A year ago today, my husband I were planning a long-overdue return trip to New Orleans. What made it even more exciting was the prospect of meeting for the first time several online friends from places like Mississippi, California, Kansas, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.
But then came Katrina, the hurricane that is still hurting not only New Orleans but a large swath of the entire Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Alabama.
We had planned to stay at Le Richelieu, our favorite nestling place just outside the hub-bub of The Quarter, and in fact, held out hope for a few days more that it could still happen.
Until the levees broke, and New Orleans was changed forever.
Having written already about the blame thing, which I believe should be distributed among those at all points on the power ladder, what now is clear is that so many things went wrong the only certain thing is that New Orleans will never be the same.
They said that about Chicago in 1871. They said that about Galveston in 1900. They said that about San Francisco in 1906. And they were right.
None of those cities ever were the same, but they all recovered and thrived in time, and time is the element that is missing here. Our present mindset as a culture demands microwave solutions to slow-roasted reality, and so we are frustrated.
There is one thing I know for true, though.
If those of us who truly love New Orleans don't accept something less than we have come to expect from this most eclectic city and go back and eat and drink and celebrate what does remain with gusto, we will each have a hand on the hammer that nails the coffin shut for good.
3 comments:
Gosh golly El, I'd forgotten about the big trip to NO last year.. oh my, can hardly believe it?
The human tragedy of NO was not just the levees breaking, but the decimation of the human spirit. I feel as a nation we let the people of the Gulf Coast towns down badly and a year on, I don't see much in terms of rehabilitation for those poor folk who lost so much...
I know one thing, I have never been to NO and when I do finally get there for a vist, I will lavish it with the love and celebration that this fine city exudes so well!
I just don't think there is any point to rebuilding homes for people who are scattered all around the country, many of whom may have actually begun living new lives in those new places (many of them here, in fact), and who have no desire to return to a city where there are no jobs to be had.
There won't be jobs for those folks if the main industry of the city -- tourism -- stays dried up.
No American city that depends on one industry to support itself can rebuild if that industry is gone, and even though I agree these folks were failed by government at all levels consisting of people from both political parties, the fact is that you cannot rebuild a city by re-populating it immediately with those who are unable or unwilling to contribute to its tax base.
I would love to see every person who lived in New Orleans who loves it back there if they want to be, with all the city services back in place to properly care for them.
I just don't believe that it is fair to expect all this to have taken place already, and do not believe that even if everything had functioned perfectly from the very get-go that that would be any closer to happening.
Oh, must step in. New Orleans was a bit of a cesspool *before* Katrina, but with some safe zones for tourism. It was a dangerous place and has become even more crime-ridden. But, I have to agree that time is the key. There was a great deal worth loving about NO and without the commerce, the lack of monetary injection needed for recovery has meant the best of NO is languishing or gone - business owners can't survive without the people. It's a vicious cycle.
I believe the city will recover, but in a matter of many years, maybe even decades. The really unfortunate thing about their flooding is that they *knew* it would happen one day. They've been talking about it for as long as I can remember.
The rest of the Gulf Coast - the parts that were flattened in MS - is also going to take years to recover, but I think the difference is that Mississippi's got move-forward leadership and there hasn't been any of that vicious "blame game". I'm in MS and we have some fantastic, positive people in charge. I've been totally impressed by the attitude to think forward, not dwell on what has been destroyed. Insurance claims are still a huge problem, but apart from the water-driven-wind denials, things are moving fast. And, by fast, I'm still talking probably a decade for full recovery.
I think it would have really helped if Louisiana had promptly voted in new leadership, but they didn't and that's that.
Post a Comment