Just dropping a note to let y'all know I came through just fine. I was on leave in Hawaii when the storm hit. I had been there a few days visiting family, and basically got told to hang tight for what turned into another 3 weeks. Aside from worrying about my friends and my house for a while, it was a great time. I eventually heard from everyone, and they're OK, but a lot of the folks from the western side of the coast have lost everything. Many of them have already left the state permanently.
I came home Monday of last week and found my own place in pretty good shape. A lot of my fence got blown down and my roof got chewed up around the edges, but it's all DIY-able. Red Cross money should cover it. All in all, I was so lucky that I almost feel bad.
Living here now is pretty lame, to be honest. Late September and temps are still topping 90, and there's dirt and debris everywhere. I'm still dodging the top of a huge tree every time I hit the freeway exit to get home, because other things have taken precedence. Two of the main arteries into Biloxi will be out for months or years, and the most direct one remaining is marginally functional due to storm damage. My 20-minute commute has doubled, and that's if I leave in the wee hours to beat the worst traffic. The base hospital, commissary, and BX are out of commission till some time next year, and they still haven't let my people bring their families back due to this lack of services.
The worst part about this all is that Walmart is practically the only place to get a lot of your basic needs, and I EFFING HATE WALMART.
Hehe.
At least things are improving gradually... Keesler is throwing up temporary replacement facilities, the garbage in the roads is being hauled away a truckload at a time, and little by little the houses are starting to look whole again. With that, I gotta run. Take care, all.