Hope springs

WAVELAND, MISS. – Nothing looks as it used to in this historic beachside hamlet. An attic sits atop railroad lines. The altar of a Catholic church sits unshielded on a slab of concrete looking out at the ocean. Displaced community members are living in tents in a Kmart parking lot.

Near one of the many relief and rescue stations along Highway 90 is the Lutheran Church of the Pines. Inside, hymnals and leaves are scattered across the floor. The organ has been smashed against the ground. But a church organist has brought his piano from home, dried and set up chairs on the front lawn, and painted a sign so that community members know they can worship here on the first Sunday since hurricane Katrina struck....

The Waveland Police Department estimates that only 20 percent of the town's 7,000 members are currently residing in the community, and the death toll is still undetermined. But those who were there on a recent day - some setting up tents on slabs, others living among mold, silt, and the giant roots of oak trees - exhibited a Southern hospitality and indomitable spirit, giving hope that one of the region's most impacted areas would make it.

And throughout the region, many have even found moments of humor. The levity, however brief, is one way to deal with the loss of life and destruction of homes and landmarks that at times have seemed too much to bear....