My First Glimpse ~ Something's not Right

It all seemed fine – on the surface. The natural beauty of this area is amazing ~ and what is happening to it is an absolute crime. Most areas are not surprisingly deserted for this time of year. The Casino area of Biloxi is like a ghost town. With the temps hovering around 100 degrees, some people have come down to the beaches, and what did surprise me was the number of people in the water. I walked by two teenage girls splashing and laughing. What can you say? I couldn’t smile, so I just looked down and kept walking. It made me sad to think of what might be in their future from the toxic chemicals in their watery playground.

Near deserted beach in Biloxi

Never having been to Mississippi before, I couldn’t tell if the water appeared normal or not – it looked more like Long Island Sound than the blue Atlantic waters off Florida, but perhaps that's normal. And there was no smell. You’d think that anyone with a pulse would still know not to go in, no matter how high the mercury gets.

Heading West on 90, I found my first cleanup workers in Gulfport. As beautiful as this beach was, there wasn’t a soul on it except myself & the cleanup crews. It was just beautiful powdery white sand cut through with ATV tracks.

I had a bit of trepidation as I was checked out by these men supervising the clean up, but they didn't stop me from speaking to their workers. A friendly smile seemed to go a long way and I wasn’t restricted at all. With the decreasing attention being paid to the whole issue of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, and the complete lack of journalists, my guess is that they’re letting their guard down. Not a good idea with folks like me around. Some gray haired ladies are not as harmless as they look.



It’s clear that cleanup operations are scaling back and I believe that it’s a very important time to report from here for that very reason. Things appear to be better, and the Feds and BP want everyone to believe that it is, but you really get the sense that something is not right. It’s too quiet. Parents know that feeling well.

Tonight on CNN, they showed trucks loaded with booms leaving Plaquemine’s Parish and Billy Nungesser and others are reporting that there is still oil coming into the surrounding areas.  Tomorrow I am meeting with NASA pilot Bonny Schumaker who has some very serious questions as to the discrepancies between what she is seeing with her own eyes and what the Feds and BP are claiming to be the truth. It promises to be a very interesting day.