see....you should have hit the wild pigs....not the gas can....pigs would be supper....gas can just destroyed....orrrr with the price of gas????...i wonder?

Thanks for the laugh, Steve. It beats having to dodge moose, cows, tractors, deer, birds, and pedestrians when you take a drive to northern Maine to the potato and christmas tree farms! At the very least, all these barriers serve to keep you sharp while driving!

Ok, Steve. You had me going till the two wild pigs. Really...Wild pigs? Is this a cajun joke? I need more info about the pigs before I'll believe that one. My friends from high school will tell you that I believed some pretty big whoppers way back then. Really embarassing ones! I loved the story tellers in the Bay...so honestly, are the pigs just a little bit of lagniappe? What the heck! I loved the article! You're too funny!!! Just keep on writing Han Solo!

The parents at St. Clares elementary want to rebuild OUR school. Why cant we? Keep the 2million dollar insurance policy Bishop Rodi, give us the land or give us a 100 year lease. Let us raise the money and rebuild. If not, lets get together, tell the rev. adios and build a school so nice that we take away all of his business.
I recenly read one of the rev's mouth pieces say that we are using our children as pawns. We want what is best for our children, we want our community back. Dont force us into doing something we don't want to do. Look how much St. Clares has accomplished without your help rev! Think how much more we'll be able to accomplishi in the future.
Oh, and I'm sorry our parish was not able to contribute to your coffers at the diocese, it seems thats all you care about.

Thank you, Steve, for these posts. I encourage our volunteers to tune in to this blog before making their maiden trip to Mississippi because you bring not only information and humor, but genuine texture to the whole picture. You're in our thoughts daily. From this point on, I will be on the lookout for bouncing sledge hammers!

LAURIE, I don't know if Steves kiddin' or not ....but you want to see wild pigs or hogs in Mississippi call me .....da not hard to find.....by da bunches....but day MEAN MutherF****S....gotta watch out for hogs....still say i'de run m over...if i was Steve!!!

oh, steve, thanks for including the railroad tie - that was so scary! i forgot to tell you last time i came down that i had to dodge sheetrock flying out of a trailer - two huge, brand new pieces... what a waste! and no one stops to pick these things up - surely they know they've fallen out! and yes there are wild pigs!
love you guys

Okay, I must admit, the two wild pigs were not on the hoof, but rather dead in the road and someone else's mishap, although, they are MUCH larger than you'd imagine, and look ALOT like bears (no kidding). Also add to the list
1 LARGE Raccoon
several large cardboard boxes
and about 400 pounds of Styrofoam peanuts (over the course of about 25 miles)

Steve, thanks for the hilarious, yet accurate description of driving in the Katrina zone. My friends, co-workers, & I in the BSL/Waveland area enjoyed it immensely.(we've lived it too). Your description provides both perspective & humor. Thanks! Hang in there, the coast will rise again!

The humor is appreciated, but on the more sensitive side, how must it feel to lose the mattress or the building materials you finally were able to replace. Getting a delivery is out of the question. so if you don't have a proper vehicle, you end up tying things to the top of a car and then you lose it. Just one more hit on the moral.

Steve, I knew there was something fishy about those wild pigs! Thanks for clearing that up. Now, they are as big as bears? I agree with Andy. Too bad they weren't bound for the supper table! Especially at that size... they could feed the whole neighborhood. You could dig a pit on the beach and do a big bonfire/barbque! I remember seeing one near a fishing spot in the woods years ago, but it was more like the size of a bull dog and just as mean. But these were the size of bears!? Man! You are pulling our leg again! It's fun! Can't wait for the next up date!

O.K. Steve that splans it ...those pigs were dead and bloated.....nope i don't wanna eat them either....but still the gas can....man i would have poured in my tank...insted of run over it

FYI to those who didn't buy into the pigs. There are a lot of wild pigs in Hancock County, some within the city limits of Waveland and Bay Saint Louis. I know i've hunted that area for years and connot wait to return there to hunt again. By the way, the last pig I harvested there was just outside the city limits of Waveland and weighed in at 600 pounds...he was enormous!

Ron. Wow! Ok, that would be as big as a bear! Man!!! Steve, I owe you an apology... So what else have you seen lately?

O.K. a pig is under 200lbs. over 200lbs. is a HOG....and a HOG can mess up a whole pack of tuff dogs

you're still eluding us....1 large raccoon....live or dead?....fresh road kill?....you can make some pretty good Bar-Be- Que.....with a coon...but mayby...that's why some of my friends got me a t-shirt...that says "You Kill IT...I'll Grill IT"....no sh** good fresh road kill....yummee

When we were in Bay St. Louis in January, we made sure that we left BEFORE dark for that very reason. Unfortunately, we did end up with a flat tire on the van - somewhere between Hwy. 90 and I-10 on 603. I did feel like a Star Wars character, only with no magical costume!.

