It doesn’t seem like it has been that long, and at the same time, it feels like the storm was ages ago. Being in the city last weekend was good, but it really drove home that there is a lot of work still to be done. There has been a good amount of progress and no progress since I was last there in May. I guess that’s the typical dual nature of New Orleans, where rich and poor live in the same neighborhoods, where we celebrate a religious holiday with drunken debauchery.
The grass is back and green again. It was still mostly dead in May. Of course, now it’s two feet tall in front of neglected houses. I guess that’s better than dead grass.
I have mixed feelings today. A lot of feelings, actually. I’m thankful that we all made it through the storm and the levees’ failure. I’m angry at the government. I’m tired of defending the city to people who don’t understand. I’m happy that the city and its people continue on, despite the hardships of everyday life that the rest of the country (myself included here in Atlanta) take for granted. I’m both hopeful and worried for the future.
The city has changed forever. That’s not good, that’s not bad, it’s just different. New Orleans breeds a hardiness of attitude and a love of tradition that will be valuable attributes in the days to come. Sure the city will change. But it will always be New Orleans, it will always be my city, my home, no matter where I live.
I’ve never had a better Hansen’s Sno-Bliz than the one I had on Saturday. It tasted like home.
