Thursday, May 28, 2015

Ten Years Ago – A Remembrance

 Book Front Cover 001

It was hot–very hot–on Saturday, August 27, 2005. While sitting in a wicker rocker sipping iced coffee and enjoying the cool of my balcony, I observed over two-thousand people moving steadily along Gulfport’s picturesque 2nd Street. Along the way, homeowners had set up cooling stations comprised of frozen bottles of water and garden hoses spraying a fine mist of cool water. People ran. People walked. They laughed. They perspired. Everyone was out to have a good time for a good cause–the American Heart Association.

As I sat admiring the runner’s determination, a dear friend from church dropped by and ask me to babysit his three-year-old son while he continued the run. I agreed. As little Weston and I built castles out of empty Cheerio boxes, the hot morning passed. Once his father had completed his run, he returned, out of breath and sporting a man-sized thirst.

He guzzled down an icy glass of water and then asked a question— a question that would change my life forever. “What are you going to do for the storm. Leave? Or stay?” And then came my never-to-be-forgotten reply, “What storm?”

4 comments:

  1. It would seem the other two thousand people were not aware either. It wasn't
    suppose to be a significant hurricane. It wouldn't have been if somebody hadn't
    blown up the levees and the National Guard was confiscated. Some 6,000 National Guard personnel in Louisiana and Mississippi who would be available to help deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are in Iraq, The war forced the Guard into becoming an operational force, far from its historic role as a strategic reserve primarily available to governors for disasters and other duties in their home states.
    Reality can be a bitch.

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  2. Looking for Confederate gold and if found, guess who gets it - the State of Michigan.
    Bummer:
    http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/02/confederate_gold_lake_michigan.html

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    Replies
    1. I wish them good luck, but am doubtful. Thanks.

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