Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

This was a day made for a walk in the country. It was 40 degrees in the morning and 70 in the afternoon with clear skies and no wind all day. I walked 17 miles today. Wonderful.

I walked through the towns of Poplarville, Derby, and McNeill, Mississippi.

Poplarville is a big town. It has the Pearl River Community College right on Route 11. When I was in high school (sometime in the last century), several of the guys I went to high school with came over to the Junior College (as it was called then) to play football and baseball. The Mississippi junior colleges were known for taking athletes from small high schools like I attended. I put a photo of the college on the Wikipedia page for Poplarville.

A Backyard Helicopter

I saw this helicopter in a backyard in Poplarville. It is a real helicopter, not a radio-controlled model. It holds two people and actually can take off and land in this person’s yard.

The Movie Star Water Tower

Down the highway right across from the college was this water tower. I still don’t know what Movie Star is. The water tower was next to a factory of some sort. There weren’t any cars at the factory, so I really don’t know if it is open. One of my theories about Movie Star is that it is a small lingerie company. I don’t know. They do have a neat water tower.

Oh, in Poplarville I bought a cup of good Community Coffee for 25 cents. That is twenty-five cents folks. Is anyone out there reading this who knows someone at Starbucks. 25 cents 25 cents 25 cents. Someone pass this along to Starbucks. Did I mention that the cup of coffee cost 25 cents?

The Derby, Mississippi Volunteer Fire Department

Derby is a narrow spot in the road. There weren’t any signs saying I was in Derby, but I saw a couple of places that had the name Derby on them like this Volunteer Fire Department. I don’t know if there is anything in this garage.

The McNeill General Store

Next was the town of McNeill. It is a wide spot in the road with houses, a few stores, and a post office. Here is a fine looking general store and the post office. There is no Wikipedia page for McNeill. What a shame.

The McNeill, Mississippi Post Office

And then there was this sign. This is the first sign I have seen on Route 11 mentioning New Orleans. The sign says 73 miles to New Orleans. My calculations are that the end of Route 11 is 45 miles from this sign.

The First New Orleans Sign I have Seen