Positive Attitude and Hard Work

Several months ago my wife and I visited Biloxi, Mississippi and I was moved to write an article about what I saw and the people that I talked to concerning the Katrina hurricane and the response of businesses and the people. This week we returned to Biloxi and I continue to be impressed with what has happened and continues to happen there.

Before that, let me first talk about Interstate 10 going across Florida, and Alabama leading to Biloxi. The number and length of the bridges along this route boggles the mind. The engineering feats are fantastic, and they continue. The highway is being widened in many areas and businesses are being constructed along with additional homes. Another aspect along this route is the amount of undeveloped real estate. In our earlier trip, many homes remained with "blue roofs" as we approached the Biloxi area. This time, I did not see any. Apparently they had been repaired.

In Biloxi, the Palace Hotel and Casino had lost its casino during the storm. The owners and people worked 24/11 and it reopened several months later. The difference between businesses and governments is that when money is short or not available businesses must make decisions to change the environment. They need customers in order to earn money. Governments merely raise taxes on ordinary citizens and let them worry about how to deal with it.

While we went to the pool at the "Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino," we met a young mother who lived in the area. Most of her neighbors lost their homes, including her mother's. Her home was a block from the beach as she pointed across the bay to the location. For some unknown reason, her home was spared while others were destroyed or damaged. We recalled that during our earlier trip we had looked across at that particular mass of water where the waterfront homes had been destroyed. Now, numerous homes and piers were visible in the distance.

She told us how the neighbors and churches had assisted in rebuilding the area. For those who are old enough to remember, that was the norm in neighborhoods. I recall during my youth in the '40s that Saturdays were special when the entire neighborhood's kids went to local movie theaters to spend the afternoon with a double feature, serials, coming attractions and Looney Toons. Sometimes one or two kids didn't have money to go with the crowd but, one way or another, the rest of the kids came up with enough money so everyone could attend. At that particular time, the cost of a ticket was about ten cents. Then, ten cents was a lot of money.

How many national news stories have been presented about the rebuilding of Biloxi? The local government and the state assisted, but I suspect its greatest contribution was to remove obstacles so people and businesses could get the job done.

We went to numerous casinos during this particular trip asking people what is happening. The enthusiasm is evident. Katrina was an unbelievable hurricane that did record-breaking damage, but life goes on and they seem to believe that. That is one of the things that make us as Americans different from the rest of the world - we overcome.