Gulfport, MS

Thursday I flew in to Gulfport, MS for a meeting with a business partner of mine. Actually, my favorite partner, Howard Computer's. You got that right. That is the name of the company. Gulfport still has a very long way to go to recover fully from Hurricane Katrina. The amazing thing is that not only has a lot of it not been rebuilt, but a lot of the destruction hasn't even been cleaned up yet. Upon arrival, the airport is still a mess. The Hertz rental car desk was in a makeshift trailer outside. It is definitely a slow rebuilding process. When arriving at the Hotel in Laurel, MS we checked in and I began to walk to my room. I was touched by a note that was on every room down my hallway. It was from Mrs. Grace and she was thanking everybody in the hotel for being so great to her during this difficult time and was excited to tell everybody that she was moving in to her new home. I am sure that was a great feeling for her.

The next morning, I was awakened by a school bus picking up kids at the hotel. Think about that for a few minutes. We were staying in a Comfort Suites and there were families with children forced to stay there and attempt to make things normal. That was a very humbling thought and makes you realize how fortunate you are for many things.

While there, I have picked up some kind of bug and have been pretty sick upon my return. Trying to get some rest this weekend and hopefully get myself feeling up to par.