With the way things look at the moment, the Gulf of Mexico has received another slap in the face. Just nine years ago, we had to endure the oil spill that, not only killed off so many marine creatures, it also killed off so many lifelines of the Coastal families. We are a seafood based industry down here. Fishing is a way life. The shrimpers, oystermen, fishermen, crabbers, seafood factories, charterboat captains...you name it...were all out of jobs. Their boats and gear lay idle while the oil killed most everything within its reach. Many lost their boats. Others lost their homes. All lost their way of life. It was a hard time for the Coast. It was years before things began to return to any semblance of normality. Finally, the seafood returned and was deemed fit to eat. It took years after that for the industry to return to its profitable self but many folks had already moved on to be able to support their families.
Now, the Gulf of Mexico faces another tempest. While all Coastians are ready and eager to help those in the flooded zones of the country, opening the spillways has, once again, created a mess for the fishermen. The marine creatures are dying at a great rate. Countless dead dolphins, sea turtles and fish are washing ashore. Entire oyster reefs have died. Crabs have literally suffocated. Shorebirds are not to be found. Schools of fish and shrimp have moved further out in an attempt to escape the water pouring into the Gulf. Many folks do not seem to see the harm in what has been done. "It is just fresh river water so it cannot be doing any harm." is said over and over again. Sorry, that fresh river water wreaks havoc on saltwater marine life. They do not have time to acclimate before it kills them. That "fresh" river water is also polluted from runoff. Whatever has been flooded up north of us has now spilled into the Gulf. Fertilizer, sewage, any number of chemicals and...yes...oil is making a mess down here.
Don't get me wrong. We are not blaming anyone. We are not pointing fingers. We are not begrudging those who are trying to save their places and livelihoods that are flooded. We understand THAT whole scenario as we are subjected to hurricanes that flood our area and we are sympathetic to those that are suffering. We understand that something had to be done to provide some relief. However, there has to be another answer. Opening the spillways has done nothing but spread the devastation to another area.
All of that said, the fishermen down here are working frenetically to catch what they can before the waters get any worse. The boats are going out further to make catches of "clean" shrimp and fish. (The crabbers and oystermen do not have that option.) This plan is working as far as catches but puts a new strain on the fishermen. Fuel prices, boat upkeep and extra time spent are making it a struggle to "stay afloat". The fact stands that the wages they earn has not kept up with the current state of affairs. Many cannot afford to keep running as their expense outweigh their profits. It is a sad situation.
Mark and I were able to get shrimp today from one of our longtime suppliers. This shrimper had to go outside of the "dirty" zone to get a good catch. The shrimp are beautiful and we are thankful he made the decision to keep trying. It is our plan to buy as many pounds of shrimp as we can to help those struggling. We have been there and done that ourselves. It is also our plan to stock up on the seafood so that, if worse comes to worse, we will have a good supply on hand to ride us over until the Gulf cleanses itself. Our freezers will be filled to capacity within the next few weeks. To those in the flooded zones and to those struggling with the situation in the Gulf, we hope and pray that this is soon over for all of us. To those with the ability to help any in need, please do. There are so many out there that have been affected that need help. We are all in this together.
My grandmother used to always use the idiom of "Tempest in a teapot" to describe some of her grandkids when they were being a bit rowdy. I guess as country kids, we were quite active at times and she was just not used to that. We were kids being kids. Nowadays, we would most likely be labeled with some learning or behavior disorder but then we were just "misbehaving". Of course, we were reprimanded and not one of us are any worse for wear. We were not mollycoddled that is for sure! We did not behave so we were corrected in the good old-fashioned way of a switching. (Can't do that nowadays! No, no, no! Hmmmph!) I thought about that tempest in a teapot mid afternoon today.
The kitchen windows face the north and I had been watching dark clouds build up on the horizon while I cleaned. They did not seem to be too threatening so I figured all was well. I did, however, make the remark to Mark that it seemed just like the weather before a tropical storm or hurricane. I guess I should learn to keep my mouth shut! Little did I know that on the south side of the house, a tempest was sneaking in on us! From out of the Gulf of Mexico, a squally bunch of weather zipped our way. I walked into the (south side) living room just in time to hear the wind start to whip around the Bayou. I peered out the window as the bird feeders blew off of the driftwood hangers. Uh oh, this is going to be a doozy of a storm! The wind pounded the Little Bayou House relentlessly. Limbs and other debris pelted my house. Out on the Bay, the waves were huge! They splashed up over the pier with a vengeance! Ahhh, my kind of weather! Yep, even though storms like this squall could spell trouble, I do, indeed, like them. There is a certain excitement that comes with watching the strength of the wind and water.
After the worst passed over us, I headed out to check the rain gauge. Wow! In just under an hour, we received nigh on two and a half inches! I made my way to check the greenhouse roof. Not a single problem could be detected there! Next, the pier. The water made it a bit slippery but I was able to make my way to the end. Whereas just minutes ago, a raging squall had the waters churning, now it was slick calm. There did not seem to be any problems with our pier but my brother's boat did not fare as well. His small skiff was upended with the outboard motor down in the water. I could see items floating far out on the Bay and assumed that those were from his boat. Not having our boat in the water, I could not retrieve his escaping belongings. Since he was not home at the time, there was little I could do but bemoan the fact that he might lose some things. This man will be able to repair any damage to the motor and will have his boat up and running before we know it but I did feel badly for him. He always helps anyone and everyone in need and I could do nothing to help him in return. This was no small squall. The tempest wreaked havoc.
