Phenomenal People

One would have to have been living under a rock not to know that it was five years ago last Sunday that Katrina roared ashore onto the Gulf Coast. The network and local media coverage showed the recovery work done over the years and stated that there still was more work to do. That's true, but they also have to deal with the BP oil spill. So one crisis has been largely handled but there's another one simmering under the Gulf waters and the fat part of the hurricane season is upon them.

What's become clear to me over the last months is that these people are fighters. They have to be because life down here isn't that easy. It isn't easy anywhere but places are few where entire communities can have their houses ripped apart in a single day. Beginning August 30, 2005 Moss Point started rebuilding. So did Waveland and Pascagoula. Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Bay St. Louis and all the coastal towns and cities started the long march back to their new normal. They had help from individuals and groups of people who came down from around the country to help them rebuild. They are Phenomenal People, and there was a week-long celebration of that recovery that lead up to the anniversary. Although at first glance it doesn't seem like there's a connection, but there is. You see these people came back from an epic nightmare. Now they face another one with the oil spill and what they all really want is a break to catch their breath.

I'm including a video piece here because it shows the kind of people that live here and that they are going to fight through the oil spill and come out the other side whole. It's a different kind of fight than Katrina, and it will take different skills and talents to do it, but the brains and the talent are here. There's another thing here too... grit. Most of these people don't know anything about giving up.

They'll need that ability now because this spill will take years to play out.

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Heroes, Five Years After

Photo: NOAA

Five years ago, hurricane Katrina slammed the Mississippi shores and this week its residents are celebrating their recovery and resurgence. It's plain to see that they have come a long way but there is still much to do. That ongoing recovery has and is being done by real heroes.

They are heroes because they refuse to give up or give in. Where are these heroes? Walk down any street and they will be all around you. Sit down in any restaurant or go into any shop, they will be there. The work they did and continue to do is being done quietly, outside of the news spotlight but well within view of their friends and neighbors. Coastal Mississippi communities came together to recover and continue in their causes. Groups like the Moss Point Visionary Circle, The Lord is My Hope, Hope CDA and others were born from Katrina's devastation but they all continue to serve.

The celebration of the Mississippi recovery was called "Phenomenal People" and based upon my experiences here, they most certainly are. These are my heroes.

We're Waitin' On Ya'

I have been down in southern Mississippi for about six weeks now and I've shot a lot of footage of pretty things but I probably haven't even scratched the surface of what's around. This is my love letter, of sorts, to everything that's here. Sit back and watch for about ten minutes and when it's done, get your butt down here.

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Some Images From a Day of Rest... Sort of

A heat index of 115 kept most sane people indoors today, but I wanted to get out to shoot some b-roll late afternoon and early evening. Here are a couple of frame grabs shot on the beach in Biloxi.

No wonder why people fight back from disasters to live here.