I Miss the Honky-Tonks

Hello friends of 626. Well, I took a much-needed break yesterday for reflection and relaxation. (Actually my mom and I were in the car most of the day driving from the Puerto to the Oxo.) This morning I plugged in my iPod, hit the shuffle option, and the first song I heard was "(Nothing But) Flowers" by the Talking Heads. It's like the perfect song to listen to when you've just returned from a trip to the HZ (Hurricane Zone). Here's a little blip of the lyrics from the middle of the song for you to think about:

This used to be real estate
Now it's only fields and trees
Where, where is the town?
Now, it's nothing but flowers.
...
This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it
I miss the honky tonks, Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
you got it, you got it.

The second part there made me think of T.O.'s (Timothy O'Sullivan's) on 16th Street. Now that is the tonk of all tonks, people. Fellow Gulfportians, a moment of silence.

I enjoyed my time in Gulfport on Tuesday. The Kaboom playground event at Owen T. Palmer park was rewarding. Here are some before, during, and after pictures for you to check out. The new playground is a HUGE upgrade. When I was a kid we had a jagged-edged metal slide and a splintery jungle gym to play on. Now it's high end and guaranteed not to require tetanus shots.

Okay, more on the house tomorrow. The wall is full of dirt. Since my photographer is traveling with me these days, no one is at 626 to snap the pics. I'll update with what I have Friday.

So long, sailors. Full speed ahead.

A Quiet Tuesday

Greeting from Gulfport. I drove down this morning and made it just in time for the 9:00 Katrina Anniversary service at St. Peter's By-the-Sea. Afterward, I wandered around what is left of the building and grounds and the landscape reminded me of a poem I read in college by William Wordsworth. I am posting it below so you all can read it. I was a Sewanee English major, so it's tough to get these old verses out of the bloodstream.

"Among the Ruins of a Convent in the Apennines"

Ye Trees! whose slender roots entwine
Altars that piety neglects;
Whose infant arms enclasp the shrine
Which no devotion now respects;
If not a straggler from the herd
Here ruminate, nor shrouded bird,
Chanting her low-voiced hymn, take pride
In aught that ye would grace or hide--
How sadly is your love misplaced,
Fair Trees, your bounty run to waste!
Ye, too, wild Flowers! that no one heeds,
And ye--full often spurned as weeds--
In beauty clothed, or breathing sweetness
From fractured arch and mouldering wall--
Do but more touchingly recall
Man's headstrong violence and Time's fleetness,
Making the precincts ye adorn
Appear to sight still more forlorn.

1837

Me and You and an Elephant Named Sue

Well. My photographer called this morning at 6:50. Gave me a heart attack. But, she wasn't giving me bad news (which is always the first thing that floods my mind when the phone rings so early) she was being a top-notch ace reporter. At that moment, Robin Roberts from Good Morning America was very close to 626 Second Street. Probably mullet-tossing distance, give or take. She was standing in front of the Wetzels' house, which--as I have mentioned in a previous post--was the only structure standing on East Beach Boulevard on the afternoon of August 29, 2005. There were a couple panoramic shots of the area around the Wetzels' during the segment, and if I had already had my coffee I might have been able to see our wall. So, hope you all saw that b-and-e this morning. My mom walked down there after Robin was gone and watched the camera crew pack it up. Here are some pics of that. Sort of reminds me of the time dad checked me out of kindergarten one day so we could watch the elephants build the circus tent down at Jones Park at the Gulfport smallcraft harbor. All the elephants had on nametags and we both (Dad and I) got a large kick out of one lovely pachyderm named Sue. She was the hardest worker. Got that three-ringer up in a heartbeat. It's funny how I remember that event, but have absolutely no memory of the actual circus. Just goes to show.

