Hugo and Katrina Go Dancing

Life is a funny thing. Sometimes you try to escape hard times by laughing at the memories, only to have the reality boil to the surface of your consciousness years later. Tomorrow I leave for Pearlington, MS, a small town (pop. 1684) dead in the path of Hurricane Katrina. In fact, this hamlet with no mayor and a ravaged volunteer fire department was the exact location of Katrina's third landfall.

By Sunday night I'll be brought back to my childhood, not the location, but devastation. While incomparable, I'll never forget the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo, which brought it's 160 mph winds through my hometown of Mount Pleasant, SC.

I'll never forget being huddled with my parents in the dingy bathroom of a highway-side motel in Manning, SC screaming, "Daddy pray louder," hoping our cries for God to save us would drown out the commotion and the sound of the roof peeling from above our heads.

I'll never get the day-long drive home (normally 1 and 1/2 hours) where Mom and I waited in the car while my dad and others bore chainsaws to clear the road ahead.

I'll never forget communing at Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston the day after we returned, praying and listening to the sound of the building falling in around us. I'll always cherish the picture of the impromptu and unsafe worship service in the next day's newspaper.

Being out of school for a month in October isn't as fun as it sounds, even when you're 7. Living without water or electricity for weeks isn't either, especially when the neighborhood behind you has its power restored over a week before you do (still a little bitter about that one)! Being mandated by a national guard curfew to stay in your home after nightfall is the antithesis of liberation...

However, the "save the meat" cookouts with neighbors under the brightest of starry nights, family gatherings at Mimi's house, smiling volunteers, and simple thankfulness for being alive are some of the most amazing experiences of my life.

We were lucky. We didn't lose our home (only our backyard fence). Our young cat, Buffy, had survived the storm (and amazingly is still going at the age of 18 today).

These are the memories I will take with me to Mississippi. They don't compare to the stories I'll hear or the devastation I'll witness 10 months after Katrina danced her waltz of destruction across the Delta. I say it often... we should learn from our experiences and allow them to inform all that we encounter throughout life. Hopefully my experiences of hurricanes and uncertainty will allow me to empathize with the people we meet. Hopefully they will help me to be a leader to our work team (though I'm the second youngest of 7 going). Once I return I'll try to chronicle some of what I have sees and experienced here.

Some links related to this post...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearlington,_MS
http://operationeden.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Hugo
http://www.secondpresbyterianchurch.org/content.asp?catID=10052