Working For a Living

After finishing up at the major office supply store, I went to Gollott's. I had to order some toner for the copier. That might not seem like a big deal, but it is. The major office supply store does not carry the type needed at Gollott's and I have to order from a small local office supply store. I didn't know if they would be open because the street they are located on in Biloxi suffered major damage.

But they were open. At their home. Their business had been damaged. Even though the building was still standing, all their inventory had been lost. But like most on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, they are doing what they can to operate. She said they have a phone. They have vendors they can order from and have the supplies overnighted. They lost their delivery truck, but have been using another vehicle.

She said you just have to make do for right now and we all doing what we can and what needs to be done.

Yesterday, I was watching the seafood business across the street from Gollott's. They too lost all their inventory. Their building is gone also. They have one refrigerated trailer that is operational. And yet they too were doing what had to be done. They are still in business.

Gollott's Seafood is still in business. Sales are being made but at very much reduced rate until we can start production again by peeling shrimp at another processor whose place is operational.

Grocery stores are open even though you can still see the damage done to the stores. Insurance agents are using tents outside their torn up offices to help file claims. A lot of businesses now have cell phones as their main numbers because it is taking a very long time to have phone service re-established. But everybody is making do.

We are continuing business even amidst the damage that has not yet been repaired. We are working for a living. And it is this spirit that will insure that Biloxi, D'Iberville, Gulfport, Long Beach, and the other cities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast will be rebuilt and more than likely sooner than anyone could expect. We aren't sitting around. We are working and are rebuilding.