The third picture is of our dear neighbor Uncle Tommy Hewes's home, Blossom Lodge. It was two doors east of the Wetzels' (the Murdocks' were in-between). Now all that's left are Steps to Nowhere. When I was small, you'd still see these steps around on East Beach. Steps that led up sandy concrete paths to rockachaw- and blackberry-filled lots. You could still make out the tiny blue tiles of someone's bathroom floor or the redbrick crumble of an old fireplace. By the time I was in fourth or fifth grade, almost 20 years after Hurricane Camille, most of the Steps to Nowhere were gone. New houses built in their shadows. Well, it's almost like we've gone back in time, isn't it?

See ya later, alligator.

Go Home Ernesto

Can you believe the news about this Ernesto character? He thinks he can waltz into the Gulf with his fancy-pants exotic-sounding name and wreak havoc, does he? Well think again, Ernesto. We know all about your type. Back off.

Just had to get that off my chest. Ernesto could make next weekend interesting.

Meanwhile at 626, a Big Blue Wall Machine came in and did something. See if you can figure it out... It reminds me of the machine you sometimes see in highway construction. The one that moves the cement wall chunks around. I don't know. But this thing does look serious, to say the least. It's about the size of a firetruck.

I don't have any Archive footage for today's post, I'm sorry to say. I have had a bust day here in Oxford. First week of classes isn't just hurly-burly for the students. We lowly staffers have lots of work to do. I promise more on Monday. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll post over the weekend.

So, your assigment, dear readers, is to pay attention to Ernesto and pray that he stays away from the Puerto. Can you do it? I hope you can. I know you can.

Everyone have a swell Friday. Over and out.

Skool Dayz

Hello dedicated readers. Sorry I missed yesterday. My sources down on Second Street tell me there wasn't a lot to take pictures of. They've put in some plumbing, I think, but mainly it looks like it did on Tuesday. However, that doesn't mean I don't have pictures. Once again I had to go into the 626 Second Street Archives. The small gallery I maintain in my satellite location in Oxford is nothing compared to the volumes we keep down at our temporary location (Pine Avenue, Broadmoor, The Puerto), but it must suffice until I'm able to take a field trip to the Mother Ship. There are pics of 626 before I was even born, folks. When Dad held office even, if you can believe it. I think he was City Surveyor or something. Sounds made up, doesn't it?

Anyway, today's pictures fall into the "First Day of School" genre. In the first one, I am all ready for First Grade at St. John Elementary School. Look how happy am appear! In truth I was terrified. Mom took me down to that big bad redbrick school and I nearly lost my mind. First Grade's no kindergarten, people. No sirree. I hated it and threw a tantrum. Needless to say I eventually chilled out, relaxed, and somehow got through not only First Grade but all the other grades and college.

The second picture is of my first day at Westminster, I think. Fourth Grade. Now, when I think back to Fourth Grade, I enjoyed immensely. I probably got the best grades of my life. I read the Narnia books. I read the Babysitters Club. I was all about Chapter Books. Charlotte's Web, another fave. So why do I have such a horrible look on my face? No idea. I probably was annoyed at Dad for taking my picture. OR, maybe those hideous knee socks were cutting off the circulation to my feet. That very well may be it.

That's All Folks.

See you Friday.

Alien Space Dog

I thought I'd try a new font today. Lucida Grande. Sounds like something from Taco Bell. Yes, there was an alien space dog sighted in the 626 Second Street construction zone. We are trying to confirm reports that it resembles a schnauzer. Wait... Yes... No. Not an alien space dog. An actual schnauzer. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to officially welcome Annie Rooney Cassady to the World Wide Web. According to my trusty photographer (seen in photo 1 wearing white capris and a green shirt) Annie Rooney seemed to know her way around 626. That proves you can take the dog out of the house, but not the house out of the dog.... Or something.

The bricks are nearly complete. Actually, they may be finished by now. These pictures were taken on Monday. The porta-john was moved to the alley, which is certainly where it belongs. Next step is to fill in the bricked area with sand and concrete and more steel rods. Then the steel mesh. Then the slab. Slabariffic.

By the way, I'm listening to a great new song by this guy Gnarls Barkley. No, not the basketball player. That's Charles. The refrain is "Does that make me crazy?" Has nothing to do with 626 or the blog or anything, but I wanted to spread the word that this song is very cool. Muy bueno.

