GULFPORT — At Tiki Bar and Grill on Shore Boulevard in Gulfport, Debbie Amis surveyed a patio full of questions.
Whose tarpaulin is this, the management wondered? Is this chair still OK?
A soggy Trivial Pursuit card found in the rubble asked: “What is the cheapest and most popular fruit?” (The other side of the card answered banana.)
But the most pressing issue as of noon Saturday was what to do with the huge chunk of wooden decking that had washed into the middle of the bar’s patio.
More than half a dozen strangers walked around the Tiki and measured the size of this particular piece of debris. Among them was Whitney Foxx, a Democrat running for Congress locally.
At the same time, 13 miles north, her opponent, incumbent Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, hosted a supply drive at a Baptist church for area residents affected by the storm.
With less than 40 days until Election Day, Luna and Foxx are in a tight race for the Pinellas-based House District 13 seat. But the arcane and frivolous debates that are often at the heart of campaigns were largely sidelined this weekend. I had more important things to attend to this Saturday.
For example, do we have enough people to move this chunk of wood onto a growing pile of trash?
When they arrive at Tiki, Fox is visibly shaken by the devastation surrounding him. Since the storm hit, campaign volunteers have been asking her how best to help their neighbors. Fox is calling on his supporters to go to the flooded areas because there is much work to be done, much work to be done to get many lives back on track. Help people drag their wet belongings to the curb. Deliver a bottle of water.
Luna’s team is also taking matters into their own hands. On Saturday, the first U.S. delegation asked people to bring water, diapers, trash bags and other helpful supplies to Community Bible Baptist Church in Pinellas Park.
On Tiki, Fox took up his position under a plank in the middle of a huge mass of decking. Some of her entourage held onto musty trees and joined bar employees and others in the area, almost strangers to each other.
It required some work. A healthy debate arose as to which side to take. The crowd decided to slide other debris under the clump of trees and continue toward their destination, which was dozens of yards away. (This reporter from the Tampa Bay Times also gets a thumbs up or two.)
With a cheer of “wow,” this deck joined the trash crowd. One small question in Gulfport answered.