When I read this tragic story out of Bay St. Louis, MS....I couldn't help but recall Laura Bush's remarks this past week in Mississippi...."What we're seeing is that people can call upon their own resources. I think people are dealing with it."
A murder/suicide in Old Town Bay St. Louis has stunned the Hancock County community. Police say prominent Bay St. Louis businessman Carl Heitzmann shot his wife, Mimi to death then turned the gun on himself.
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Carl Heitzmann was a well known contractor in town who built hundreds of custom homes in Hancock County and throughout the Coast. He also built and leased space in several commercial buildings along Highway 90 in the Bay.
Mimi Heitzmann was an accomplished author, writing such books as "No More Tears In Heaven" and her latest, "Spell Bound on the Bay."
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Chuck Benvenutti, a relative of the victims, said, "Carl and Mimi are casualties of Katrina. They're just as much casualties as those people who lost their lives. Depression is here in Bay St. Louis. Dealing with the post-Katrina, you can't begin to fathom unless you're living here. And you don't realize how bad it is for some people until something like this happens."
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"Mimi and Carl were both great people, great people in the community," Benvenutti said. "It's just a terrible thing and right now, I suggest you hold your loved one. And if they need some help, get them to see somebody. There's help out there. We all think we're made of steel, but we're not."
People are still suffering in so many different ways. I'll never understand how this has been allowed to happen...to continue to happen and we know it is happening.
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It is a marathon and dwelling in the midst of the tragedy and despair is hope and rebirth as TravelingMermaid points to.
But, I had been told that the recovery was going well in Mississippi because they have a GOP governor, and are more self-reliant than, say, dependent New Orleanians.
Posted by: oyster | February 25, 2007 at 10:21
To state the obvious: we're not talking here about some welfare queen who couldn't get work.
We're talking about a contractor. Thinking the typical pattern after hurricaines, the need for builders to repair the damage is extreme. If anything, the guy was dogged 28 hours a day with people wanting him to take on more work. His dance card was full.
Posted by: MapleStreet | February 25, 2007 at 17:01
What a sad story about the Heitzmann's....a story that has been echoed similarly in N.O. time and time again since Katrina. The lack of mental health resources in N.O. is shameful. The lack of public outcry for N.O. and the Gulf Coast is shameful. Unfortunately, the public's attention span for the flava of the moment is fleeting....Ana Nicole is so much more entertaining than facing the realities of a neglected U.S. city.
On the brighter side...thanks for mentioning my blog. I do try to point to the positive and enlighten those outside NOLA of our struggles and the hard work of so many New Orleanians that never get reported in the MSM. Somehow we have to reverse the viewpoint that New Orleanians are crying with our hands out....the very real story of New Orleanians helping each other and themselves needs to be shouted loudly and often.
Thanks for all you do, Scout!
Posted by: TM | February 25, 2007 at 19:21