Anna and I just completed a four day, 750 mile, trip along the Gulf Coast for a series of meetings and events. As our flight left National Airport last week for the 2 ½ hour trip to Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans we were both nervous and excited about what we would find and learn during our trip.

Day 1 – Biloxi – From the Beau Rivage to Borders

The weather report was for brief showers that would dwindle toward evening. Two hours later, on I-10 somewhere near the Mississippi/Louisiana border in the midst of torrential rains, we began to question the accuracy of the report. We arrived in Biloxi with only minutes to spare. I dropped Anna at Borders in the Edgewater Mall and headed down Highway 90 to the Beau Rivage.

It was my first trip to one of the newly reopened huge casinos along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. No, I was not going to gamble, but to attend a meeting about Gulf Coast recovery. Driving along the beach, I was recreating my first trip to Biloxi exactly one year before and, unfortunately, not much has changed. The debris is cleaned up, the road is open, there are stoplights and some street signs, all clear improvements, but most of the beachfront properties look the same — empty cement slabs, damaged trees, addresses painted on wood signs.

Pulling up at the Casino was like dropping onto another planet. A valet took my car. I walked through monumental doors on plush carpets, under chandeliers and past restaurants, stores and slot machines — all bustling. It was a good introduction to what would become a theme of our trip, this amazing juxtaposition of devastation and recovery that at times is surreal.

Picking out new books at Borders

Meanwhile, Anna was at Borders Express with representatives from Hands on Network and Mercy Corps for a book-buying party. Thanks to a promotion with Borders Group, Inc. a Borders gift card was presented to the organizations to help them rebuild. Both organizations partnered with local groups that serve children in need. Children from the Boys and Girls Club of America-Biloxi and administrators from Gorenflo Elementary School attended the event and helped select the titles that were purchased.

Day 2 – Bay St Louis and beyond

Walking into one of the modular units at North Bay Elementary we found a holiday lunch spread before us, with homemade place mats and decorations and third graders waiting to serve us lunch. Anna and I were in Bay St. Louis at North Bay and then at the Hancock County library to announce a holiday donation of 200,000 books that Book Relief will be distributing in partnership with the Department of Education.

The scene before us was in sharp contrast to 2005 when the eye of hurricane Katrina passed over Bay St. Louis and Waveland, destroying much of both communities, including four of the six schools in the Bay St. Louis-Waveland school district. For 47 days — longer than any other school district in the state — couldn’t return to class; when they did, the classrooms they knew before Katrina were long gone.

De Ross and children from North Bay Elementary School in Bay Saint Louis, MS

The district has made huge progress but still faces daunting challenges.

• Less than 70% of students have returned.
• 96% now qualify for free and reduced lunch, versus 60% before the storm.
• Only about 120 computers have been replaced out of the 800 lost.
• Local revenue streams have decreased by more than 1/2.

Yet the school district is one of those havens of hope that dot the destroyed landscape. In the 2006 Mississippi Public School Accountability Model, North Bay Elementary students scored at Level 5 — the state’s top achievement rating — and the District’s Superintendent Dr. Kim Stasny had been named Mississippi Superintendent of the Year the night before.

After speeches and a book reading, Anna and I were off again, this time out of Mississippi and completely across Louisiana, almost to the Texas border. As we pulled into our hotel in Sulphur late that night we could see lit up oil derricks all across the horizon, looking in the dark like the skyscrapers of a large city.

Day 3 – A Day in Lake Charles/Night in New Orleans

I don’t know if you have seen the Hotels.com ad that features a couple exclaiming over a peaceful room that turns out to be quiet because it looks out at a cemetery. We woke up on Thursday morning with a glorious view of a typical Louisiana cemetery, complete with above ground sepulchres and yes, the room had been very quiet.

We were soon at Combre-Fondel Elementary School in Lake Charles and the peace and solitude were gone to be replaced by another festive room and lots of kids eager to receive new books of their own. Meeting the school librarian, she took us to see the new Learning Library (a VCR & 20 videos) she had just received through Book Relief. Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes, both of whom were involved in this event, had placed new Learning Libraries in every Pre-K and K classroom as well as in school media centers.

It seemed as though the whole town and much of SW Louisiana had turned up for the event, which culminated in another reading circle and a second chance to read New Things I Can Do.

We hopped into the car for the drive to New Orleans, looking forward to dinner at my favorite restaurant August. The food is excellent, fresh, local and beautifully prepared. I had started eating there on one of my first trips to New Orleans and introducing myself to the Chef, John Besh, had enlisted his help for outreach in St. Tammany Parish where he lives and where many schools and buildings were destroyed. He found a few terrific multipliers and soon we had most of St. Tammany registered with First Book.

Day 4 – New Orleans and then home

A much quieter day was in store, at least in terms of driving — visits with three partners and then off to the airport. We managed to sneak in a visit to the Café du Monde for coffee and beignets and a bit of shopping — small bottles of Tabasco for the entire Book Relief team. On the plane home I had a chance to think a bit about all we had seen — progress here, not there. It is hard to believe that so much devastation remains and that much of America thinks that the coast is back to normal. It is not, won’t be for a long time but there is much to be inspired by and real heroes that are carrying on despite all that has happened.