Trains-Barbed Wire-Driftwood

As I entered Pass Christian early last January I was thunder struck by the level of destruction. I have experienced first hand a tornado but was not prepared for mile after mile of near total collapse of every home and building. The closest image I had was bombed out sections of World War II Europe. Then I approached the railroad tracks that follow the coast two or three blocks inland . . . And the barbed wire. I was told that in the first days after the storm looting was a huge problem. The barber wire along the tracks kept the looters out, or as some said, kept the looters in the coastal area. At any rate it added to my image of a bombed out community and chaos that often follows a disaster.

A few days later local residents were thrilled to hear the sound of the first train to pass through. It was a step towards normalcy. It became a symbol for me as well that progress was being made.The barbed wire remains a grim reminder that some people see nothing wrong with helping themselves to the few worldly goods people had left.

Today was my first day off since arriving. One Kentucky group left early Saturday morning and two others arrived this afternoon. I spent much of the day at the beach, just a block from our church headquarters. There's a curfew in Pass Christian and the beach is off limits. Even talk of a $1000 fine. . . Still not enough to deter a beach comber like me. Imagine the driftwood that washed several miles inland, across the tracks and then left with the dreams and treasures of thousands of residents as it made its dash back to the sea.

I have developed deep respect for the personal belongings that five months after the storm still litter the community and its' beaches. I'm careful to leave them in their final resting place. But can it be all bad if a few pieces of driftwood find their way into my bird castles?