God bless us all in these trying times. my prayers are for all of the people on this earth. we well prevail but only if we belive.
Mr.M.Quick 3-11-06
11:30pm

I live in Fort Worth Texas too and I am ashamed to live in the same town as this Bernie guy. My family lives in Gulfport Ms and I'm glad they are ok. I went down there for Mardi Gras this year and was shocked at the distruction I saw there. I took pictures while I was there if anyone wants to see them I will be happy to share. I even took pictures of the new wall dedicated to hurricane katrina. Everything I have ever known on that coast was just gone! You cant say turn right at the walmart cause there is no walmart anymore! Its gone! People arent feeling sorry for themselves they are all working hard to build it back. If a tornado leveled Fort Worth then I bet Bernie would be the first one to pick up and move to another town or state. He wouldnt be one of the people to rebuild. People of Mississippi are tough as nails and will over come this disaster! With or Without anyones help! Pictures online can not even begin to show you how bad off this state is! I am still in shock from what I saw and I went from Biloxi to Pass Christian all along highway 90 till they stopped us from going further! All those beautiful homes are all just gone. Bernie try losing something that massive in one day and see how you feel. I bet your sorry butt would take time to feel sorry for yourself. Mississippi will rise again!

I was born & raised in Houston,Texas and we never had much use for folks from Dallas/Ft. Worth. But I remember a time when Ft. Worth was hit with a monster tornado. It destroyed, when it sat down, a populated mall. with people in it. Then they were gone. In a blink of an eye. GONE.
Now, you may expect me to say that Bernie should have been one of those GONE people. But I won't. You see Bernie and people like him are what make the rest of us human. They show us & give us the impetus to change. To grow away from our insensitive, uncompassionate, hateful attitudes. without folks like Bernie, I would see no reason to change into the person the God of my understanding wants me to change into. So, much like the cockroach, Bernie does serve the purpose of a higher authority.
And even if a person of his sort doesn't motivate you to change, blow him off. He doesnt count in your daily struggle nor in the long run of things.
I moved to the Gulf Coast in 1979. To the Kiln to be exact. I hated it. A city kid from Houston now stuck in the Kiln (before Brett)(no offense to Mr. Farve). It wasnt til about 20 years later that it dawned on mw with the clarity of a quasar. The very thing that I had hated the most had provided me with what little character, values and education I have. It wasnt til I moved away that I found out how much I had learned. Work ethic, a sense of responsibility, pride in community, appreciation of family.And of God. For that I will never be ashamed and always grateful. I hope I can teach my son the same things those folks taught me.
People give us such a crappy reputation of hate & violence. I lived there fro over 20 years & never saw any of it. People helped others. People care. People will say hello whether they know you or not.
So, dont sweat the Bernie's of this world. They are the exception to the rule. they are basically superflous. Thats mean, but at least I know that it is.

Plus, the government (mainly in the form of USAF personnel) were right there to lend a hand.
Interesting fact. Before the tornado in Ft. Worth, there were homes that had signs for "Airmen & Dogs keep off the grass". But that attitude vanished the minute they needed people to pull dead & mangled bodies from that shopping mall. United States Air Force (fed. govt.) personnel.

to bernie from ft worth, i wish u knew the truth about the whole situation. people cant get jobs from a business that no longer exists or that doesnt make money to pay them to work. those that were displaced have to compete for jobs in their new city. those left in new orleans have to make it the only way they know how. the cost of living is way higher now since new orleans is only half a city now if that. get educated before you make untrue statements about something you dont know about!

you go kim from ft worth..i was just in biloxi last week and i saw all the devestation too. i took pics. i remember the president casino and its gone! all the houses along 90 in biloxi beach and long beach are gone!!!!! i was so sad!! long live mississippi

ok lets NOT slam texans because we DID take in a vast majority of new orleans people joseph from boston. thats just ONE idiot out there. the rest of us did what we could to welcome everyone.

