My first day at Stennis Space Center was Labor Day. I arrived in the late afternoon and introduced myself to the guys in the link truck. They had been invited for dinner and assured me I would be welcome too. Thinking we were going to a "Hurricane party" like barbecue, we walked across the way to the Children's Space Camp building where 5 or 6 family campers were set up. It didn't take long to realize these folks were not here for the recovery effort, they were here because home was no more. Six or eight kids were having fun climbing on the model space crafts on display nearby, and I soon saw a woman like my Grandmother, obviously doing as my Grandma had done.... cook so she didn't worry. If she could feed somebody, nothing else mattered. We all enjoyed Red Beans and Rice, a local favorite here at the Louisiana, Mississippi line, deep in the bayou. We all shared stories of what we had seen, but I had the story that made a woman cry, which teared me up too.

A few hours before, I had taken a wrong exit just east of Bay Saint Louis, my destination, at the exit for Waveland. Heading south from the interstate everything was unbelievable. One whole house had slid across the road, not a trailer or mobile home, but a fair sized house that came off it's foundation and left deep scars in the road where it slid all-the-way across a four lane divided highway. Boats, trucks, everything imaginable hanging from trees. But then... the cars... Suddenly the side of the road was lined with cars. Most of them had broken windows, many were upside-down, in the ditch or on top of each other. I noticed a few groups of them still on the shoulder of the road were lined up touching bumper to bumper and wondered how that happened, that mother nature would line them up so tight as if they were pushed like a toy train from the caboose.

Then I saw a "huddle" of cars, still on the road, and I had to drive off-road to get around. That's when it hit the first time. Mother nature didn't line up these cars, they didn't come from a nearby dealership... People, families and children were in these cars and stuck in traffic when the wind and rain overwhelmed them. This was a south-bound traffic jam of folks that chose to try to get around the jam on I-10 and tried to get to highway 90, a usually fast moving scenic route from Texas to Jacksonville, Florida. These moms and dads, newlyweds and old folks huddled their cars in desperation. I drove in awe for a few miles before thinking of my camera. I couldn't stop there so I snapped a few through my windshield and later stopped to take pictures to help myself cheer up.

One house was crushed but for the front wall that now reads in large spray-painted letters, "Terri Joni Mike and Paul we're OK, Diamond Head. Diamond Head is a nearby city, I later learned. I took a few pictures of houses with similar messages, and stopped taking pictures when I figured out what the common message DB beside a huge x means.... Dead body inside. I got right back on the Interstate and went on to the Space Center. All the way to the Space Center I kept wondering, "Where did all those people go from that traffic jam?" "Was there a collective effort to find each other after the wind and water? Or was there no one left to look for others, and all had been washed away?" I try not to think about that too much, and I know it will catch up to me sooner or later.

Anyhow, a few days later, I was still waiting for some parts of my 5 meter system to arrive, and it was my birthday. I decided I wanted pizza, and I'd feel better with a full tank of diesel even if I used half of it getting back here. So I ventured out, this time going northwest, thinking that's the fastest way out of the devastation. I found diesel, but cash only, as the phones had not been restored and therefore no credit cards. (I guess these folks hadn't heard of VSAT at POS) I gave the man my last $10 and said filler-up, he laughed, and pumped $10 worth for me (yes, full service like on The Andy Griffith Show). Goober asked if he could check the oil, laughing and going on to say he could check my tire pressure but couldn't do anything about it, as his air compressor blew away. I didn't get the irony until later, an air compressor blew away. Something made to make air pressure on the inside, got too much air pressure on the outside. Ha!

Goober also told me the phones came up today across the highway, but there is no fuel over there and probably no ATM either, but I thought....Pizza? And yes, there was pizza. I ordered up 7 large, and skipped over to the grocery for a few minor things. From the grocery I could see a diesel pump and somebody was paying at the pump, so I topped off the tank, picked up my pizza and headed back to Stennis. I wasn't starving, and I had a few good meals since leaving home, but most meals come out of a bag, a box, or a can, ready to eat, these days.

So my belly and steering wheel were full of pizza by the time I reached Stennis. I gave a few slices to the guards at the gate and went right to the families I'll call Happy Campers. Though they had lost everything else, they still had each other, with no one missing. So they are happy! When I drove up to their makeshift campsite, they were pleased to see me, as every time I stopped in. (they seemed to like me more than the link truck guys) I called out to Granny, can you use a gallon of milk? As I knew they could after being stuck here for 2 -3 weeks without refrigeration in 50 miles. One of the kids came to get it from me, and after I handed her the milk I reached into my van grabbing two large pies (pizza pies). I felt the eyes popping out of kids heads, as they were in disbelief, no one said a word at first. Everyone was probably thinking "he can't have Pizza, what is he carrying in those pizza boxes?" I set them on the table next to where granny was getting ready to cook, opened the top box saying, "Granny, cheese or the works?" Then the kids came running in from everywhere. We ate a few slices and I explained, "the guys were probably wondering where I am".

I had not told anyone I was leaving, nor that it was my birthday. Every child gave me a hug, two dads said thank you, with a hand shake, and Granny bubbled over in tears as we hugged and I told her she reminds me of my Granny.

That's how to turn 36! (The link truck guys enjoyed the pizza too, but nothing worth writing there).

Bill Gerker