Finding America

Day 3

John:

We left Mobile this morning and took Hwy 10 west towards Biloxi. We would have liked to have used Hwy 90 but the bridge is still out across the bay in Biloxi. So we took Hwy 10 in stead and made a bee line for the homes I worked on with the boys from Camp Rockmont last July.

We didn’t have any trouble finding a place to park Kodi because the area was still vacant of inhabitants. The home here that we de-mucked appeared that it had been left untouched since we left. Save for a few rolls of new insulation in the living room and a new door which had not yet been installed, the place looked forgotten.

We drove to the nearby Imperial Palace casino and parked the trailer and then walked through the other neighborhood we worked on. There were very few people living here and many lots stood empty, naked reminders of Katrina’s devastation. Thankfully, however, we did find that the Creel family had not left this blighted neighborhood and were still holding on and more than getting by.

Terry Creel was our host and the benefactor of much of our work last July. We worked on a shop of his which he and other family and friends open up to the needy neighbors each Saturday for a fish fry. We met Terry’s brother Dale today in the carpentry shop next door and Terry was soon to arrive. Both men regaled us with stories of their youth and the simple but good people of this fishing village. They were pleased to inform me that thanks to the work our boys did last summer they were able to open up the store again and had even had a very well attended feast yesterday afternoon.

I’ll post some video of these two characters and you’ll get a real picture of the situation here post Katrina.

In a bazaar juxtaposition we left the desolate streets of Biloxi and walked into the Imperial Palace Casino a mere 2 blocks from the Creel’s homes. We had lunch in a massive multi screened Sport Book and took a spin at the slots. It was disconcerting to see so much excess when just a block away people are still homeless.

Kamrin:

After leaving Biloxi, MS on Sunday afternoon, we made our way towards New Orleans. Even though we’ve heard about the areas that are still decimated a year and a half post-Katrina, it was still shocking. There are whole neighborhoods that look like war-zones or third-world countries. It’s amazing to think that something like this exists in America.

Our KOA RV Park is just west of the city. We were told that 85% of the RV’s in the park are FEMA trailers that people are living in. Our trailer is spacious enough for a 3 month road trip, but I think I would get a little claustrophobic if I had to make it my home.

Getting into our space was quite the challenge. Luckily John was steering the beast and not me. He masterfully backed the trailer down a narrow obstacle course of other RV’s. You should have seen the people come out of their RV’s to make sure we didn’t take off their mirrors or antennas.

After some rest, we headed to the Garden District for dinner with Emily Winkler. Emily lived with our family during a semester of her junior year in high school and is practically another sister to us. She has been living in New Orleans for the past eight months, working for the Japanese Consulate. This is a perfect job for her since she spent three years in Japan teaching English and learning about the culture. Emily lives in a really gorgeous, old traditional New Orleans home on Magazine Street.

After a quick tour of the house we walked down Magazine Street and did a bit of window shopping and menu viewing. We finally settled on eating at Sake Sushi. It was excellent fair and catching up with Emily was wonderful and made me realize how much I miss her.