Ernesto

As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches (next Tuesday), scientists are watching a tropical storm that may enter the Gulf of Mexico right around then. His name is Ernesto.

For those living in hurricane country, this is a familiar situation -- there's something out there, far beyond what you yet can see or feel, that is beginning to agitate the massive body of water that calmly laps at your doorstep, this sweet, salty friend capable of being transformed into a killing monster.

Think of Waveland last August 29th -- or Bay St. Louis or Biloxi or Gulfport or Pass Christian. Think of New Orleans. Katrina approached through the Gulf, gathering force as she twisted and turned with the awful passion only a killer knows. Her jagged edge ripped into the Mississippi coastline with such force that the massive barges anchored offshore called casinos were tossed inward like bathtub toys, much as King Kong would have done it, had he visited Mississippi instead of New York.

To understand what we all lost last year, we have to consider Faulkner, our greatest Southern writer. Go Down Moses or The Sound and the Fury. Which reminds me of the time a U.S. senator from Georgia was my roommate.

This is an odd story, but true. This man had a bad back and came out to the Bay Area to get treated by a prominant sports doctor. He stayed in a house where I was also staying in rooms rented by a mystery writer who had recently fallen in love with a Norwegian seaman. She had a cat that liked to lick the drops of water that slowly formed at the head of her bathtub fixture, much as if it (the fixture) were an overexcited male...

Anyway, this U.S. Senator and I bonded around several common interests, none more vital than Faulkner. Faulkner was one of those rare writers who could construct an entire world out of an image such as a glimpse of a girl's underpants as she swung on a tree, and make you see why that is the perfect way to tell a story. I was reminded of this recently when I considered the opening scene of Lost in Translation, where the camera focuses on a woman's bottom covered by panties, and lets matters develop as they may from there.

Meanwhile, Ernesto gathers strength far out in the salty ocean, and nobody knows where he will make landfall. Everybody all along the Gulf Coast can only wait and see, much as a woman waiting for her man to make his move... Last year it was a female storm that tore this coast apart. This year, it could well be a man that finishes the deal.

The Gulf Coast sits, battered and broken, unable to defend itself should God decide to send Ernesto or another storm hurtling into its midst this particular season. The victims of last year's devastating wreakage sit huddled in flimsy FEMA trailers, awaiting whatever fate God has in mind for them.

The sweet volunteers, including my own lost Angel, race around these communities, trying to help people focus on how they might rebuild their lives, even as the voraciously capitalist invaders erect casinos and other sweet enticements that will surely end their former way of life in ways that evil Katrina herself could never have imagined.

In light of all this, there is a grassroots group I'd like you to consider supporting, one of several I will be writing about in this space in the coming days, as we contemplate the anniversary of this monster storm and what she did to all of us. Here is the press release issued today in Biloxi by Coastal Women for Change.



Coastal Women for Change is a multi-cultural, grassroots community group that started in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. By January 2006, four months after the storm hit, many of us were still in shock by the scope of the disaster that we had been through. We began to come together to talk about that, but also about our hopes and fears for the future. The recovery process was already under way: A massive effort by local, state, and federal agencies that is expected to take 12 years before our coastal communities will be rebuilt.

We realize that unless we take the initiative to get involved, the needs of our families will likely be neglected in the official rebuilding process. This is simply because we are the people who rarely benefit from “business as usual” in Mississippi, but we aim to change that.

This is no time for “business as usual.” This is a time for us to organize ourselves into a strong coalition of women who can speak with one voice about our hopes to attain a vibrant, healthy and safe community for our families. The issues each of us face in our individual lives seemed insurmountable until we came together. Now we have hope.

But we also are aware how intimidating the challenges we face truly are. Although we originated in East Biloxi, we welcome the participation of women from all of the communities along the coast. Eventually, as we grow, there will be strength in those numbers. We also hope to forge alliances with other community groups, volunteers, religious groups, sympathetic politicians and business leaders to help stimulate long-term, sustainable change in our communities.

We will be attending the public meetings about the rebuilding plans that are held by various agencies and volunteer groups in order to insure that our voice is heard. Our main priorities are the housing, childcare, and employment issues we face as women trying to support our families. Though traditionally we have rarely participated in the official political process, the magnitude of the challenges facing us demands that we get involved now.

Coastal Women for Change (CWC) is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that is entirely supported by donations. We are currently operating under a small grant from the 21st Century Foundation. We welcome your tax-deductible donation of any amount, as well as the participation of all women in the region, regardless of race, color, religious orientation, or any of the other differences that have often separated us in the past.

When it comes to our future, we are all in this together.


CONTACT:
Mrs. Sharon Hanshaw, Executive Director
Coastal Women for Change (CWC)
336 Rodenberg Ave.
Biloxi, MS 39531
(Tel) 228-297-4849

***

Please get involved in helping local groups such as this one rebuild our precious Gulf Coast. You will never regret it.