Bill's Blog

On the Gulf Coast

I left Tuesday morning and headed south. The weather was good for driving. It was not too cold, about freezing. Snow covered the ground and fields but not the road all the way to St. Louis. Three weeks before it was colder, but there was no snow on the ground. For the three weeks before I left this frozen northland, it had snowed almost constantly. It was clear that the snow had pushed far to the south. But it was so much warmer in St. Louis. Wednesday morning, I visit a graveyard in Bellefontaine, where my grandmother's grandfather, Horace Wright, is buried. His second wife and two daughters were laid to rest next to him. I also found a man I believe is his brother, Rev. Edmond Wright. It opens some new lines of research. As I drove out of St. Louis, the skies were gray and snow still layered the fields. Eventually, the snow disappeared and gave way to the bare fields of winter, resting for the spring sun and warmth to bring new life to the land. By the afternoon, I was in northern Mississippi. It started raining. The road was wet, but the rain was not coming down hard enough to slow me down much. The fields faded in to the yellow pine forests of Mississippi. I arrived at my dad's house about seven. Diner was ready and on the table. What's it like in Ocean Springs, Mississippi? In the 50's, it is so much warmer than single digits of the Twin Cities. The rain and humidity bring a wonderful change to the dry air of the north. Despite the rain and gray, I am really enjoying my time here. The only thing better would be some sun and heat. The last couple of days have been full. We caught up on our lives after hours of conversation. When not talking I helped dad with his new computer. We went out and bought a new scanner and printer to go along with the new PC dad had built. He also got the stuff to set up a DSL line. I hooked up the DSL line and setup and installed the scanner and printer. Everything seems to be working well. All-in-all it was quite an advance for my day, who seems to have finally burst into the 21st century. One of dad's friends dropped by to give him something. His name was Paul Hannesson. He is an old man who was born and raised in Iceland. We go to talking and he told me a good fishing story. In the early 50's ,he worked on an American military base. One of the servicemen, Hurbert Tutwiller, befriended him. When Paul would go fishing Herbert usually wanted to go along and often did. They would head out to the wilds where the trout ran thickly in the streams. No pole, just drop a line in with worm from under a rock and the fish was yours. First time they went out they were fishing near a hot springs, a steam vent. When Herbert caught that first one Paul asked: are you hungry? Do you want to eat it. Paul was taken aback a bit but finally said, "Sure, but how are we going to fix it?" Not to worry. They stepped over to the hot spring; Paul hanging on to the line dropped the fish in to its head. Sixty seconds later, it was done. Paul and Herbert filleted and ate the cooked fish. Herbert loved it. He noted that this was the freshest fish he ever ate. Years later he wrote to Paul say that these were some of the most memorable days of his life. The local communities are already sponsoring Mardi Gras parades. I was kind of wishing that the real Fat Tuesday would be just around the corner. I would certainly hang around for all the craziness. But alas, that is not to be. Tomorrow I will be heading for San Antonio - a mere 600 miles away. Posted by bill at February 15, 2004 02:07 AM