10-4-07

I didn't have trouble getting to Hattiesburg, but I did have a little once I arrived. I knew to take a right at the football field, after passing the Southern Miss. campus. The only small change to my route was, as I found out after calling Deborah, the field has been replaced by a HOSPITAL. I guess it's been a few years since I've been in Hattiesburg.
Curtis and Deborah's yard has gone through a few changes since Katrina came a knocking. There used to be huge pines and a swimming pool in the back. The pool's been filled in, the pines are gone, and Curtis isn't taking donations of seedlings to replant. Fact is there is one pine still in their front yard, and he's anxious to get rid of that.
As you can tell, our choice for car colors is pretty close, except his would be considered a "colour". I know someone in Philly who would give him a run for his money on a course to a remote Fed-Ex depot, but that's another story. Anyway, Curtis took me on a ride to a museum at Camp Shelby. This is where most of the National Guard units in Miss. take their two-week active duty tours once a year, as I did in the early 70's. Not much has changed, except the barracks have air conditioning now, and there's gambling on the coast. WooHoo!
Speaking of the coast, we took a ride down to check it out. There are still barren areas where businesses, houses, historical sites, etc. used to be. One of the bridges on Hwy. 90 along the coast has reopened, but only two lanes are in use. This makes it easier to get to the gambling spots, and, we hoped, to Emeril's new restaurant. It was closed at the time we were there, rats! We cruised around for a little while, then headed back toward the house. After filling up, Curtis asked me if I wanted to take a turn behind the wheel. I had no trouble once we were highway-bound again, but trying to fit my water ski feet into the tiny slot to work the clutch and accelerator proved daunting at best. Aside from the back seat heckling, "you know, I'd be in third now", things worked out fine. That wrapped up the day of cruising, so after catching another episode of "War" on PBS everyone headed to bed.
The next day Deborah took me downtown to meet Curtis, and my niece Anna for lunch. She works in an upscale art shop right beside a pizza place, so we dropped in for some 'za. On the way back to Anna's work place, Deborah and I got chastised for giving money to the local crackhead bum. They just don't look the same as in Austin. That was MY excuse. That afternoon Curtis took off work, and he and I went to see "SuperBad". All you have to do now to get Curtis bent over laughing is mention one name.....Mcloving. After the movie we headed back for some of Deborah's shrimp gumbo. She makes the best, and a lot of it at a time. Anna and her boyfriend Matt came by, and everybody filled up as was proved by the poochy bellies poking out later.
I headed out early the next day to drive back to Austin, but not before getting a shot of Curtis, Deborah, and me on their front stoop. Once again, it was such a pleasure just hanging out with family. I love them all.
Believe it or not bon vivants, the trek has come full circle. I'm back in Austin finishing this last post, for now. I'll get together with y'all later and try to rehash all the high spots on the trip, 1st off so I won't forget anything, and secondly to get in some pics I left out due to restraints in the blog system. All of y'all be good, and we'll get together for a final stroll soon. Toodles noodles.