HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well FINALLY 2006 has come. Today is day 126. Some progress is being made. It's slow but it is steady. I'm just damn glad 2005 is behind us, and I NEVER want to see another year like that.

This past Wednesday, I visted the Isle of Capri Casino. I went to check it out. The date was the 28th and it opened on the 26th. I'm happy to report that I had to wait in line forever to valet park my car. I would have self-parked, but that's a bitch of a hill to climb, and my back just won't let me do it. Anyway, I digress....the casino part is in the Hotel now...just as we knew it would be...in the old ballroom(s).

It's much larger than I expected it to be! I expected just a few slot machines and one or two table games. Oh noooo, not the case. The slots are all new (duh!) and are fun and exciting games. OF COURSE, I just donated my measley $30 bucks to the economy, but hey...what the heck right! It's a pretty place, and I hope to be taking my mom soon. I want to go and visit the New Palace, as it was set to open this past Friday. The Imperial Palace has been open for a few weeks, but my husband works near there, and says that parking is a premium. People are parking on the sides of the road and under the I-110 loop...Not for me. I guess FEMA is still in town and the parking garage is still full! My sister tells me that you can get a spot at 5am near the elevators though! :-)

I'm just glad to see Highway 90 back open. It's good to ride down the beach again...even in the state that it's in. What I DON'T look forward to in 2006 is what I know to be inevitible, and that's a complete REHAB of Highway 90. But I'm full aware that they only did a patch job so that they could get it back open to traffic. The Popps Ferry Bridge is now open again...so here again...a piece of progress!
Now will someone please tell the Mayor of OS to quit raising a ruckus about six laneing the new Biloxi/OS Bridge so we can get that project going!! :x

Seeing as how Black Eyed Peas are supposed to bring good luck...and I ate mine last year, I will be removing them from the menu this year! Who needs that kind of luck in 2006?? Down with Black Eyed Peas! I wish you all a Happy, Healty, Prosperous, Hurricane free 2006.

Ramblings of Guilt

Ramblings of Guilt

As I look around, the sights are horrendous.
Lives are strewn to the curb in pandemonium.
Generations of belongings lain out like a yard sale gone very, very wrong!

One can glean everything about the inhabitants of this so-called dwelling,
if one is so bold as to look.
Their reading habits, their hobbies, their love of movies and music
are not a secret to anyone who wishes to peruse the piles
growing ever higher beside their tract of land.

One’s senses kick in to high gear.…
It’s the stench of rot, mud, slime, and mold.
The sight of wood swollen and warped by water to generations of furniture
that in your gut, you just know have been passed down.
It’s the taste of a meal that some kind person has handed to you,
and the feel of sheetrock and insulation laden with odious water.
It’s also the sound of the chainsaws during the day, and the generators that lull you to sleep at night.

These are the abominations and the legacy of Katrina.

Guilt over washes me, for I have lost little.
My home is fairly intact.
For what I have lost, compared to others, my family and I have suffered little.
I have a home, I have comforts….
And most thankfully, I have all my family members!

But I have lost peace of mind.

I’ve lain in bed, crying for the mere fact I have a bed to lie in.
I’ve cried when I’ve fed my pet, thankful that she’s still with me.
I’ve agonized over the haves and have nots.
I’ve hated the devastation I’ve seen.

I’ve detested the rivers of tears, and swollen, puffy eyes of the brave,
not wanting to burden others with their woes.
There is repugnance at what is left of this once beautiful area.
Will I ever get over it? Will I ever “deal”?
Though I haven’t suffered as much in an object-oriented way,
Perhaps, I too have suffered at the hands of Katrina?

© ~!~ Becky ~!~ 9/30/05