Dustruction in Waveland - 11.27.2005
I drove from Atlanta to Houston and back again a few weeks ago. The main purpose of the trip was to take my grandma to Houston and send her off a 'pesera' (a van that transports mexicans) to Matamoros. I also needed to get away from my boring routine in Georgia. It was smooth sailing on the way there except fo the extended rest stops where my gradma needed to walk around for about 30 minutes before we could go again. On the way there she kept asking me when we were going to pass the destruction that Katrina had left. She wanted to see New Orleans but I alway take the 12 instead of the 10 when I travel down that corridor ans so we missed it all together. She was dissapointed.
On my way back, decided to take a small detour in Waveland, Mississippi in gas up. I've stopped in Waveland a couple of times before because I liked the name of the place and so I thought I'd do the same. I pushed my car until it was out of gas, passing up Slidel, a largish town where the 10 and the 12 meet. I passsed the Lousiana-Mississippi state line. I passed up the nice restop on the first exit in Misissippi. I kept driving some 30 miles until I got to the Waveland exit.
Upon reaching the exit, I too a right towards waveland. I was still five miles away but I figured I'd have enough gas since my gas light had just turned on. It didn't take me too long to realize that waveland was fucked. All the buildins were torn to shreds, just piles or rubble. A bit further down the the road I saw a humvee guarding a power station. I had to turn around quit if I was to get any gas. There wasn't shit in Waveland excpet destruction.
I turned back and decided to keep going east and take the next exit. The whole had been reduced to a Wendys, a Subway, a BP Amaco that didn't take credit cards and a Chevron that was out of gas. The Cheron was especially earie because it has a loudspeaker at full volume talking about how great it store was and what deals you could get there... except that it was closed. Everything was closed. I drove to the south side of the freeway. Again, Destruction. I returned to the Chevron andI decided to stay until morning so that I could try to get gas because I was almost out. As I sat in my car eating some cold bean tacos I'd brought from Houston, I saw car after car doing the same exact thing I had done. They drove up the the Chevron because it ws big and brightly lit. The read the sign that it was out of gas. They drove across the street to the BP. Tried the credit card machine and kicked the gas pump when they discovered it didn't work. They all drove off frustrated.
After about 30 minutes of watching the same routine over and over, I young couple noticed that I was sitting in my car and drove up to me and asked where they could get gas. I told them I was out of gas too and that I was going to wait until morning and try to get gas at the BP with some cash. They drove off frustrated but then ten minutes later they were back. They had gone to the next town and it was out of gas too. They parked next to me to wait until morning.
After about an hour I got tired of waiting. I got out my car and walked over to the couple in the car.
I asked them, 'Do you guys remember Slidel? Was there gas there?'
They said that Slidel probably had gas. It was a big town. I told them that I was going to try to drive back to Lousiana and try to get gas at Slidel. I told them that I'd get some gas in a small gas tank and bring it back to them. We exchanged cell phone numbers and I was on my way.
It was a tense ride back to Slidel. I drove with they yellow gas light on all the way. On my way back to Slidel I rememberd that my car was rated at about 25 miles per gallon. I really started sweating when the trip odometer read 30 miles. After about 32 miles I reached Slidel and a gas station. I called the couple on the cell phone and they told me that they had decided to make the trip back to Slidel too. I wished them luck and told them to call me if they ran out of gas on the way.
The gas station in Slidel was wierd. It was pretty barren but they did have gas. Outside, the sign was bent over from the winds. Also a giant moutain of black trash bags leaned against the building. Apparently, there was no trash service there yet. I gassed up, bought some nasty coffee, and an old stale donut. Inside the store were two young black men. They were decked out in gold chains and baggy clothes. They were buying nachos. It was about three AM. They were stoned.
When I went to my car the young men had pulled up next to me in a shiny new Cadillac with gold rims. They were going to gas up there car. I decided to talk to them.
'You guys from around here,' I asked.
The guy without the nachos responded, 'yeah baby, what you need?'
