Greetings from the Biloxi resident / HAMB hurricane reporter. Getting back in the swing of trying to get to work via different routes, since the big bridge between Biloxi and Ocean springs is gone. How does a whole concrete bridge dissapear anyway? I am watching whole neighborhoods being bulldozed. One area of 150 homes had 2 left standing. US 90 on the beach, which used to be the main drag for "cruisin the Coast" looks like it went back to the 1700s, just a sand road now. Some smaller towns like Pass Christian are wiped off the map. Have yet to meet with my insurance adjuster. Sure hopes she knows the value of old car parts and tools, because I have to replace almost everything I've gather in 25 years of scrounging. There is a big battle brewing with insurance companies down here splitting hairs about storm surges, wind driven water, rain, wind, bla bla ... I just hope they'll at least replace the welders and compressor. On a brighter note, I tore down my 327 to see how it fared with 5 gallons of muddy salt water inside. It had just been rebuilt shortly before I bought it. The first thing I noticed was that the oil I had put in it after draining all the junk out had protected it pretty well. Every looks good, although I havent decided to pull the crank, since it turns easily. anyway I had never really looked at casting numbers and such, but after noticing the 461 X heads, I ran the block numbers and stamping and looks to be a real date matched 62 Corvette 340HP complete engine, right down to the intake, which I almost threw out since I put the tripower on it. And it looks like my muncie is okay to after flushing it out. Kinda cool. but still going in the roadster, when I find the rest of it I'll take any bright spot I can get right now. Mike
While I've always questioned the sanity of living off a large body of water, I am really really glad things are working out for you. There needs to be more "bright spot" little stories spotlighted, than the mass medias communication of the doom and gloom. I'm not belittling the fact that this was bad, but we need the "survivor" stories too, like this one. Hang in there buddy, and if you need anything (other than money, we have none ) I'll find a way to get it to ya. Stay strong. Jay
Hang in there and keep fighing the good fight. We are feeling your pain. Don't let those insurance guys mess you around. We all know old car parts are like gold. Ya can't keep a good man down! Doc.
yeah, good news is good news. if you need anything, seriously, let us all know. I don't have real close ties to anyone down there, but I do want to help and I'd rather contribute to someone I know needs it.
I've cruised that US90 before during the Cruzn the Coast show. Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express right there on the main drag. What are awesome area around there. Most places have all the hotels and motels built up on the beach and you usually can't see it from the road. A1A in Daytona for instance. I loved the fact that you could actually drive and have the sand and ocean view right to the south of you. Hopefully it will once again come back as an awesome area to live and visit. My favorite little town in that area was/is Bay St Louis. I fell in love with it. I heard it's gone. It's a shame. Glad to hear your on the road to recovery.
Denise , I spent alot of my teen years "cruising Jeff Davis" in Bay St. Louis, the main drag off the Beach. It was a great little town...
Mike Glad you survived ! I just had a tree on the house and lost some fence here in Lucedale, it missed the Buick though . My dumb ass buddy Pat Perisich rode the storm out in his store 1 1/2 blocks from the beach across from the biloxi hospital and lived to tell about it. It took the roof of the building next to him, blew out his windows, and flattend every thing else all around him. Talk about dumb luck. I don't guess we'll be cruisin the Coast this year LOL!
Judd, we may do it yet. My 37 was in my upstairs garage and escaped with no damage, and I was talking to the owner of The Peoples Bank, who is a friend and also one of the main sponsors of the event. He has a 47 plymouth and he wants to organize a mini cruisin the coast next month, I'll let you know if it goes anywhere....
Now THATS the reason Americans prosper! You guys got slammed in a way that would have killed most smaller countries and you are back rebuilding and talking about cruising 2 weeks after the fact! Best of luck to you and your family and freinds. If you need any appraisals of stuff prior to the storm (and have photo documentation), our shop is set up with Haggerty to do this.
Hope we will be back on the road tomorrow. Headed to Hattiesburg with our equipment. We are on one insurance companys list and are getting calls. Very nice people in city hall we have dealt with over the phone there. One lady even offered us her rental home. Hope we can help out some of you good folks. Of course we hope to make a buck but would gladly help anyway we can. It's about people first.
I heard the house is gone except for part of the library still hanging in. I was told everything else was either lost to damage or just plain gone. I just took the wife there a couple of years back. Even had his funeral hearse inside...gone. We also cruised the coast from New Orleans to the Florida panhandle and stopped every ten minutes it seemed to check out something cool. It was a very cool place and just like HRLC said it wasn't so built up that you couldn't see anything. We liked the fact that there was a few "Mom and Pop" style mueseums that for a buck or two you could see what the settlers used to tame the wilderness or how the early settlers lived. Nothing new to me but it was cool to see my wife's eyes perk up in surprise as she learned a new fact here and there, she is city folk all the way while I'm a farm kid (of an antique collector) moved to the city. I hope the rebuid doesn't get overtaken by developers that build 30 story hotels. I liked the southern charm and the big mansions and magnolias.
The Jeff Davis home was badly damage, but whats left is sound, and plans are already being made for the restoration. I read just today that artifacts are still being dug out of the woods on the 80 acre estate. Some of the other building were destroyed on the site but at least the home made it.
I'd be happy to send you down a Hemmings Motor News to help you argue with the insurance adjuster over the value of stuff. Let me know. As others have said,we're glad you are OK and keeping us updated on conditions down there. Thanks !
The real battle won't be what its worth, it'll be getting them to cover it at all. Most homes including mine were not in a flood plain and did not have any sort of flood insurance, bad thing is I just upgraded mine last month after a new appraisal. Agent got out her little map and said "this is what you need" Mine was 26 feet above sea level ,However Katrina didn't care about maps and plains, she just covered every thing with 30 feet of water and 12 feet of waves on top of that. homes 6 miles inland got flooded....3 out of every 4 homes in the coastal counties are gone or unlivable. Thank God I am one of the few with a habitable house. The houses are gutted 100 feet from me..Unreal...
Mother Nature can be a nasty bitch. That is just amazing to me that water could travel that far inland. I'm glad I live on a mountain top 140 miles inland. Still..... that may not be enough. As I said in earlier posts :you just gotta say the word if you need something and I'll do my best.
Never plant pines near your house. They are shallow rooted and easily topple over in high wind or with age.
heading over to gulfport tomorrow(sat) to work on my in laws house again--can I bring you anything???
I saw a restaurant yesterday with plywood nailed all over the outside. It was totally ruined by Katrina. Rattle canned on the plywood was "Pray for New Orleans." What makes this so special is the fact that the restaurant was the Original Oyster House in Mobile, Alabama. Think about it....the owner lost his business, but is counting his blessings and thinking about the less fortunate two states away.
I think it would be nice if when they rebuild everything down there that they would leave the beach side of the roads clear and put the hotels on the land side of the road. they could put som etunnels or som shit under the road but at least leave the view mostly open!!
Whatever you do make sure the insurance jerks know all your shit was your personal hobby shit, otherwise they point fingers at you needing business insurance BTDT!!!!
I think I can understand how you feel, man. My house got an unexpected sunroof last year thanks to hurricane Frances. I had a hell of a time with my insurance company but finally got it settled in march. One of the guys I work with is still in damn FEMA trailer and now the tree huggers are telling him his land is considered wetlands and they dont want to let him build on it. I know you're in for a tough road , but all I can tell you is to hang in there. Good luck man.
It is very refreshing to hear a good story for a change! Stay head strong and don't let those insurance jerks make you the criminal!
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