LOL!!!....Laurie,....i see some strange things too....when i'm ...good and DRUNK!!!....a tractor would be needed to get a 600lb. Hog outta da woods

Okay, Sunday, I saw ANOTHER big HOG (there you go Andy,) on the side of the road, as well as another few half sheets of plywood. The Raccoon was alive, on the paw, (or hoof, if you prefer), but I'm afraid he didn't look like he felt too well. Honestly, I tell you that the porcine giants around here are as big, if not larger, than the stuffed bear my neighbor has hanging out of his trailer window. In fact, the most recent one that we saw had Heather CONVINCED that it WAS a bear (much to her distress). The next time we passed it, I was able to point out to her that the feet were not paws, but hooves, indicating that it was a porker. Sad to say that my Father-In-Law Rodney Wilkinson tells me that they aren't good for eating UNLESS you, ahem,...how to put it delicately?... Alter the gender of the hog, and keep it in a pen for a year grain feeding it... I think I'll just drive the 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store and pick up a pack of bacon, thanks just the same.

Steve, Thanks for putting that so delicately! You are too funny. Sounds like I am still too gullible..eh Andy? Poor Heather, I'm sure she enjoyed taking a closer look at the hoofed beast. Too bad they aren't good eating, but maybe Ron has some inside info on the way to do it (other than risking your life to corner and well, "ahem one" and then baby it with grain for a year.) Who knows? Don't blame you heading to the store Steve, it's all I know how to do. I had friends in the Bay who could make a nurse shark, caught fresh from the pier, taste like a delicacy. I tried it myself with "shark steak" from the grocery store and it tasted like a mushy white eraser. Go figure. Maybe the secret is to have it fresh not frozen. But for me...that's just not happening. I've never in my wildest dreams said, "Hey, let's go catch a shark, today!" But they did, so I went along to see how it was done. Really didn't believe they could do it, but they proved me wrong. (Why would you want to do it? I kept wondering...)Bill basted it in something like Italian dressing and then sauteed it. Amazing. Really delicious!

I visited Bay StLouis., Waveland, MS on my way to NO last year. My husband and I fell in love the area, and Katrina hit. I grew up on the cost and survived Hugo, but this was much worse. I keep you in my prayers every night/

Steve,?....is it the same principal....that I've got to catch a buck deer, alter it....and keep it for a year....i think not, Laurie said it right....it's how ya cook it!!!!.....{been thinkin' on a cookbook of how to prepare roadkill}....think it would sell??

There's also a few loose chickens to contend with - and these are the live kind! We were happily driving along when it looked liked chickens, minus the herder, decided to cross the road! (And that ain't no joke!)

People, there ARE big hogs down here. The Pearl River Swamp is full of them and all kinds of strange creatures. What I keep running over, though, is raccoons, and they are the biggest raccoons I've ever seen. I need to get my tires realigned. I've been lucky I've missed running into any deer. One night, I thought for sure Santa had to be behind the herd that crossed the road in front of me. I hear you, Steve, about the flat tires. I've fixed two with "Fix-A-Flat" in the last two months, and have several spare cans in the trunk. Why don't we all buy "Fix-A-Flat" stock and make a million bucks?
All the talk about eating roadkill reminds me of a joke, but it would not be in the best taste. Ya'll wouldn't think well of me if I told it.

First, there are two genders of hogs out there, boars and sows. What Steve is saying is correct about eating boar meat, if you have ever fried up a pork chop and it stinks to high heaven, you have gotten hold of some boar meat. I have eaten venison from a buck in rutting season and it doesn't smell anything like boar meat. It is also true that if you cut the boar and then feed him for a few months, the meat will be edible. Anyway, the best of luck to all of you down there, my grandsons will be down in July to do some volunteer work through their church, I wish I could join them but am still working. Hang in there, we are praying for all of you.

God bless you all

Hello, Would it be possible to get Steve and Heather Harper's email address. I am doing research on the effects of the hurricanes and would like to contact them.

HA omg I feel ya on the road conditions. If your driving on certain roads you'd swear you were out in a feild or something! Although I have been voulenteering here for 2 1/2 years and we cant find wild hogs, we have been looking for them! Aligators thats somehting else we cant find we thought we would see down here! Well thanks for the laugh and memories!