The Ungrateful and Sorely Misinformed Northeast

As a rule, I really try to remain objective, especially when writing about specific people or groups of people. As y’all know, though, if it’s on my mind, it’s on my tongue and I’ve bitten my tongue all day about the stories coming out of the northeast. Those who are cleaning up and picking up the pieces following Hurricane Irene’s landfall last weekend are finding themselves a bit short tempered, which is understandable. Many are upset because they’re still, after five days, without power. Others are sending bills for lost food in their freezers and refrigerators to their utility companies. There are more than a few of us here in the southeast who are a bit, well, speechless.

Hurricane Irene, and by the time it reached the extreme northeast, Tropical Storm Irene was interesting in many ways, partly because of its unpredictability (although the computer models pegged its landfalls perfectly). No one was sure how strong she would be during her multiple landfalls. Still, folks had days to prepare. Now, though, it’s been five days and power has yet to be restored to thousands of residents. It’s frustrating, to be sure, but here’s what has a lot of us southern folks a bit flabbergasted: It’s been five days. Not a week, not 16 days, not even a month – five days. By their descriptions, “Hurricane Irene was telegraphed more than seven days in advance as the worst storm in this century.” Really? Newsflash: you need to keep your eyes on Katia, which is likely another east coast storm. You’ve not seen the “worst storm in this century”…trust me on that one.

Now, news today includes reports that police are having to escort the various power companies that are VOLUNTEERING from other states to come and help these angry residents. They need these escorts because they’re being threatened by residents! The cavalry arrives with help, only to find themselves threatened? I’m quite confident that these men and women who left their own homes, some as far away as Denver, Colorado, never would have anticipated such an ungracious attitude.

Honestly, these people have no concept of how bad things really could have been. A year after I was born, Hurricane Camille hit and as we all know, the devastation and loss is still felt, some forty-plus years later, by many residents. The Mississippi Gulf Coast was annihilated during Camille. In 1979, another hurricane, this time, Frederic, made landfall along the same coastal area. In 1985, it was Hurricane Elena – which resulted in many residents (my family included) along the northern Gulf Coast to evacuate twice. 1998 brought Hurricane Georges and of course, 2005 was the year of Hurricane Katrina. All of these hurricanes and all of the residents who were affected, you can be sure of one thing: never, in a million years, would anyone threaten the help that came to restore power. I was young (OK – younger….I’m still young) with many of these storms, but I can recall waiting far more than five days for the electricity to be restored. Oh – and as anyone who’s ever been to the south can testify to, the summers here include 100 degree temperatures with 100 percent humidity.

Many residents in Louisiana and Mississippi had no power for weeks. Many had NO HOMES – much less, air conditioning or ice out of their freezers. Seriously, the behavior of those residents who are complaining about this need to take a step back, count their blessings and be damn glad when they do see the utility trucks in their neighborhoods. And one thing more – these volunteers are risking their lives. Anytime you have electricity, transformers, power lines and water – you’re taking a huge risk. If it were my son who worked for a utility company and who volunteered to make that trip, I can tell you without a doubt I’d strongly encourage him to come back home where manners still count for something.

And now I’m off my soapbox and back to monitoring TD #13 that’s brewing in the Gulf of Mexico right now.

 

Why Haley Barbour is the Answered Prayer for Republicans

Fox News is reporting today that Haley Barbour will make a formidable opponent in the 2012 presidential election.  I personally couldn’t agree more.  There are many reasons, including the fact he has rid Mississippi of more than a $720 million deficit he faced when he took office.  Oh, and did I mention he did it without raising taxes?  Further, and this was something I didn’t know, but he’s running the state on less money.  Let’s face it, there are no other governors currently serving who can make those claims.

First things first, I was born and raised in Mississippi.  It’s home; always has been and always will be.  I can’t imagine living anywhere else in this world.  Contrary to the stereotypes that remain, Mississippi is a beautiful state with much to offer.  Three of the nation’s best colleges are found in Mississippi, the Gulf Coast offers beautiful beaches, casinos and folks who are warm, inviting and remain true to the slower paced living that’s built on a foundation of faith, hard work and hope for the future.  Mississippians take responsibility, we’re prideful, respectful and have a healthy fear and unending devotion to God.  It’s just who we are.  We love our technology, of course, but there are still more kitchens in this state that don’t have boxed cake mixes in the cabinets, but instead, are run by women who believe a cake “just ain’t a cake” unless it’s homemade (myself included).  Mississippi is home to the nation’s largest naval shipyard as well as the nation’s largest transformer manufacturer.  And they’re less than one hundred miles apart.  We know our neighbors, their kids and it’s quite likely we know their birthdays, fears, joys and yes, even their dirty laundry.  They know ours, too.