I thought that maybe I should ask to smoke some weed with them but instead I responded, 'Nothing, I was just really surprised that things are still in such bad shape around here. I figured so long after the storm, things would be back to normal. I was also surprised at the amount of damage to everything'
He replied, 'Them hurricanes really tore shit up 'round here'.
They did.
On my way back, decided to take a small detour in Waveland, Mississippi in gas up. I've stopped in Waveland a couple of times before because I liked the name of the place and so I thought I'd do the same. I pushed my car until it was out of gas, passing up Slidel, a largish town where the 10 and the 12 meet. I passsed the Lousiana-Mississippi state line. I passed up the nice restop on the first exit in Misissippi. I kept driving some 30 miles until I got to the Waveland exit.
Upon reaching the exit, I too a right towards waveland. I was still five miles away but I figured I'd have enough gas since my gas light had just turned on. It didn't take me too long to realize that waveland was fucked. All the buildins were torn to shreds, just piles or rubble. A bit further down the the road I saw a humvee guarding a power station. I had to turn around quit if I was to get any gas. There wasn't shit in Waveland excpet destruction.
I turned back and decided to keep going east and take the next exit. The whole had been reduced to a Wendys, a Subway, a BP Amaco that didn't take credit cards and a Chevron that was out of gas. The Cheron was especially earie because it has a loudspeaker at full volume talking about how great it store was and what deals you could get there... except that it was closed. Everything was closed. I drove to the south side of the freeway. Again, Destruction. I returned to the Chevron andI decided to stay until morning so that I could try to get gas because I was almost out. As I sat in my car eating some cold bean tacos I'd brought from Houston, I saw car after car doing the same exact thing I had done. They drove up the the Chevron because it ws big and brightly lit. The read the sign that it was out of gas. They drove across the street to the BP. Tried the credit card machine and kicked the gas pump when they discovered it didn't work. They all drove off frustrated.
After about 30 minutes of watching the same routine over and over, I young couple noticed that I was sitting in my car and drove up to me and asked where they could get gas. I told them I was out of gas too and that I was going to wait until morning and try to get gas at the BP with some cash. They drove off frustrated but then ten minutes later they were back. They had gone to the next town and it was out of gas too. They parked next to me to wait until morning.
After about an hour I got tired of waiting. I got out my car and walked over to the couple in the car.
I asked them, 'Do you guys remember Slidel? Was there gas there?'
They said that Slidel probably had gas. It was a big town. I told them that I was going to try to drive back to Lousiana and try to get gas at Slidel. I told them that I'd get some gas in a small gas tank and bring it back to them. We exchanged cell phone numbers and I was on my way.
It was a tense ride back to Slidel. I drove with they yellow gas light on all the way. On my way back to Slidel I rememberd that my car was rated at about 25 miles per gallon. I really started sweating when the trip odometer read 30 miles. After about 32 miles I reached Slidel and a gas station. I called the couple on the cell phone and they told me that they had decided to make the trip back to Slidel too. I wished them luck and told them to call me if they ran out of gas on the way.
The gas station in Slidel was wierd. It was pretty barren but they did have gas. Outside, the sign was bent over from the winds. Also a giant moutain of black trash bags leaned against the building. Apparently, there was no trash service there yet. I gassed up, bought some nasty coffee, and an old stale donut. Inside the store were two young black men. They were decked out in gold chains and baggy clothes. They were buying nachos. It was about three AM. They were stoned.
When I went to my car the young men had pulled up next to me in a shiny new Cadillac with gold rims. They were going to gas up there car. I decided to talk to them.
'You guys from around here,' I asked.
The guy without the nachos responded, 'yeah baby, what you need?'
I thought that maybe I should ask to smoke some weed with them but instead I responded, 'Nothing, I was just really surprised that things are still in such bad shape around here. I figured so long after the storm, things would be back to normal. I was also surprised at the amount of damage to everything'
He replied, 'Them hurricanes really tore shit up 'round here'.
They did.
