I have been in Picayune for a little over a month now.
When I got here, the first thing I noticed was the size of the town I was now calling home. The city I’m from in Florida has over 1 million people living in it. So, needless to say this has been a bit of a change.
Another big adjustment for me has been going from city life to country life.
I am by every definition a city girl. I have never been fishing in my life. The first time someone told me they were going to a crawfish boil I had no idea what they were talking about. My first week here, I got assigned a story on canning and I had no idea what that meant. To put it lightly, I am out of my element here in Mississippi.
However, one thing that has struck me far more than anything else is how incredibly nice everyone in this community has been to me. I often get myself into sticky situations that I can’t explain. True to form, I have gotten myself into several of those situations here in Pearl River County, and I would just like to take a minute to thank everyone who has helped me out of them.
First, I would like to thank everyone who helped push my car out of the mud at the Picayune softball. I do not know what I would have done without you.
Next, I need to thank Coach Jonathan Ray at Poplarville High School who drove me back to my car that night after the softball game and unlocked the gate for me so I did not have to spend the weekend locked in the school parking lot.
I also need to say a big thank you to Mr. Alan Lumpkin, Kimberly Alford and Kelli Beech for helping me after I took a pretty big fall while on campus. I appreciate it more than you know.
I also want to say thank you to the people I call everyday, sometimes more than once in a day, for being so accommodating. This list includes, but is not limited to Heath Stevens, the Picayune Fire Department, Coach Kristi Mitchell, Sheriff Allison and all others I have had the pleasure of speaking with for a story.
Lastly, I want to say a big thank you to everyone I have ever approached for a good morning or for man on the street, especially Sean Glasscock.
You all helped make my job a little bit easier, and I am so thankful.