I haven't been posting pictures of Pascagoula's progress as there hasn't been any significant change. The city is rebounding but from the very beginning of my blogging, my interest has centered on the people. Many are still in the FEMA trailers and have been told they have to be out by December. Poplarville, MS which is in Pearl River County has had an influx of 20,000 people (outsider came to my mind) and I sort of bristled as I remembered. You see, we maintained a residence at Lake Hillsdale which is technically Pearl River County but our mailing address was Lumberton, MS. We were six miles from Poplarville and six miles from Lumberton. For 5 years we had land there with a 800 sq. ft house sitting on the property. We called it a fishing cabin. In 1983, we made a permanent move and the house soon expanded to 4200 square feet. I visited a jewelry store in Lumberton to buy a gift for someone and the owner began chatting with me. She said to me, "The people will never accept you in the area." I asked, "Why?" Her response was, "Because you are an outsider." If you have no kin here then you will never belong." She continued, "I have been here 10 years and they have never accepted me." She wasn't being mean spirited, she told me the truth. So, although for the 25 years we spent there and were never accepted, we enjoyed our home. There is a point to what I am writing .... the people on the Coast are literally being forced out of their homes. The Coast is a "melting pot" of different people with different cultures and everybody is accepted. Inland culture is close knit and most people won't be able to adjust to such a change. We were happy there because we had each other but when we wanted human contact, we left home to go home..... the Coast.

In my opinion, it is inhumane to savagely uproot the citizens of the Coast and send them away only because at this moment they can't help themselves. God Bless Us All!