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"Biloxi
- Blue, But Not Defeated"
Last week I made my first trip to Biloxi, Mississippi in
more than a year. I had always been a pretty regular
visitor to the little "Vegas" on the coast,
but then came Katrina and my sojourns to the land of
video poker ended.
The reports I got from people I knew who lived there
were horrific. Some of the big casinos had been
virtually swept out to sea, and homes and offices were
flattened and/or flooded. I wondered if this small town
by the sea would ever be the same.
A month or so ago I got a notice from the Beau Rivage
that they were opening back up for business, so a friend
of mine and I made reservations to go for a few days. As
we drove down the interstate outside of Biloxi we didn't
notice too much damage. And when we reached the Beau
Rivage it looked the same. The stores on the inside of
the hotel complex were not all opened but it looked like
they soon would be.
The next day after we arrived we ventured down the
street toward the east side of the strip. There we saw
casinos that had just disappeared and were now a vacant
lot. We also saw buildings that are just shells of what
they once were. And the bridge that leads in from Ocean
Springs to Biloxi is down. It was all depressing as
could be.
Depressing until you talked to the people who were
working in the restaurants, hotels, etc. These people
having nothing but optimistic events to report. They
told me that Biloxi is going to come back bigger and
better than ever. To the person they told me they
planned to stay in Biloxi and raise their families
there, and earn their livings there. There was no talk
of abandoning this city and community.
Oh I did hear some horror stories about the shelters
where some people rode out the storm. One lady said it
was hell on earth and that she and her husband and
children only stayed one night. She talked of the peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches they were served and the
watered down red Kool-Aid they were given to drink. She
talked about the bugs that were in the building and the
unsanitary conditions that seemed to be prevalent.
Then she quickly added that was in the past and there is
no sense in dwelling in it. There are happier days
ahead, she said, and had such a smile on her face that
she made a believer out of me.
That is what is special about Americans - their
resilience. We get knocked down but we don't stay down.
Biloxi may have the blues over what Katrina did but the
city and the people are not defeated. Not by a long
shot. It and they will come back stronger and finer than
ever. I'd bet my favorite video poker machine on it! |
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©2006 Jackie K. Cooper |
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