Continuing with today's animal theme, the final picture is of my cat, Mr. Patty MacTavish. As you can see from the picture, his weekend started on Tuesday. Meow.

Peace & Victory (as Paps would say)

Everybody Poops

And that's why we're celebrating the latest addition to 626. Think of 626 as the end of the rainbow... because at the end of every rainbow is a pot of gold. I could go on and on, but this is a family-friendly blog. In addition to the porta-john are a few more bricks on the foundation. I just noticed how this particular porta-john company is called Portable Services, Inc. How classy! The ones here in Oxford are called Hotty Toddy Potty. If that's not the cleverest...

Making its official World Wide Web debut is a picture of the painting I did of the pre-Katrina 626 Second Street. It's very green. And no, that's not a small gray kangaroo on the driveway. It's a dog. Her name's Annie Rooney. But, that IS a dead cat, poor little lamb.

Last but not least is a picture of some kids (my cousins and me) and Dad on a sailboat in the GYC harbor around 1984 or so. From left, Angela Lawson, me, Ellis Fisher, Matt Lawson, Paps, and Jay Fisher. Who wouldn't send their small children out on a tiny sailboat steered by a man in a newsboy cap and drinking a Miller Lite? I put this picture on the blog not because it had a thing in this world to do with 626, but because it has everything to do with the Yacht Club.

Marine Life Oceanarium (the pale green arches in the distance) is now a memory. That's where the "Miracle Dolphins" lived. I'm sure you've either read about them in the newspaper or you've seen them on every single morning news show. They are the very dolphins that swam out when the surge covered their tank. All ten survived the hurricane and are living out their lives in the Bahamas at the Atlantis Resort. I think I know of more than a few Miracle Human survivors who'd gladly switch places with the Miracle Dolphins if it didn't require eating buckets of raw mullet.

Well, that about wraps up this edition of the 626 blog. Tune in tomorrow. Same channel, same time.

BREAKING NEWS - Another Brick in the Wall

Another Brick in the Wall

I'm not exactly a Pink Floyd fan, but it's just too perfect a title for this post.

Down at 626 we officially have a wall. These pictures were taken bright and early this morning. Apparently, according to my photographer, the wall-builders were on the lot at 6 a.m. while most of us were still in Sleepytown. I know I was. These three house pics are pretty self-explanatory. Of special note is the second picture. If you enlarge it and look closely, you can see how all the bark is stripped from that water oak in the middle. Most every tree looks that way. Nekkid trees. Thank you, Katrina. The middle picture should inspire patriotic song-singing: "Jose can you see?"

Hmm. Today's new "old" picture... Well, the scanner in my office is temporarily unavailable. So, I'll have to reach into my old bag of tricks... What do we have here? Four little girls chilling out in the monkey grass at the old Three Letter Club in Gulfport. Those were the days, friends, those were the days. When all I really cared about was the cherry-count in my Shirley Temple and the Smurfs. From the left, Hallie Hewes, Mary Hewes, yours truly, and Morey Lefeve.

It's Friday! Why are you inside reading this? Get out in the street and dance!

Just Another Day in Paradise

Ragweed. I'm allergic to it. Because it's so dry here in Oxford, the ragweed is growing like... a weed. Go figure. I sneezed eleven-seventy times this morning before lunch. Then I took a Chlor-Trimeton and it made me feel a little loopy, causing me to throw my already-chewed piece of bubble gum into the toilet instead of the trash can. But, the show muts go on. And while I can't promise you this blog post will make a lot of sense, I'm trying...

The cement has been poured. As of suppertime yesterday. Here are the pictures to prove it. We are finally getting somewhere. Eventually this whole thing will be more houselike, I'm told. Patience, darlin', patience.

