Beachside Martin Street

I don't think that the word tired describes how most of us on the Coast feel. Tiredness is nothing new no matter where you live. A workout in a gym, perhaps your garden, maybe from getting up several times during the night with a new baby or cramming for an exam will tire us. After resting we overcome the tiredness and think of it as a normal reaction to activity. When one reaches the point of exhaustion, you feel drained. Not only does your body become extremely tired, you become devoid of normal emotions. A "what's the use" attitude prevails. Our recovery here has been too slow and it is taking a toll.

Mississippi Emergency Management (MEMA) has $280 million to assist the people in the 27,000 trailers remaining. The catch is you must qualify and it will only be able to help 4000. So 23,000 will have no assistance. When we speak of the number of trailers, that is not counting how many people are in each trailer. It seems to me that finding yourself living in a trailer for 19 months would qualify you. Of course, none of this will be swift. It will probably take months to decide who gets assistance. This is just one example of what is causing mental exhaustion in the people. Also the Northrup Grumman strike isn't helping our recovery. If anything it sets us back a notch or two. Grumman and union leaders will meet again today to try to resolve the issues involved that all can agree on.

The weather started out cloudy but the slim chance of rain passed as the sun came from behind the clouds. Today will find me dragging hoses around the yard to try to save what I can. The pictures I take of new construction are becoming harder to find but I haven't given up yet.