The Signs of Recovery In Spring – Katrina In the Aftermath
Posted: Saturday, April 21, 2007
by Kathleen Johnson
As Katrina tip tapped across the tree tops in Mississippi there was one entity that did not succumb to the 38’ of water and powerful winds. It has come back with tenacity and in full bloom this spring, eighteen months after the storm, to show us the power of this ecosystem of ours. The houses fell one by one as if a deck of cards – but what evolved from the ecosystem stands strong, proud, and tall.
As I grew up in Australia I can remember one thing very clearly - my mother's love of a song, that was actually a poem, written in iambic pentameter, that was played, from time to time, on the radio recited by Helen Hayes. We had no TV until I was about 16 - so the radio was our form of entertainment. It was not the love of the song that impressed me - it was her passion for the song. My parents, even today, walk hand in hand - they had such a passionate marriage.
I always thought the song was about the "tree" and grew up wondering about that tree and that white flower. I didn’t have a picture of the flower, the tree, or even access, in those days, to an encyclopedia. So I sat there and listened to that poem/song and had great visions of that flower and the power that it had on the author of the poem. I envisioned the tree to be strong and powerful with cool large leaves that matched those large white flowers pictured in my imagination.
Now I understand my mother's passion for the song was akin to her passionate love of my father. But it took many years for me to understand that.
And now, some fifty years later, 20 thousand miles distance hence, here I am where the white Magnolia tree blooms in its natural environment on the coast of Mississippi at ground zero for Katrina - Waveland. And I still love that song. And I now love that tree, its strength, its unbelievable white bloom, and now fully understand its tenacity as it thrives after Katrina tip tapped across its bows and only made it sway to the water and wind. It did not succumb. It is a survivor - a symbol for me of the work that we, as volunteers, do here in the aftermath of Katrina.
And here in Hancock County it is Spring again - and the white Magnolia is starting to flower. It started last week with one flower here and there - and by next week the trees will be a mass of flowers. I did not see one blooming tree last year - but then the trees and flowers did not bloom last year like they are this year. I can not wait until next week - it will be a true testimony to the power of mother nature to overcome adversity and a true symbol for all of us working here.
The picture above was taken in the "secret garden" around the corner from where the office is. The historic house did not survive - but if you climb beyond the weeds and overgrown shrubs - what you will find a secret garden of Camellias, Azaleas, roses, bulb, and various and sundry plants of all kinds that I fail to recognize excepting the order of things, even after all these years, says they are a visitor and not a native. Now as summer approaches and all the other flowers fade - the secret garden is showing us the power of the Magnolia tree in its midst. I share with all my volunteers' my secret garden if they show an interest in such mundane things as gardening. The volunteer tasks overwhelm us here, leading us to forget, the simpler things in life. Such as standing back and enjoying the rebirth in Spring.
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White Magnolia Tree The year when I was twenty-one, "This tree," said John, "shall grow with us, Oh, youth' a thing of fire and ice, I was twenty-one... And we hurried through our crowded days Oh, valiant and untamed were we, No more untamed, no more so free, We have known many things since then: There is so little the serious heart requires: Dear Heaven, I give thanks to thee Thanks because I still can see Helen Deutsch |
| Volunteers are in critical need in Mississippi as the reconstruction has barely begun with 350,000 homes that need to be refurbished or rebuilt. They need skilled and unskilled assistance. Most critical need is skilled carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and Case Managers. One week or a year - you can make a difference. Email: KathleenJJohnson@wavelandcitizensfund.org . |