Here in O-town, school is just about to start. The city is slammed with Porsche SUVs from Dallas and Atlanta and Mississippi counties I've never heard of, much less visited. I huddle in my apartment, trying to stay cool, avoiding the traffic whenever possible. For those who haven't been here in a while, the population of the city more or less doubles when the students roll into town. Once again I'm feeling old, since this year's entering freshmen were born in--gasp!--1988. Holy horseraddish. I was twelve. Around that time (actually, a couple years earlier) 626 was the setting of my first and only slumber party. Here's a picture for proof. Check out that awesome TV. I remember when that thing got struck by lightning when Dad was out playing boure and Mom and I were watching Murder She Wrote.

I had a ball at the sumber party. Dad rented Harry and the Hendersons from Video Library for us to watch. "Great" movie about a Big Foot this dorky family adopts and tries to teach how to behave a normal human being. Sort of a Griswold family-meets-Chewbacca type deal. Slim pickins in Hollywood during those years, I must say.

Well people, it's Thursday. If it were up to me, I'd start my weekend now. Adios muchachos.

Segue (no not that dumb scooter thing)

I thought the last post was a good segue into today's post and this picture of me standing in front of Mary Jane's house on Easter Sunday in the very early 1980s. You readers may think I spend a little too much time putting pictures of myself on this blog, when, of course, the blog is meant to be a forum for the 626 2nd Street building progress. Maybe I do. But it's my blog, so there. AND, I'm an only child, so most of the pictures we have are of, well, me. I can't help it. It's a curse I've learned to live with.

That said, this picture does have something to do with 626, afterall. Because I was standing across the street at Mary Jane's, I was most likely looking right at old 626 while my dad snapped my mug. (Later that morning I dumped a whole bottle of Fanta Strawberry on my dress.) With that in mind, I'll be posting a new "old" picture every day or so, so everyone can really experience, visually, what it was like to grow up there. Sometimes it makes me kind of glad I was the last little kid to live there. It will always be mine, you know? I wouldn't know it, but there must be an odd feeling when you leave a house you've loved and known all your life to a family of strangers.

Today I also have a fun shot of my dad standing around the contruction site. He needs a hard hat, don't y'all think?

I hope everyone has a splendid Wednesday. Oxford's only 95 degrees today. No rain, though. Y'all aren't dancing enough.

Oh snap!

I accidentally erased today's post. I am not happy about this. It was, perhaps, the VERY BEST ONE ever. And now no one will get to read it. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Well, the gist of it was this: house pictures today. Steel rods. Kind of boring. We will get more interesting stuff, my photographer tells me. But for now, this is what it looks like.

The second picture is of some of my favorite people. From the left (and I'm reverting back to all the marrieds' maiden names), Dalton Lyon, me, Mary Elizabeth Martin, Mary Hewes, Caroline Martin, Hallie Hewes, and Anne Hewes. What a group. This was the 4th of July about 1996. I had just finished a fantastic freshman year at Sewanee (with the grades to prove it) and was working downtown at a high-power government job. We had a little fiesta down at 626 2nd. The hammock used to be on the east deck, right up against the fence. Those windows are Mrs. Bethea's house. She's dead. Anyway, fun as that party was, the thing that I remember most about it involved our friend, neighbor, and birthday-sharer, Mary Jane Allen. At first I told my mom I would "change all names to protect the innocent," but Mom said "Why? No one's innocent." I stand corrected. At some point in the evening, MJ thought it wise to have a little nap in the hammock. After a snooze she thought she'd get up and re-join the party. However, as she tried to get up out of said hammock, she became somewhat ensnared, like a beetle in a spider's web, and landed underneath the hammock on the deck. I think I remember some of her arms and legs sticking through the holes of the hammock. Anyway, we were all afraid to move her, even as she pleaded with us to help her stand up. We all thought she had broken her neck, and everyone knows you're not supposed to move the victims of neck injury. I don't know how long she lay there. Hours perhaps. Maybe days.

Mary Jane survived. We all did.

Hasta manana.

