Remember, it's about the people, too.

Two nights ago I attended a town hall meeting about the Vessels of Opportunity program and then went to a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 men lost in the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion. After the vigil, local musician Drew Landry serenaded the crowd with his raw style of Dirty Cajun blues. Great songs, great voice, great sound. Look for Drew on upcoming Vanishing America video clips and at www.bandryland.com.

This second shot is a portrait of local fisherman Brian Zito who, despite his best efforts (and the efforts of the community around him), has somehow been left off the list of fishing vessels available for helping with the oil cleanup. Because of the oil spill, Brian can't fish for a living... and now he can't even help clean the places he calls home.

I've been looking for some good to come out of this -- maybe communities pulling together, millions of dollars being raised to help clean up the mess... but I'm afraid there is little good to be found. People are trying, they are pushing, they are calling out to their leaders for help, but help is slow in coming... if it comes at all.