This chain of uninhabited islands lie off the coast of Mississippi, not far from New Orleans. The experts say they are only about 4,000 years old, having been made from soil washing down the Mississippi River. The mouth of the river changed it's location, leaving these pristine islands, until now, as a prime hatchery for marine life and birds. Oil from the massive BP spill began lapping
ashore along this primitive place May 6. It will be a long time before it becomes again the place it was.
I visited there about twenty-five years ago on a fishing trip with Allen Ray Moers, Charles Hogan, Mason Jordan and his brother, and Harry Bruton of Taft. We rode in Harry's motor home to Biloxi and boarded an old but reliable fishing boat that could sleep us all. We spent two nights on the boat with three days of fishing. They fed us well. We paired up and got into smaller boats to go where we pleased during the day. The water was shallow and clear. We could see the surf at times, but mostly fished around the small islands. Sharks cruised where they willed through those shallow waters. It was a fun trip I have always remembered but never repeated.
I fished with Charles Hogan from Monroe, Louisiana. He became the head of a new music program being built at Angelina College in Lufkin. He is a successful insurance man today. Hogan and I bought our first boat as a partnership when we were both "music men" in Lufkin; he at First Baptist and I at Calvary. It was a Ouachita boat with a 9 hp motor. We used it on the newly filled Sam Rayburn lake. In early days the lake was an incredible place for bass fishing.
Today I go to San Antonio to visit my friend, Harry Bruton, who is hospitalized there. We will probably fish a little by memories and swap a few other tales. Hopefully, Harry will be back in Taft real soon.
In the meantime oil is coating those beautiful islands with it's silky sheen. Will it ever stop spewing from that underground geyser? Let's hope so.
