26 April 2008

NOLA Rising


I'll be off on vacation for the next week, spending some time down in the deep South, including a return to New Orleans, where my husband was born and raised.

The last time we were in New Orleans was in December of 2005. The hurricane was all anyone talked about, and on Christmas day we joined a macabre line of cars driving slowly through the ruins of the Lakeview district.

One of my husband's grandmothers, who lived in the Lakeview, lost her home and most of her possessions to Hurricane Katrina. But, god bless her, she had the brilliance to store some old family letters in the freezer compartment of her refrigerator, where they stayed (relatively) safe through the storm, flooding and subsequent molding.

I look forward to seeing how New Orleans has progressed since 2005; in many ways I know they have moved forward, but in many ways I know things have become tiringly stagnant. One thing is for sure: New Orleans is full of people with amazing fortitude. And I am thankful that I can count among my relatives such inspiring and wonderful people.

See you after May 5th!

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