I'm back

Ba-ack?

What, did he go somewhere?

Dude. We didn't know you were gone.

Yeah, yeah. I was gone. The family and I made an impromptu trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to let the kids see some family one more time before school starts (in two freakin' days. Aug. 2 -- what's up with that?).

Aside from a little rain here and there, it was a very good trip.

The thing that struck me most is how far the coast has come in Hurricane Katrina clean up. The last time I was down there was around New Years, and most of the coast still looked like a war zone. While there are still some areas where the devastation is evident -- large structures demolished, beach-front homes in varying states of repair or demolition -- there's no more trash along the roads, and very little otherwise to tell you that a major hurricane dealt the area a harsh strike.

I still haven't been to New Orleans yet. But I hear about their woes through family, friends and the innerweb. Their situation is somewhat different, but while The Big Easy's having a hard time getting people to work in some of the minimum-wage areas, Biloxi, Gulfport and surrounding area economies are booming.

Well, that's enough for now. More later.