I grew up there...

I grew up in Gulfport, MS...and now it will never be as I remembered it.

We were a military family and I think we lived there for about 4 years during my formidable years. This was were I started elementary school, had my first "boyfriend", caught crayfish on the way to school and broke my brothers arm. Sounds disturbing, but it was an accident and he started it. The hospital were we repaired it....destroyed.

A few hurricanes and tornadoes passed thru while we lived there. I was about 5 years old but I will never forget what the streets, trees, and my house looked like when we left the protection of building on base that I think could withstand nuclear war. We ate rations and slept under a dump truck in that giant building, it was the greatest experience for a child. Somehow we were oblivious to the state that I imagine my mother was in...I think my dad was overseas. I digress, the imagine that is seared in my mind was the traffic lights swinging around willy-nilly and the firetrucks at the station on the corner by the headstart.

We had no water and we used water from the pool at the neighbors house...she had birds and we know I feel about birds, and we couldn't flush the toilet...quite the adventure for the fam.

As sad as I am that places that existed in my childhood memories no longer exist, my heart and thoughts go out to those who are there now dealing with this tremendous disaster. I have spent a couple of hours searching for photos of Gulfport and Biloxi on the internet...there are very few. The media is able to inindate any situation and it is very disheartening that even they aren't able to send anything out.