It's Monday... Again

And you know how I feel about it. Today hasn't been so bad, though. Hot, certainly, but not bad. My face nearly melted off in the car yesterday on the way to Target. Enough about me, though. What you all want to know about is la casa de Cassady. I have a couple recent pictures, and also some "before" scenes. The befores are all before the tear down, but after the storm. I'm working on getting some before-the-storm images, but all the pics are down in Gulfport, so that may take a while. My favorite before image is the one with the car in it. Billy Barrett--a friend, neighbor, town celebrity--said that the car looked like "a wadded-up ball of duct tape." And you know, come to think of it, that's the most accurate description I've heard.

Here are some new pictures of the lot and the trenches. Nothing major to report. I hear that some cement-pouring is going on this week, maybe as I type this. That should be good for snapshots. This one is interesting because it shows the Wetzels' house on the beach. That big brick house was more or less the only structure left on all of East Beach Boulevard in the entire city of Gulfport (not counting the condominiums on the east side of town). Its first floor was completely destroyed, however, and lots of the bricks were deposited in my parents' bedroom.

That's about it for today. Hopefully we'll get more pictures this evening.

Good night, and good luck.

Another Day in the Trenches

The good folks at 626 officially declare war on Mother Nature. Their strategy involves some serious trench warfare, which you can see in today's pictures.

Now all of this trench digging is a little over my head. I mean, it has been explained to me, but what I came away with was that this slab will be sort of like an island. After the trenches, they'll put cement blocks and sand and eventually steel rods that go into the ground. It's going to be like Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island. Come rain, hail, hurricane, burricane (that's what I call an ice storm), blizzard, typhoon, monsoon, earthquake, locusts, plague, or potato famine, this slab will not budge. That's the long and short of it.

On a totally different note, as you can tell from these pictures, it would appear that the Gulf Coast is getting more than its fair share of rain. We haven't had rain in Oxford since May. I would be grateful if everyone reading this today would go outside and perform a quick rain dance so that all of our plants don't die.

Thanks for reading.

Hump Day

I always hated that phrase. Hump Day. Wednesday never felt much like a hump in my book. Thursday, on the other hand, now that's a day I can party with. It's right next to Friday. And everyone loves Friday.

Moving on. We have some new pictures taken yesterday. They are preparing to make the slab at 626. Now, most of the time, when someone says "slab" you think of something thin, like a driveway. Oh no. The slab at 626 is a monster. On the pictures, if you look closely, you can see all these vertical boards sticking out of the ground. Each of those is 64 inches high. That's one inch taller than me. That is how high the slab will be. It's kind of like a stage, almost. And any other trash-talkin' hurricane out there will have a heck of a time moving this slab, once it's finished, you can bet your bottom dollar on that. (That's Judy B's rickety old house in the picture. It's completely off of its foundation.) Soon they'll start in with the bricks and sand and concrete and what have you. Very complicated slab recipe. It's gonna be wild down there.

So everyone have a snazzy Wednesday. It's almost Thursday! Yay!

Memory Lane

This picture was taken when I was about 7 or 8. I don't remember the exact moment, but I'm pretty sure I had to get a boost from my dad in order to climb up there. The lowest branches were probably 5 feet over my head. Buster, our first schnauzer, used to love eating the seed pods from this tree. Annie Rooney preferred the sweetgum balls. Both the red magnolia seeds and the sweetgum balls made excellent additions to the mud pies that I sold in my kitchen (which was actually the short flight of steps off the west deck). Once, I decorated with bird seed and all my pies sprouted.

Thinking of the backyard and the trees and all reminds me of another funny 626 story. One Thanksgiving (or shortly thereafter) we had some of that dried Indian corn hanging on the front door. My dad thought he'd throw it on the neighbor's roof for the squirrels. Well, because of the mild winters down on the Coast combined with the amount of leaves and pinestraw and, for lack of a better word, crap piled on Judy B's (aka Soggy Eggo) carport roof, that corn sprouted and eventually there was a 4-foot-tall corn plant up there for a long time. I wish I knew where to look for a picture of that. Did Judy B. ever realize it? I could do a whole blog on my dad, easy. In a completely non-tree-related tale, I vividly recall the time ol' Paps tried to shoot a cockroach with an air rifle--INSIDE THE HOUSE. The BB bounced around the kitchen for nearly 15 minutes.

