Bayou Oaks after Hurricane Katrina; Gulfport, Mississippi.
This is a typical scene from my neighborhood after Hurricane Katrina. Residents of Bayou Oaks had always taken a lot of pride in maintaining beautiful homes and yards. With so many thousands of homes needing repairs, families had to patch things up the best they could and get on waiting lists for more extensive repairs.
Most Mississippians tried to keep a stiff upper lip, but the constant sight of debris piles, the slow process of obtaining insurance benefits, and the nagging fear that maybe it would be impossible to put our cities back together was depressing. If you were fortunate to have a livable home, you felt sadness for friends or family members who lost everything.
Nevertheless, our citizens were constantly working to repair, rebuild, reclaim. People who had never gutted a house or hung sheetrock, rolled up their sleeves and gave it a whirl. And angels from all over the country showed up to help.
[See also Hurricane Katrina - Four Year Anniversary - Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV.]
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