Hurricane Katrina, the RV Community, and "the rest of the story..."

by Anne Pierson
Happy Camper Discount Camping Club
Dear RV Traveler:

Thanks for pausing to read this article. There is no one in America who hasn't been touched in some way by hurricane Katrina's visit to the shores of the deep south last year; and I, my family, our customers, and our business associates in the RV industry became involved on a very personal level with the disaster....
Katrina was the catalyst that brought many of us together for the first time, sounding an alarm that echoed throughout the world of RVing. Unlikely competitors became friends, associates became partners, and the RV industry came out in great numbers to assist the many RVing families that had escaped the storms, yet still lost their homes, jobs and communities.

Now, nearly six months after Katrina (and her evil twin, Rita) made landfall on our coasts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, the south is still very much a disaster, families are still suffering, campground owners are trying to rebuild, just like every other business, and the story is far from over. Yet it's not being told on the very personal level through which I've been able to experience it.

I thought I would share, for those who are interested, the "back half" of the
devastation, and the surprising inspiration and humor of rebuilding. There is so much more going on in New Orleans and Mississippi than has been covered on the news, and I am in a unique position to report on it - so I will... because I can.

My mother lives in Long Beach, Mississippi, I am a writer, a concerned party, and make frequent visits to the coast in our RV, along with daily phone calls to friends, family and RV parks down there. It's my home town, those are my people, and I want to document everything I know - maybe just for my own peace of mind, but also to try to help convey the "untold" parts of the story.

I worry that the small details will be lost. I worry that the images on the news
will slip from the hearts and minds of other regions of the country, and I worry, most of all, that the spirit and grace of those who survived will not be captured in full unless I remember to write it down. I know there are others writing it all down as well. I hope there are many, many perspectives on this as time goes on. This is mine. It's all I can offer, and I'll add this one voice to the many voices that will share this unique history with our grandchildren, and the people we meet on the road next week, and the curious friends around the country
who will always wonder, "What was it like to be there?"

To end this first essay, which is just an introduction, I will make some "notes to self" of things I want to tell you more about...

1. Blue Roof Blues...
2. The Katrina exhibition at the Slidell (LA) mall for Christmas - why they took it down, and why they put it back up...
3. How the names of drinks at Pat O'Brien's have changed (They now have a Category 5 Hurricane!)
4. Why I am convinced the human soul has a need to speak out - and what it has to say. Written on cardboard, spray painted on walls, and chalked on the sidewalks, messages are written every day in this region, in hope that someone will hear (or see).
5. Why trains in the night will never sound as sweet...
6. How the endangered lease terns became "snowbirds" in reverse, and moved north...
7. The fence that stole Christmas...
8. How the Army National Guard manned their posts from recliners and ate cookies that came by special delivery...
9. What rumors we've heard, and why we're still wondering whether the voodoo man ever found his snakes in the French Quarter...
10. How the wealthiest families lived in tents...
11. New acronyms for FEMA. (Federal Employees Missing Again - Fix Everything My Ass - and others)
12. How garbage trucks evolved to two-story modules...
13. How is it that my mother just saw the beach a week ago? (She lives there, remember?) And why couldn't she find her way back home?
14. How Trent Lott lost his cool in the local newspaper...
15. What they see when the tide goes out in Gulfport...
16. How the Sun Herald has become the soul of the coast...
17. The difference between what you saw on TV and what really happened...
18. Why Mississippi is recovering faster than New Orleans...
19. Where the McLadies go for coffee these days...
20. How the Marine Life dolphins were rescued... and how they had to find a new home afterward...
21. What we call my mom's new church... (hint: it's no longer St. Thomas the Apostle)...
22. When my mother finally cried...

And other topics that will surely surface along the way. Check back with us
frequently. I'll be updating as often as I can, and trying to keep RVers apprised of the tourism situation, accommodations available, and entertainment that comes "back to life" as they move forward down there.

Anne Pierson
Happy Camper Club
Join 1/2 price camping today at http://www.camphalfprice.com/index.php?ref=15

RV Travel Writer
(Share your stories about Katrina by writing to HappyCamping10@aol.com)