Well, hope this short post has entertained you for the 30 seconds or so it took you to read it. Happy Tuesday. In the words of Big Daddy, "boogie til you puke."

P.S. I added a close-up of the sign that the contractor put on the lot. It's kind of pixelated, but you can see it's like a seaside design... I think.

Someone's Got a Case of the Mondays

Everyone hates Monday. That was the day Hurricane Katrina hit, so now we all have even more reason to despise the day. On that note, thought I would remind you all what 626 looked like when I first visited. The street had been cleared somewhat--enough for one car to drive through the mountains of used-to-be houses, trees, walls, cars, etc.

While I'm thinking about it, if anyone out there is an Outkast fan, check out the band's new video on Youtube.com. The link I previously posted isn't working anymore, but I'll keep trying to find one that works. I think Andre 3000 is going for a Katrina-inspired deal over there. Basically it's a bunch of people in a juke joint having a big time. Then a flood comes. The water pours in, but they all keep dancin'! This song might be the 2006 entry on the Soundtrack of My Life I'm creating on iTunes. For my 30th birthday, I am going to make my friends a CD with one song per year on it. I've already gotten to 1989. It's much harder than it sounds.

Okay, back to the pictures. See all that stuff piled up? Now go back and look at the cleaned-off lot. If that ain't a makeover, then I don't know what it is, honey.

Well, I hope your Mondays are better than mine. The Katrina Anniversay will be on Tuesday, August 29, of course. Down at Second Street (Owen Palmer) Park lots of volunteers will be building a new playground, sponsored by the folks over at Kaboom. They have this program called "Operation Playground" and Owen Palmer Park was chosen as a participating park. Mr. Palmer was about the sweetest little man I knew when I was growing up. I know that he'd think it was pretty swell that the park was getting such a fancy playground. Here's a link to the group's web site: http://www.kaboom.org/AboutUs/OperationPlayground/tabid/6804/Default.aspx. If you are in or around the Puerto on the 29th, you should join us.

Till next time.

Bring on the Dirt

Hey friends. Could it be any hotter? I think not. But, we should all be glad that we didn't have to spread all this dirt at 626. I bet it was hot as ten thousand hells, as my mom would say. Well, there's no turning back now. The dirt has been poured. Here are two pics of the lot and the new dirt. Muy excitamente, para mi y para nosotros. That's Spanish. It means "Very exciting, for me and for you all." I'm pretty much a genius. Four semesters of Spanish at Sewanee REALLY paid off, let me tell you.

The final picture for today is of the magnolia tree. In fourth grade I had to memorize that poem "I never thought I'd ever see a poem lovely as a tree..." or however it goes. I completely bombed the recitation, but I have always loved this magnolia. Great for climbing. Beautiful tree.

Well, I hope you all have a swell weekend. Keep it in the short grass.

Day 2

Good morning everyone. I don't know how many people are actually reading this, but, if you are and you know someone who might be interested in 626, please spread the word. Two more pictures for you today. One is a view of the lot from the alley. The other is a view from across the street.
Eventually, I'd like to maybe use these early posts to show you some before-and-after pictures, but I'm, using someone else's computer right now and I don't have all my killer hurricane footage. That way you can visualize just how much junk was piled up on this remarkably clean lot. Okay, that's all for now. Stay tuned for more exciting pictures. I promise that this thing will be more interesting as the days roll on.

The First Post

Hello everyone. This is the first post on the new 626 Second Street blog. Everyday my mom will go down to the lot and snap a pic for me to post. Well, maybe not EVERY day, but whenever something changes she will. That way everyone in the world with a computer can see what's happening. As you can see from the picture, mainly there's just a lot of dirt. Trees are few and far between, but we're hoping the magnolia and live oak pull through. And check out that neat little sign made by the guys who are gonna build the house! How's that for service? Stay tuned for more... when we have it. And welcome to our blog.