Corbin's Corner
The homes keep getting taller on Pensacola Beach
By Grant Corbin

Working hard or hardly working? Pensacola Beach is making a comeback, but recovery takes time.

Overnight Pensacola Beach changed; Hurricane Ivan changed this barrier island forever. It's inevitable that things will change, but things happened so quickly, it was hard to realize. Overnight homes disappeared, and others were left in shambles. Next thing you know, your battling insurance companies, mortgage companies, local government and for many, these battles continue to this very day.

It's sad, but it's also amazing that so many people are able to persevere through such hard times. Although the beach has changed so much, there is still a sense of community. After all we have been through Pensacola Beach is STILL the same Pensacola Beach.

The beach is rebuilding and cleaning up every day, not necessarily hardly working, I think many are working hard to put the pieces back together. Its amazing driving down the beach seeing all the changes, for every home that has disappeared another is being built.

Poles all over the place. Not dancing poles, but wooden poles being sunk into the sand for a new home on which to be built, a hopefully more hurricane resistant home. It's sad to see all the brick homes leaving us, for they are one of the many charms on the beach that makes it so special to many, but whatever happens there will be some that will defy all odds and remain standing.

Another thing you may notice while driving down Pensacola Beach is how tall the homes are. They just keep getting taller and taller. Will there be fights over the view?

The beach lost a lot of people after Ivan and the other storms; I guess life is too short? Then again it's hard not to notice all the people who overcame many obstacles and continue to live on the beach, life's too short to live anywhere else! The island is coming together, lots of progress and motivation in the clean salty air.

It's hard to think that the dreaded hurricane season is fast approaching, but one thing is for sure, the beach and its residence are ready to put up a fight. We've been through it all, and if we're hit again we are more prepared.