It really makes me sick to the stomach hearing different people criticizing the survivors of Katrina. Until you have walked in their shoes, lived their lives and suffered their pain, you'll never understand the devastated affect of the storm. Stress killed my friend, some committed suicide, many are homeless, women, men and children. Some were placed without their children, husbands, and other family members. Many elderly suffered the worse, some being all alone without any resourses due to miscommunicaton or simply not having anyone to advocate for them. "FEMA representatives aren't all of that to many". They are rude, ignorant to the fact, short patience, and most of all, not helpful. Members of my own family from New Orleans are still trying to get FEMA's assistance today. Before you are quick to judge, live without electricity for one week, do a #2 into a bucket instead of a toilet, eat cold food or scrapes, live without your babies, husbands, moms or dads; better yet sleep outside with all the insects and lose your privacy for a while. Are you still quick to judge? Those were a few highlighted situations among many more untold stories.

I WOULD LIKE TO SEE BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES. MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE VISTIED THE CASINOS IN BAY ST LOUIS MANY TIMES AND HAD DROVE THUR GULF PORT & BILOXI AREAS. THE LAST TIME WAS 2 WEEKS BEFORE THE STORM HIT.

I actually agree with the person below. It is going to be a year soon and its time for everyone to move on. Hurricanes happen. Its one of the risks of living in the southern states. Lets move past this and prepare for yet anyother Hurricane season. Florida goes through hurricanes all the time, we still aren't talking about them. I think its about time you take down this site and let everyone move on.

I am from the gulf coast and I too lost during katrina. my family had to leave and the feeling that you leave and do not know if you are coming back to anything is the most horrible feeling in the world. True enough some people abused FEMA and the red cross and it is THOSE poeple who should be taking offense to such derrogotory comments that some people leave.

My mom just got back from a week long trip to the coast where she helped a church group from N.C.that has been there helping since after the storm. She is a doctor so she spent most of her time in a clinic treating patients who no longer have health care. The stories she told were unimaginable.. One family she saw said that they climbed up in a tree to escape the storm where they sat for nearly two days while they watched everything they owned wash away underneath them.. they got boards that were floating by to make a place for the children to lie down..all the families down there have similar stories like this.. she said that in waveland only about 30 homes were not completely destroyed!!! Imagine if a place like New York city were wiped off the map with only 30 homes left standing? Would we still have the same reaction? i grew up vacationing on the coast and seeing all the beautiful homes as you drive along the coast of biloxi.. such a beautiful sight.. and i cried when my mom told me that none of those homes were still standing.. I will admit that over the past few months i have wondered why it is taking so long to rebuild? In our fast paced society we think that we can just snap our fingers and things be done.. but in all reality it has taken years for these cities to be develpoed to what they were before katrina.. you just cant rebuild that overnight..

I must say that the news DID NOT portray the accuracy of the devestation that Katrina brought to them. I went down for a week to help out in June. I was awestruck at the level of devestation to this day, one year later. These people have lost everything, they cant go out and find jobs, they need to have their homes back for security. I dont understand what happened to all the donated money, these people lost loved ones, pets, friends, homes, all there belongings. They need HELP and bad. I respect each and every person down there. May God help them to find forgiveness from nasty people all over the world. It only takes one to help and convey the message for rebuilding New Orleans. It was so sad to see where residents USED to live and what is left of it. And the compassion the residents have for US as strangers coming in to help. It was very moving for me, an event I will never forget as long as I live. I cant wait to come back and help more.

BERNIE,
HONEY THE OUGHT TO PROP YOU UP IN THE CORNER FOR A MONTH AND IGNORE YOU AND YOUR NASTY COMMENTS! PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE THE ONES WHO DONT HELP OUT AND DONT VOLUNTEER, SO PLEASE MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND GO SIT WITH THE REST OF THE LOSERS!

I am originally from pascagoula ms. My sister and brother in law live in vancleve. I also have other relatives in pascagoula and moss point as well as other dear friends. These people as well as the other people in the surrounding states have suffered a terrible tragedy in their lives.
Some have lost everything some were spared the loss of everything. I went to the coast twice on vacation to help . I saw a lot of destruction and loss as I traveled from louisiana to the alabama border on my trip across the coast.
mr bryant until you suffer thru a 30 ft high surge of water that washes away your home , job, and leaves you with absolutely nothing you should
SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE

Mr Bernie i hope you understand what it is we survivors are going through.I was living on hwy 90 in Biloxi during the hurricaine .I have nothing now.I lost my home ,my car,my job,my school(i was attending college at tulane)and i have yet to get ahold of most of my friends.I was given no help after the hurricaine nor did i ask for any i have worked my butt off in the past year to get some kind of normalcy back in my life as are most people in this community.I hope one day your pea brain can comprhend this.As for my fellow Biloxians i pray for you daily .We will survive!!!!!

