. June 1st is the beginning of hurricane season and I am here to tell you that in 3 yrs. there have been no shelters built. If we are ordered to leave the area most of us won't be able to afford the gas or hotel prices. I recently read where Apple Computer is going to locate in Ridgeland, Mississippi, just north of Jackson. How does that help us? Development seems to continue going north of us. Despite what the news reports, it is far from the truth. I have been reading about disasters around our country over the past years and it seems the aide money was never of benefit to the people. So we are not being picked on ... it seems to be a natural order. Them first and peons last or never.

Well, that's my "two cents worth" you might say but, to us, it's our life.

I PREFER A TANDEM

Today is shaping up to be a very hot Sunday on the Coast which certainly isn't the climate that is required to produce a nice lawn or flowers. As time passes down here, it becomes less desirable to plant a garden. Why? Because this August will be 3 yrs. since Katrina destroyed our way of life and life for most of us hasn't gotten any better. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something is wrong. All the money that "poured" into Mississippi hasn't accomplished much or should I say, it wasn't put toward what was intended ... to help us in our recovery.

Agendas of all kinds are thriving it seems. Gulfport put a city wide no smoking ban on restaurants, businesses and bars (casinos excluded). Restaurants and businesses are closing. Can't anyone see that this isn't solely a health issue? It's control. The gasoline crisis, in my opinion, is another form of control. Despite the casinos exempt status on the smoking ban, recently the Beau Rivage, that draws the most celebrities laid off 200 employees. The reason given is that because of the high cost of fuel, Floridians and other states are not coming. There's another reason, again, in my opinion, it looks bad on the coast. Why would anyone come again?

I recall that I remarked in one of my posts when bicycle paths were proposed for the two bridges built under the harmless guise that the citizens could enjoy a nice ride and the scenery. Not anyone in their right mind would ride on the path as it is too hot down here in the summer. Well, both of the bridges have the paths and I thought maybe there was thought put into it after all.

Nothing makes sense to me anymore. I have often wondered about the people who run our country and states. They are enormously wealthy. How can they possibly relate to the problems most people have? When they fuel up their jets or helicopters, will they be thinking about those on bicycles? I think not!

If you are computer savvy .. start searching the Internet. Try Hurricane Hugo in 1989. It gave me chills.

My Daughter's Neighborhood in Palm Bay, Florida

A daughter lives in Palm Bay, Florida and hasn't been able to go back to the neighborhood. When sensational news makes headlines and eventually dies out, the tragedy still goes on for the people. I received this from my daughter this morning. The food she mentions is her attempt to save the meat she bought with her "stimulus" check.

"Hey Mama...I am at a library in another town..ours is closed. I can't call because I can't recharge my cell very easy...Walgreens let me charge it up after I talked to you..plus it is a prepaid cell...you can call, but I can't talk long. Power is still off....they are working on it round the clock...guess the lines melted. We are filthy and trying to save our food....each day it warms up a little more....160 homes destroyed...they say they arrested someone for arson...guess they caught him trying to set another one. Please pray this is over soon..the kids are miserable as you can imagine. I'll be in touch soon."

Mother's Day was a very good one. Dave, Anita and their children spent both Saturday and Sunday with me. My daughter Anita always gets me something unique because she puts thought into what she will do and what she knows I like. Before coming back to my hometown I lived in a rural area for years and all kinds of wildlife was around me. I particularly liked watching the antics of the squirrels especially when they jumped from tree to tree. We had squirrel feeders and when I moved home, I brought two with me. Just sentiment on my part because the wood was starting to rot. Last year I disposed of one but tucked the other away in the garage. I remember thinking how sentimental I am. It was of no use to me and really not pretty but still I kept it. I was presented with all kinds of presents and one was a new squirrel feeder. Click on pictures to enlarge them for best view.


I remembered I had one too and it was put on the fence.

This morning I was within 6 ft. of my subject. Looks like he posed for me.

I am slowly stopping my writings on Katrina as we all have a lot of problems (meaning all of you) and I believe there are many more lurking just over the horizon. With the means of communication that we have now, I am positive that you know about the killing of the unborn. There is a movement on that you may not know about yet and that is the right to kill a child up to three yrs. old if they are defective in anyway. Frightening isn't it? In less obvious ways, euthanasia has been practiced for many years. How do I know? My mother was "snowed" out as a nurse told me. That was in 1978. They give morphine shots until it finally stops their breathing. A nurse had the right to refuse to participate because they didn't want to be the one that gave the shot that took a life. So then lets go to 1999 when I lost my husband. Was he "snowed" out? Yes he was. Who did it hurt? Me! They refused further treatment and had me sign a release to hasten his death. Sorry that I am being so blunt but that's how it was. The way that it should have been is to have given him palliative care with sedation until a natural death. Should I speak out about these occurrences? I think that I should. Maybe a few people will see where we are headed but on a much grander scale.

I go to the doctor about every six months for a thyroid condition that I have. In the beginning when I reported a side effect from the medication I was always referred to another specialist of some kind. A complete disregard that maybe the medication was causing the problem. Now I don't say anything. I put on my biggest smile and say I feel wonderful.

In the political arena, Senator Obama mentioned guns and religion in the same sentence and that people turn to both as they are bitter about their economic situation. So maybe, under the guise for our safety, we will be disarmed and our freedom to worship abolished. The slogan CHANGE is upsetting. . For the first time, we have candidates where we will choose the lesser evil.

"Religion is an expression of material realities and economic injustice. Thus, problems in religion are ultimately problems in society. Religion is not the disease, but merely a symptom. It is used by oppressors to make people feel better about the distress they experience due to being poor and exploited. The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion."

Karl Marx

The Katrina video below was taken by my daughter Anita. As you will see, there has been progress but many vacant lots still exist.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com