Heavy Hearts

Three years later, it is sad to hear of another potential disaster hitting the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Mississippi coastline in 2005. The town I went to high school in was half wiped off the map: Long Beach, MS. I know that New Orleans got much of the publicity after the storm and flooding, as it should, but many days I felt like little Long Beach was forgotten. Long Beach sits between Gulfport (just west of Biloxi) and Pass Christian. It had many nice homes on the beach or a tenth of a quarter of a mile from the beach. A couple months ago, I came across this. Believe it or not, this is my high school boyfriend's mother standing on the site of her home that was wiped away completely. It is still ominous to see, as I spent many years in and out of that house. The pictures of these coastal homes are haunting to the average viewer; they are heart-breaking to those of us that have lived there and still have connections there. Though I believe it appears that Mississippi may be spared more by Gustav, the people of New Orleans are definitely in my thoughts today. Many still trying to reclaim their lives after Katrina, many not yet there.