Hello from Pascagoula, MS!

Run Stats:
Day: 57
Miles Completed: 222.2
Miles to San Diego: 1877.8
Avg Miles/Day: 4.0
Marathons Completed: 8.5
Playlist Favs: shuffle, Fun.
Guest Runners: Matt Escobar, Annie the dog

Bible Verse of the Day: Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. - Phil 2:4-5 (NLT)

Run Reflections: This week I made it across Alabama and into Mississippi. I'm still heading west on I-10 and have reached the town of Pascagoula, a town I lived in when I was 10 years old. It's been a good running week with some warmer weather and I've enjoyed doing some shorter barefoot runs at a local park with my dog Annie the past 2 Sunday afternoons. Last Sunday, we were joined by Molly's boyfriend Matt and it was great to have his company and to add him to the virtual run guest list. I've come down with a head cold since then and the congestion has me feeling pretty puny. Went to the doctor today for some meds and hope to be feeling better and back out on the road again tomorrow.

In this post, I'm going to share a little of what I learned from a couple different web sites about the town and history of Pascagoula and reminisce a little about my days living there. As in previous posts, wikipedia continues to be a primary information source.

Pascagoula is a major industrial city of Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast. Prior to World War II, the town was a sleepy fishing village of about 5,000. The population exploded with the war-driven shipbuilding industry. Although the city's population seemed to peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s as Cold War defense spending was at its height, Pascagoula experienced some new growth and development in the years before Hurricane Katrina. Today, Pascagoula is home to the state's largest employer, Ingalls Shipbuilding.

The name Pascagoula, which means "bread eater", is taken from a group of Native Americans found in villages along the Pascagoula River (known as the Singing River) some distance above its mouth. Local legend says the Pascagoula tribe chanted and waded hand-in-hand into the River, drowning together rather than become enslaved to or killed by an enemy tribe, the Biloxi. Thus, the legend of the "Singing River" was born. It is said that on still summer and autumn evenings, the sad song of the Pascagoulas can still be heard near the river.

Here's a couple of other interesting (unsubstantiated) fun facts related to Pascagoula:

• For 74 days in 1810, Pascagoula was part of what was known as the Republic of West Florida
• Pascagoula has been home or host to many notable people including the pirate Jean Lafitte, the infamous Copeland Gang, President Andrew Jackson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Nobel Laureate William Faulkner.
• Pascagoula is the birthplace of singer Jimmy Buffett who wrote and performs a song called "Pascagoula Run"
• Pascagoula is the setting for the Ray Stevens novelty song "Mississippi Squirrel Revival" that reached #20 on Hot Country singles chart in 1984
• Pascagoula was in the national news in October 1973 when two local fishermen claimed to have been abducted by aliens from a Pascagoula pier.

Recreational runners in the Pascagoula area likely belong to the Gulf Coast Running Club. Some of the upcoming local races include:

• Feb 27 Read, Write, Run for Renaissance 5K in Pass Christian
• Mar 12 St. Patrick's Day 5K in Biloxi
• Apr 16 Gulf Coast Classic 10K & 2 mile run in Pass Christian
• Nov 26 Mississippi Coast Marathon, Half & 5K at Stennis Space Center

Growing up, I had the opportunity to live in Pascagoula (actually we lived in the small suburb of Ocean Springs) from September 1969 to June 1970. Yes, that's 46 years ago and just after the summer of 69. My Dad was the Commanding Officer of the U.S. Navy submarine, U.S.S. Darter, when it was sent to the Ingalls shipbuilding yard for repairs. I've included a picture of the Darter and have fond memories of visiting it, eating meals in the wardroom (with ice cream I'm sure) and going to the bridge to look through the periscope.

We arrived in Pascagoula about 2 weeks after Hurricane Camille devastated the gulf coast and I still have memories of driving down the road and seeing boats laying against houses - on the non-beach side of the road! I also remember my mom freaking out because the house we moved into was infested with mice. In reviewing this story with my Dad this week, he told me that he was at sea at the time so my Mom was responsible for getting us all (3 kids and a dog) moved into the house. She had some help from her sister Janet but this gives you a glimpse into what life as a Navy wife was like. We were able to get an exterminator in to help and caught all but one of the mice. My Dad told me that when he eventually got there, my Mom gave him a broom and a chair in the kitchen and told him he could not come out until the last mouse was gone :-)

Other memories include trying to build a raft with my brother, wanting to get a pair of white cleats like Broadway Joe Namath had (he led the Jet's to a Super Bowl win in 1969) and going to see the Ocean Springs H.S. greyhounds play football on Friday nights. According to my Dad, Pascagoula was also the 1st place where I played organized football and apparently the grade school team (they are serious about football in the south y'all) did not have enough helmets so I played without one - that certainly explains a lot.

Today is my Mom and sister Elizabeth's birthday so I'd like to give a shout out to both of them. I love you both and hope this post brings back some memories for you too.

I'd like to close by referring back to today's Bible verse from Philippians. This verse was part of today's daily devotional from Pastor Rick Warren. In his discussion he identifies that: "Every time you are generous, a change takes place in you. Every time you give, your heart moves another tweak up the dial toward God. You become more loving when you become more generous."

Have a great week. I encourage you to look for someone you can do something generous for this week.

In the next post, I hope to have reached Louisiana and will also do the February charity reveal.

God Bless,

Pat