Balance

Previously written by me, "This is the bridge over the Escatawpa River going into Moss Point. The old bridge could have been out that strip of land covered with grass. Bet there was a draw/swing bridge out there".
Ray's words:
"Commerce with most of the world was controlled by that old swing bridge. To travel north there was no other choice but to cross it. Anything more than a row boat was cause to open the bridge, and there were several large industries north of the highway that were dependant on river travel. Anyone who has lived here for awhile has spent hours waiting for that bridge or the one on Hwy 90. No matter how long you had been out of town, you knew you were home when you got caught by the bridge and got to savor the smell of the marsh and mud while you waited. I actually miss it"
I'll be, I was right.

My words, "This may or may not be US Senator Trent Lott's lot....."

    Ray's addition, "That's Lott's lot. I was a little surprised to see a small stack of bricks missing from near the driveway. A pile of bricks were all that was left on the site. Sightseers from all over the world had been taking (stealing) a brick as a soveneir. What they didn't know was that the City of Pascagoula has been resupplying the pile. :-)".
    The picture I had sent Ray was the wrong view of the lot. Indeed, there are the bricks (*)

     CNN?
     Ray, "CNN was there interviewing lawyer Dickie Scruggs. The first "flood/wind" lawsuit judgement had just been handed down and Dickie was putting his spin on the outcome".
     Good luck, folks.

After leaving the Pascagoula River Bridge, 614 ran through the swamp. Arriving at Miss.63, I dove south, 17 miles, to the bridge over the Escatawpa River which is Moss Point's northern city limits. I pulled over looking for a few rememberance shots to preserve the occasion.
These and other pictures from the trip have been sent out to the Premium Subscribers, Ray being one. He sent back a few comments, not included, some reminders, included, and some new information and reflections, also included, below.

   I rode through "downtown" Moss Bluff as Ray had guided in his official "Here's my House" printout. I started looking for his street. Some street signs were missing and I never thought to look at the GPS. I am getting dingie. I found his street and turned onto it.
    Out of this pickup truck jumps this big guy, what? It was Ray. That was easy, if not a little scary. I just followed him. After BS-ing a bit, Ray offered to give me the two buck tour.
    That sounded good. Away we went.

Arriving at the end of the line, I had to shoot this shot. It is what I saw many, many years ago on an adventure that I was sure was prematurely ending. Michael D'belis, will laugh forever at my expense.

We turned the westerly corner, Ray remarking that he never thought he'd ever see trailers along this high end piece of realestate.

Notice that the oaks are very thread bare.

A Poggy boat (??) returned from the day's troll. The catch is used for its oil in the manufacture of a bunch of stuff. Ray named names that I don't use so they didn't stick. Maybe deoderant was one?

At the river is a reminder that this is a port with port industry.

Scenes of the hurricane's damage cannot be escaped by looking out to sea.

Scenes like this are a reminder of what a beautiful place this is.

A lonesome mailbox.

Maybe the newer homes should have been built up to 1800's standards. Longfellow stayed here and was moved to write a bit during his visit.
I'll wirte if I can visit. Two doctors bought it as a fixer-upper. Yes it is right around that last corner.

Those rigs aren't active. They are "in" for servicing, another industry here.

Away from the beach, property of the rich and famous, retiree's and local resident's small homes and cottages have in many cases been replaced or augmented by FEMA trailers. They'll be gone in six months. What their inhabitants will do is a mystery in some cases. There will be more sad stories, no doubt.

Our next stop was at a lot which belonged to some of Ray's friends. The house was gone. A lot of people rode out the storm. A lot of people died. Ray knew a couple that had tried to beach their boat at a local storage business. They had been turned away as all slots were taken. They brought the boat back to their house on the canal and tied it the best that they could. When their house began coming apart, they swam for the boat which survived the storm, with them aboard. If......
They were lucky.

We returned to Ray's. Of course the shop would be the next tour. Ray is finishing up a fixer-upper of his own. It's for sale and if you are interested write me at leveerider @peoplepc.com Be sure to take out the space between leveerider and @peoplepc.com..

Below is a picture of Ray's house and yard during the storm. Ray is 5 miles from the Gulf, He is about 14 feet above sea level. He did get some rugs wet. He was lucky. I think he said flooding continued way up the Pascagoula River. Pascagoula is 100 miles from the storm's center path.

I stopped at a little park on the Escatawpa River. That boat was just getting here. Timing again. And, I lost this whole page looking for the spelling and defiinition of "Poggy" or whatever. Not again.

   I back-tracked, continuously asking the GPS not to take me to the Interstate. Finally it gave in to my wishes and directed me directly into the Monster's mouth.
    But first I stopped for a break at the old POW camp that Ray had shown me on one of our outings. No, those are ammo dumps, not miniture prison cells.
In fact, John, aka "Coonass", wrote that the prisoners were fed and treated well.
     (Fred, don't get PC on me. I'll drop your butt off here.)

Kinda pretty for an ugly bike. Course, "pretty is as pretty does". She does pretty well. Consider that bike Ray's finishing up. It's a pretty good deal.
Until the next one, that's it.