I have first hand experience in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina having spent siand a half months working form Biloxi into Waveland while camping out in Pearlington. No area was more devastated than Bay St. Louis and Waveland. It is still the singlemost area in need of all the help it can get. I applaud the N.Carolina Baptist Men's Assoc for a gallant showing in the region as well as the many other volunteers from around the country. I wish to return to the area to further assist those in need in the near future. May God be with and comfort the citizens of the Gulf Coast.

Bernie, Bernie, Bernie; you post smacks of a total lack of comprehension of what happened to my coastline. For your information I'm a lifelong resident of Pascagoula, MS.

You seem to be running with this woefully misguided notion that we all just sat around and waited for folks like you to rebuild our lives. That is so far away from fact, but please don't let that get in your way.

I was here in my home during the storm. We were being told to expect a tidal surge of around 12'. Because our home was located 2 miles from the beachfront and at a elevation of 16'; we decided to stay.

I've been through one storm after another. My home is built to withstand wind speeds of 150mph so given all of that information we decided to stay instead of running the risk of sitting that storm out on some highway in our car. (You would be stunned to know how many endured that fate.)

I'll admit I've seen much worse in the way of winds. But the water! The water! My God, it just kept coming. There was a point that we easily had 5' outside and 3' inside of the house. We just knew the windows would implode but they held.

The water left with as much force as it came in with. Stunned and a bit more than dazed we watched the water receede to see what was left of our lives. Three cars gone, and our home devasted. We had a roof and walls around us but you can not imagine what 3' of water filled with sewage will do for you home.

By the end of Tuesday, we had ripped the carpet and flooring out of the home. The remainder of that day was spent trying to clean the concrete that was now our floor so that it would be safe to walk on...we had no shoes...they too washed away.

Wed. was spent with us ripping out walls so the home could dry and be somewhat mold free. Yep, we dragged all that debris to the road to be picked up...one day.

We were some of the lucky ones, no one in my family died. Everyone in my family had the right kinds of insurance to cover the disaster.

I was back at work just 8 days after that monster of a storm came ashore.

Sitting around on my butt?! Now way! I was too damn busy trying to get started on my home, dealing with insurance adjusters more concerned with how little they could get by with paying out than what was needed to restore our home, helping my mother deal with the lose of her home, attending funerals for people who were not fortunate enough to survive, working in my community to help get it back to as close to normal as was possible to be concerned with what the government was going to give me. BTW, I didn't recieve a damn dime of your precious tax dollars.

The truth is I probably donated more in time, money, and sheer effort than you could even imagine.

Do you think I'm one in a million...do you think I'm special? If you do it's only because you have never had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know someone from the beautiful Mississippi Coast.

We maybe down sir. But we will rebuild, better, stronger, and more beautiful than ever. I'm ever so grateful I will not have to issue a single thank you to a selfish, self-serving, egotistical, twit like you.

For those that have given their help, their prayers, their support, or just a shoulder to cry on...thank you, thank you, thank you!

Your generousity has not been wasted and is more appreciated than words can ever express.

I'm a resident of Baton Rouge, LA and i have to say i agree with the guy from Texas it has been 2yrs now and still all you hear is the complaining from the New Orleans citizens now i'm not saying all of them aren't trying to do something for themselves but a huge majority of them just want to keep getting handouts, it comes a point in time when you have to say o.k since it's not coming to me i have to go out and get it myself and i mean the legal way since they have come here it's been so much crime and from what i hear in Texas and Atlanta also, if your not pleased with where you are go back to N.O. and rebuild your own city and make a positive contribution instead of complaining and telling the same stories and get on with your lives the world hasn't stop turning because of what has happened 2years ago, pick up the pieces and and move on.