Sad Editorial from Mississippi Gulf Coast

Reading this editorial from Randy Ponder, Publisher of the Sea Coast Echo, reminds us of the magnitude of the destruction that occurred on the Gulf Coast from Katrina. We all tend to live in the moment of such tragedies and then go on, but this will linger for a long time in this region.

 Many people are leaving and not coming back to Hancock County in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Ground zero is not a pretty picture. Almost total destruction along the highly desirable beach front of Bay St. Louis, Waveland, etc. No homes, no businesses, just mounds of debris. Homes, which were in many cases, occupied by generations of the same family, lay in ruins. The 30 foot or higher storm surge extended miles inland, wrecking property all the way to Diamondhead and the Kiln. Pearlington, Clermont Harbor, Lakeshore, just about everywhere, all was washed away. The dreams and life-long work and determination of getting things “just right” wiped out in a few hours by the awesome power of Mother Nature. People’s lives and possessions, simply gone.

Many will rebuild, others will not. Many are young and have the time and energy to endue years of struggles to hopefully someday achieve some semblance of normalcy. Others are not as young and perhaps do not have the luxury of time.

Read the rest.