Dig'n In The Dirt

Thank goodness that we were blessed with record setting in heat in Davis for the week preceding our trip to Biloxi, because when we woke up on Saturday morning and stepped out the door we were pleasantly surprised that the temperature and humidity didn't seem as bad as we had been warned it would be.  Perhaps a "dry heat" isn't always preferable to overcast skies and balmy moisture.

After having stocked up at a local Win Dixie Market the night before, we breakfasted in our rooms and packed our lunches in preparation for a day on the town - working.  First we visited the Grassroots camp where we received our assignment and were chaperoned by Jerry/Tony (who for whatever reason introduced himself to each of us using one of these two names) to our first worksite.  There we met with the property owner, Arsel, aka The Rev (as in short for Reverend).  We were introduced to two huge piles of dirt and received some vague instructions as to where to move them to.  Seeing as there were 11 of us and only two shovels and one wheelbarrow, Jerry/Tony returned to the Grassroots camp for the necessary tools.  Jerry/Tony has been here since March and it was evident that living in a tent all this time may have dampened his spirits.

 After tools arrived we spent until lunch time spreading dirt, pulling weeds, uprooting small trees and hoisting chuncks of cement (found buried in the dirt) out to a trash pile.  Many of us wondered if/when/how these piles would ever get picked up.  Evidently they must, because the whole town had a one time been massive piles of rubble which have been removed since Katrina's attack.

We decided to  have lunch near the water with a full view of the accordioned Ocean Springs br idge.  After seeing many, many FEMA trailers on the way to our hotel the evening before and on the way to lunch, it was a relief to see a normal sight of a family fishing by the waters edge.  Even amidst the blight and ruin, life returns to normal.

 After lunch we returned to the Grassroots camp.  We were happy that we had decided to stay in a hotel because the camp was basically an empty field behind a car dealership, outfitted with a couple of portapotties, two outdoor showers and a few tents and canopies.  Together we moved pallets (which were used for the foundation for just about everything at the camp), and possibly the world's heaviest bunkbeds in preparation for the next round of volunteers.  We were mighty happy to return to the comfy, air conditioned bliss of our well appointed rooms and hot showers.