Here’s what sets Haley Barbour apart: he doesn’t have it in him to overreact.  He maintains a steady and consistent mindset, even during Hurricane Katrina and this summer’s rig explosion and ultimate oil spill that devastated us and several other Gulf states.  I can tell you from personal experience, it goes a long way, especially for me.  A wave forms off the coast of Africa and I’m blowing up the phones with “Run, run, run!!”  My family, God love them, calls me Hurricane Central – but I secretly love it.  Governor Barbour simply sees it for what it is, formulates a worse case scenario and then runs with it.  His politics and beliefs are consistent and if he says it or does it, you can be sure he owns it.  Period.   Best of all, though, he keeps the collective political arena in perspective.  That in itself is a powerful trait to have.

So there it is.  I am absolutely for Governor Barbour changing his title to read President Barbour.  Besides, it’s time for the White House to have some homemade biscuits and a bit of southern drawl.  Speaking of southern drawl, here’s a clip of a presser he made following Katrina and what his goals were regarding insurance rates.

 

Hurricanes, Human Nature and Greed

Hurricane Katrina - August, 2005

Hurricanes are part of life for those who live in the southeast.  You just learn to live with it; you prepare and you hope for the best.  Most years, residents get their wishes; sometimes, it’s just not to be.  I was born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  It’s home.  I was not quite a year old when Camille made landfall in 1969, so naturally, I have no recollection of that monster hurricane.  In 1979, during Hurricane Frederic, we (as in my parents and my younger sister), stayed on the second floor of the high school’s vo-tech building.  My dad was a teacher and he and my mom felt it would be safe.  After witnessing what was surely an incredibly frightening storm (little sis and I slept through most of it), my mom made up her mind that never again would any of us stay during a landfall.  Hurricane Elena followed six years later, Hurricane Georges made landfall in 1998 and of course, Hurricane Katrina forever changed millions of lives five years ago this week.

For those who were blessed enough to not see certain aspects of what was left behind, we knew the possibility existed of making discoveries in the days that followed that would surely haunt us. No one could escape witnessing the greed, fear and sense of hopelessness that Katrina left in her wake.

It’s estimated (hard numbers are impossible since there was no way to accurately record numbers for weeks) that suicide attempts in Mississippi alone rose by a staggering 600%.  The stress caused many people to make desperate decisions.  Drug abuse went through the ceiling and it wasn’t uncommon to find FEMA trailers converted to meth labs.

One of the worst events that unfolded was the unraveling of a once-respected attorney.  Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, a Pascagoula native and attorney, found himself in his own legal troubles.  He was accused of operating a “sham” by U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter, Jr. Before long, he and at least two others were accused of attempting to bribe another judge, extortion and contempt. Already a wealthy man, Scruggs wasted no time after Katrina’s landfall to build a class action suit against many of the larger insurance companies, including State Farm.  His methods, however, revealed the worst of human nature.  He not only let his family down – and even caused his own son to be sentenced to prison – but he also let those clients down who’d relied on him to go to bat for them against the insurance companies.  He, his son Zach and a co-attorney in his firm, Sidney Backstrom, were all sentenced to federal prison cells.

Current satellite view (Courtesy of Accu-Weather)

Looking back, the past five years have meant major changes along the northern Gulf Coast.  The bridge between Ocean Springs and Biloxi was rebuilt, the casinos are back in business (and have been for a few years), families have rebuilt their homes while others, usually those not born and raised here, opted to leave this region in lieu of an area where hurricanes aren’t a concern.  For the rest of us, and despite the very real possibility of hurricanes making landfall at least six months out of the year, we can’t imagine calling anywhere else on this planet “home”.

Even as we’re reflecting on Hurricane Katrina and her massive and historical landfall in August, 2005, all eyes are on the two named storms brewing in the Atlantic Ocean now – Hurricane Danielle is currently a cat 2 storm while Earl was recently upgraded to a tropical storm with a likelihood of it becoming a hurricane.  “Waves” continue to roll off the coast of Africa, as we’re entering Cape Verde season.  Like life, a hurricane’s ultimate path is unpredictable and offers no room for assumptions.

Have your own Katrina story?  Drop me a line, hit me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter – would love to hear your story!