Gulfport, Mississippi- Day 10 in the Gulf... We keep hear people using the phrase "war zone" when they describe the scene here. Today I finally agreed with them. Gulfport, Mississippi looks like what I would imagine in the aftermath of a bomb exploding. You can't tell where the buildings used to be. There is debris everywhere, twisted metal, trees, concrete, furniture, street signs, you name it. The Copa Casino behind where we parked our truck is literally missing one side of the building. Heavy equipment moves the debris into piles, but it hardly makes a dent. We drove down the main road along the coast and saw nothing but foundations, homes and churches gone or barely standing. Like the other towns we've been in there is a police and military presence. But it's clear the job of repairing this city is so big and will take so long it's hard to imagine how long all this support can and will stay here. People walk through the debris looking shellshocked. Some take pictures, others just gaze across the seemingly endless expanse of wasteland and shake their heads.
Amanda