Nothing was open the last time we were in Gulfport, Miss.
Much was destroyed and the rest was without power, phone and water.
Survival beat out commerce for most people.
Now there are lights, phone and water, ingredients that allow businesses to sputter back to life.
Local restaurants have been slower to return amid the quick revival of Chili’s, TGI Friday’s and other chain restaurants where it’s common to wait an hour to get seated, even on a weekday.
But local businesses are returning. The few advertisements on various hip-hop, classic rock and country radio stations are from local companies reminding listeners to buy locally to aid the area’s recovery from the storm.
Car dealerships are returning with new inventory, as did an Asian restaurant on Highway 49 that was slammed tonight.
Tomorrow, we head to Bay St. Louis, Miss., to see a family that weathered Katrina’s rising storm surge in the rafters of the Waffles Plus Motel.