Kegling Tales -- Day 6

The 2006 excursion continued another day. We drove down through New Orleans where we saw a lot of people rummaging through debris piles and then along the Mississippi Coast where we saw quite a bit of damage with lots of construction or demolition as we drove through. Maybe why we didn't see more hurricane type damage in New Orleans was because the city sat so low that the storm blew over the top of it and only the levees were hit hardest resulting in the massive flooding. The Mississippi Coast was a mess with most houses within a half mile of the coast completely gone and those within a mile heavily damaged. Of course the Casino's had the most workers employed and seemed to have the heaviest equipment. But all along US 90 it was evident the average resident were working fast and furious to get back to normal lives. I honestly couldn't say that about what I saw in New Orleans. From my viewpoint, the flood damage was the biggest problem there in New Orleans. Everywhere else we saw hurricane damage (wind, water, tornado, and tree). Yes some of the towns were small compared to New Orleans. But if the town only had 15 buildings and all of them were leveled or only had a slab left, I would consider that devastation. While New Orleans is the bigger town and usually gets the lion’s share of the money, what I saw elsewhere was far worse and deserves better coverage.

I saw worse roof damage in Mississippi than what I saw on the Superdome. From the media reports I had the impression it was about to fall down. Perhaps what was hidden from us was that the worse damage to the Superdome was inside and not outside. Not storm damage but occupant damage. They plan to open in September for the Saints – Falcons game. I wish someone would tell the residents of Foley TX., Grand Chenier LA., Cameron LA., Gulfport MS., Biloxi MS., and Pirates Cove LA., that they would be back to normal this fall.

I know some will disagree with me but I believe someone with a flooded home is a bit better off than someone standing there looking at a bare concrete slab with all your belongings scattered all over the country side. We saw several homes in New Orleans where they removed everything down to the studs and were letting them dry out. At least they still had something to start from and could salvage something even if it was minimal.

Oh, I love how New Orleans deals with cars you don't want. They abandon them on the interstate and let the vandals or fire turn them into scrap for the city to remove. I know some will say they are storm cars. But storm cars are covered with a dirty brown coat of mud and these cars weren't even dirty. I wish I had kept count of just how many I did see but it would be close to 2 dozen and sometimes there were 2 or 3 close by. Yes, I realize the tags were gone but if they ran the VIN number they would find the registered owner. Then ticket them and fine them the cost of removal. A few $1000 fines or 30 days in jail and a suspended driver’s license would get their attention. But then again Whiney Ray wouldn't let that happen.

On a humorous note .. One little town that was almost totally destroyed had this sign posted as you entered .. Chocolate City? Kiss my Ass!

For you Southerners, Jeff Davis' house though damaged withstood the storm when the other antebellum and modern homes were blown away in a cloud of splinters. Long Live the South and our day will come. :)