I drove several hundred miles yesterday in the Mississippi Delta. I saw corn. A lot of corn. I saw soybeans, rice, a few catfish ponds (many were drained) and some cotton. I even saw the new Highway 82 Bridge in Greenville. What I didn’t see were many campaign signs. I saw only four for statewide offices: Dave Dennis, Phil Bryant, Lynn Fitch and one for Tate Reeves. That was it.
Kind of shocking considering the primaries are just a few weeks away.
Will be in Monticello for a speech and the show. How are you?
I drove through the Delta in a pouring rain this afternoon to do my radio show in Greenville, MS. The show was broadcast from Oakes Toyota (Thanks to Bryan Oakes — Bryan is a trucker who trucked Uncle Ben’s Rice right to your grocery store shelves and a great guy.) My studio was his new-car showroom.
My first guest was Paige Roberts. Paige is the The Red Cross’ Interim Director of Public Affairs. We discussed the Red Crosses efforts after the tornado and floods. Paige is a Katrina survivor and had plenty of empathy for the flood victims along the Mississippi River.
When I walked in, I found Paige and Mark Jones talking. Mark is the The Salvation Army’s Communications Director. I joked that we’d have a wrestling match to see who got the donations today –but as I found out, the two outfits have a pretty amazing level of cooperation. Mark told how the Salvation Army has been going full speed since February when a tornado hit Louisiana. Both the Red Cross and Salvation Army volunteers deserve a huge pat on the back for all their efforts.
At 4, Michael DeJoie from the United States Small Business Administration came on. Mike is also a Katrina survivor. His house took on eight feet of water in New Orleans — so he also had empathy for the flood victims. The SBA provides low-interest lows to home owners, renters as well as small business owners. As of today, they’ve given out $7 million in loans — which isn’t much. Victims need to register — even if they don’t take the money or insurance pays off. The deadline is for tornado victims is June 28 and for flood victims it’s July 11.
The Editor of The Delta Democrat Times, Dominick Cross, was on next. Dominick talked about flying over the flooding with DDT’s owner Wyatt Emmerich and how incredibly massive the river was. He also mentioned some of Greenville’s challenges and hopes for the future. I had a very similar conversation with former Planters Bank President Chuck Jordan. Chuck went to school with Governor Barbour and recalled a recent conversation with the Governor. “We don’t need a handout. We need incentives like the Go-Zone after Katrina.”
Ashley Zepponi from The Kermit The Frog Museum (in Leland) announced that a famous bridge in Leland was going to be renamed “The Rainbow Connection” in honor of the opening scene of the Muppett Movie. Honestly, I can’t believe that Jim Henson died over 20 years ago. What a genius. And Kermit also paid us a visit. The museum is free, btw.
Pete Casevechia the manager of the Greenville Mall was my final guest. He talked about how the economy and the flood had affected retail sales in Greenville.
As I drove home down Highway 61, I was rewarded with a big Delta sky.
There are days when I wish change was just the nickels and dimes in my pocket. Don’t get me wrong, I normally embrace change. But there are times when it completely is a bull in my life’s china shop.
The next few days I will be pondering great change. I’ll also be working my butt off to make it happen. Pondering is great, but it has to be accompanied by action, too.
Today I’ll be in Greenville with the radio show. Tomorrow I’ll be in Monticello. I have two MAJOR speeches this weekend, too.
There are days I feel like the guy in the kayak in the Rapids story, fighting the current and dodging the rocks for my life. Today is one of them.
Good morning! Tough day ahead. I’ll be in Greenville this afternoon.
The river was cold, swift and deep. The current pushed the man’s kayak sharply to the right. A rock appeared out of nowhere! He paddled hard left and the nose of his craft glided safely past the obstacle. Another boulder jutted out of the water. A hard thrust to the left and he shot past it as well.
The river was born high in the mountains as a trickle. A trickle grew to a stream and then to a torrent. It then took a perilous journey, dropping down several cascades until it slowed and lazily headed to the sea. His kayak slipped into a calm pool. Sunlight reflected off the surface, shining like a million diamonds scattered across the water. He still had several rapids to master.
The man looked ahead. Foam swirled around his paddle as he cut hard, sending his kayak sideways down a small waterfall. He popped back up to the surface. The cold water was invigorating. He was alive.
The river was his life. The kayak was his talent, carrying him from the headwaters to the sea. Rocks were the obstacles he faced. He could have floated passively down the stream, but he chose to battle it. To take it on — man vs. nature. That’s the way he preferred it. He’d rather be fighting the rapids.
Life was to be lived. The river was to be tamed. He smiled, pointed his kayak straight at the rapids and headed on to the sea.
