Here is my small musical tribute to a pivotal moment and a pivotal man.
It's been over three years since Hurricane Katrina plowed into the Gulf Coast. Gulfport, MS was closer to landfall than New Orleans (the storm came ashore in Waveland, MS), but didn't suffer anything like the levee breach disaster that hollowed out the Crescent City. Yes, Gulfport was devastated, but we were able to get back on our feet fairly quickly. For almost a year, the entire city's activity moved North of the railroad tracks, overcrowding roads that were never meant to handle so much traffic. That's just how it had to be, since most of the territory South of the tracks had been pulverized.
You can still see a great deal of wreckage in this area. Repair work on the beachfront Highway 90 seems never ending. The historic homes and smaller businesses are not coming back ... they can't afford the skyrocketing insurance costs. The only buildings you pass along this stretch of coast are casinos, condos and Waffle Houses ... and a few boarded-up houses that somehow remain standing.
The Bush years were like a Cat-5 hurricane that devastated this nation both emotionally and physically. Some of the damage may simply be irreparable. But the storm is finally blowing over, and we're ready to roll up our sleeves and try to put our lives back together. The first rays of hope are dazzling after living in darkness and danger for so long.