Hurricane Ida was the first hurricane in years that I was able to evacuate with my family. Three years with the Sun Herald and three years as the public information officer for the Harrison County Board of Supervisors did not allow me to evacuate when storms popped up in the Gulf. When I worked for Harrison County, I would be sequestered with Emergency Management and would have to stay in the Emergency Operations Center for the duration of the weather event.
We (Dayna, Charlie and myself,) live in Pass Christian in a neighborhood about 50-60 yards off of the Bay of St. Louis and across the street from a bayou. Our house is on stilts, which elevates it, but weather events, like powerful hurricanes, can be problematic in our neighborhood. The storm surge for Hurricane Katrina was 28 feet.
For Ida, we decided to take our “hurrication” in Columbus. We call it a “hurrication” because Charlie was traumatized by Hurricane Zeta, so we try to keep his mind off the storm. We had a great time in Columbus, our old hometown.
Thank you to the person at Starbucks who paid for our order on Sunday because they saw our car tag was from Harrison County. Your anonymous kindness was greatly appreciated. Thanks also to the manager of the Day’s Inn for going above and beyond to make us comfortable, to Sonya at Hardee’s for being the same ray of sunshine she was when we left Columbus several years ago and to Mayor Keith Gaskin for checking on us through social media.
On the Coast, Long Beach is known as “The Friendly City,” which took a lot of getting used to when we first moved to the area. But in my heart, I know the real “Friendly City” is in the Golden Triangle in Northeast Mississippi. Thank you for your hospitality, Columbus. Thanks for making a stressful situation as comforting as possible.
Jeff Clark, Pass Christian, Mississippi
Editor’s note: Jeff and Dana Clark are former employees of The Dispatch.
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