Friday, November 18, 2005


I thought I'd end this with a personal favorite: Tuesday's sunset in Pass Christian.
This photo by Joshua Norman

This photo is a better indication of what happened to Jeffries house. Those are his steps on the left with the foundation cinderblocks in the background and his house on the right.
This photo by Joshua Norman

Say hi to, well, his name is on the building behind him. Jeffries helped his uncle build that house in Pass Christian some six decades ago. It was knocked around by Hurricane Camille - it floated a good 100 feet away - but stayed intact. Katrina did much worse. It floated it only 30 feet away, but cracked severely in half. Such is the way things are in most of Pass Christian. I heard recently, and haven't had a chance to confirm yet, that only 130 or so out of nearly 4,000 of all structures there are useable.
This photo by Joshua Norman

Buenos Dias! Arturo here shares this tent with six other people on a frisbee golf course in Lyman because, well, he's got no other choice. The Mexican migrant worker has been having trouble finding work since a crew he was working on exposed the fact that they weren't get paid and other contractors have been hesitant to hire them because the know they'll demand fair pay. Imagine that!
This photo by Joshua Norman

Saturday, November 12, 2005

The following appears courtesy of the SunHerald -
The rubber boot rose high into the air, landed with a dull thud androlled within just a few feet of a bucket inside two white circlespainted on the ground. The crowd let out a cheer and the welly boot tosscompetition ended just as it began, with smiles all around.Welcome to the first and possibly last Wee Mini Scottish Highland Games,hosted by Karen and Jeff Green at their Long Beach home on Country FarmRoad Saturday afternoon.These games were the substitute for the 20-year-old Celtic Gamesnormally hosted by the Highlands and Islands Association, a Scottishheritage group made up of expatriates, Scottish descendents and generalCeltic enthusiasts from all over Mississippi.The official games ? which draw up to 3,000 people annually ? werecanceled because of "tha’ wee storm," so Scotland native Karen Greendecided to host a smaller version in her expansive backyard for 50 or sofriends, relatives and anyone who managed to hear about it."The folks who lost everything, they need something like this," Greensaid.As its name indicates, these were a seriously miniaturized and somewhatsilly version of the centuries-old Celtic games, which normally involvepicking up large or heavy objects and throwing them as far as you can.The welly boot toss competition stood in for the caber toss, in whichcontestants try to throw a 19-foot long, 120 pound poll end over end.The games also included a tug of war and a fishing competition in theGreen’s pond. Former firefighter Mike Bass of Long Beach was the runawaywinner with a 6-inch perch.The main similarities between the Wee Mini Games and the actual eventwere the abundance of fermented barely drinks - namely beer and scotch -as well as a significant number of men in skirts which the men calledkilts.While the men claimed the pleated, plaid and airy designs are quitemanly in Scotland in addition to being traditional Scottish dress withsignificant historical and genealogical meaning, their appearance didnot vary greatly from the getups many of their wives were wearing.The colors and design in kilts have significant meaning, Green said,with the variations in kilts symbolizing a person’s family, geographicarea or country.To that end, Green recently submitted a design to Scotland’s TartanAssociation and the Mississippi State Legislature to be the officialstate tartan.Maggie Bass, also a Scot, said she admired the design.Bass, whose husband was the fishing competition winner, said she lovesMississippi for its people and weather, a large part of the reason shehas been here over 20 years.While her home, which lies just north of Magnolia Street in Long Beach,sustained major damage after the hurricane, it was livable. She said thehurricane has done nothing to dampen her enthusiasm for her new adoptedhome."You have to put up with something to live in paradise," Bass said. "TheBritish Consulate called to help get me away after the storm, as I amstill a subject and they knew I lived here. I told them I am not goinganywhere!"As the afternoon wound down, the promise of a ceili, or Celtic music jamsession, had the group upbeat. With several bagpipers, bodhran(traditional Celtic drum) players, guitarists, a singer and an accordionplayer in attendance, the night was sure to be long.

Close up of the proposed official Mississippi state tartan. Description of the meaning of the colors - Dark Green: for the never ending forests of Pine and evergreen leaves of the Magnolia.Light Green: for the lustrous leaves of the Great Southern Oaks.Dark Blue: for the waters of the world famous Mississippi River and the many lakes within the State.Red: for the color in our State Flag, and for the blood shed in our historic past.White: for the beautiful sands of the MS Gulf Coast, and the cotton fields of home.Yellow: for the heart of the Magnolia, our beautiful State Flower.
This photo by Joshua Norman

Looking over the proposed official Mississippi state tartan.
This photo by Joshua Norman

The welly boot toss competition, which was a stand in for the caber toss at the Wee Mini Scottish Highland games in Long Beach.
This photo by Joshua Norman

This is the eventual winner of the fishing competition at the Wee Mini Scottish Highland Games. A self-described "Mississippi coon-ass" who married a Scottish woman, he won with a 6-inch perch.
This photo by Joshua Norman

Wednesday, November 09, 2005


That's the Tran house. There used to be nine people in it. Four have moved away in search of work. Grandma Tran, in striped shirt, worked in the shrimping industry, like a majority of the Vietnamese on the Gulf Coast, and is now jobless, like a majority of the Vietnamese on the Gulf Coast. Papa Tran said he was able to get nothing out of the house.
This photo by Joshua Norman

I am working on a story about the Vietnamese community. This is the Tran family. That's Julie in pink. She attached herself to my leg during my time with them. Papa Tran, in cap in background, was a welder in Mobile. That's their FEMA trailer. There's six of them in there.
This photo by Joshua Norman

Another fog photo. This is on Highway 90 in Biloxi at around 5:30 p.m.
This photo by Joshua Norman

There's been a spooky fog in South Mississippi the last few days. It feels like London. Driving along the beach road at night is harrowing, as visibility has been at around 50 feet and there are no lights there.
This photo by Joshua Norman

Saturday, November 05, 2005


The woman in the dress is a Vietnamese immigrant from California filming a music video amongst the rubble to appeal for aid at home and in America for the thousands of Vietnamese in Biloxi who lost their homes, jobs and everything else to Hurricane Katrina.
This photo by Joshua Norman

Yes, that's yours truly with a 6-foot, 10-pound, red-tailed boa constrictor named Beta found in the rubble of Long Beach last week. Someone discovered it out in their yard curled up in a couch. The thing survived about two months on its own. Well, that and a category 4 hurricane, assuming it was someone's pet. Being that it is indigenous to the jungles of South America, I am assuming that it was in a house that was destroyed and survived. I've contemplated bringing it home, as it needs a home at the moment, but I live with a 5-pound chihuahua now and Beta would make quick work of her.
This photo by Joshua Norman