Gustav tap danced across every raw nerve that those of us have who were in New Orleans on August 28, 2005. As an evacuated friend of mine emailed me from Oxford, Mississippi over the weekend,"It is hard to love a city like New Orleans and hard not to." Everyone who is dear to me is safe. I am safe here in Dallas. But in a lot of ways it was much harder for me here than if I had been in the city. That may not make sense, but it is true.
I need some time. So I will take today to sort it out. I am sure my island took a hit. And I need to talk with friends, see what the damages have been, and recuperate a bit.
All best,
Jan
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Gustav Aftermath
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14 comments:
You know, you were the one person I thought of this weekend when it was bearing down to make its hit. I don't really know anyone else there, and I know you always speak of NO so lovingly--I'm glad your friends are all safe. It must be so hard to watch from afar...what scares me is that there are several other storms still out there, brewing...I hope all will be safe...
It was a tough weekend. We all aged another 10 yearsi n about 3 days it seems. :-)
I just talked to a dear friend at Wrightsville Beach who may get the northern end of Hannah...batten the hatches...I appreciate your thoughts. It means a lot.
NOLA or World Trade Towers..
That deep attachment to a place, that goes beyond people and friends IMO...
To have to relive this from afar is so hard...different than being there. And then there are the games your head can play..
I thought of you too this weekend...
I'm one of many I bet :)
I agree. It is so much more. Thanks so much. I hope I am somewhat back to whatever passes for normal tomorrow. Sheesh. I am sure my NYC buddies can relate. ;-)
Big hugs and good luck recuperating!
I only "know" a certain jazz guy called "Red Morgan" (www.periblog.fr/labels/Red-Morgan.html) who spent some time in my town in France this Summer and you Janice who have links with New-Orleans. I thought about you both as the typhoon got closer to the cost. New Orleans is one of the rare places in the States I would like to visit (been to Boston and New York in 2000), but since the devastation caused by Katrina reports say that it has lost its soul. Will it ever get it back or is it lost forever?... W
I was talking about a hurricane of course, not a typhoon. Still, it's still a nasty weather phenomenon.
Hi Alex,
Shakey still but better. Hugs appreciated.
William- Typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes....still alot of wind , water and debris in any of them. My friend who evacuated to Oxford Ms. just wrote they had a pretty bad tornado from Gustav there yesterday, but luckily no bad damage or injury.
You ask a wonderful question. Has New Orleans lost it's soul. There is a saying:"You can take the person out of New Orleans but not the New Orleans out of the person." So there is a lot of soul left. It is just not necessarily all in one place. The city itself is changed in a very real way. 2/3 of the city was destroyed and alot of that is still not rebuilt. The family neighborhoods had a glue of ritual and activity that was the real juice of the city, so no it is not the same at all. The old parts are recognizable, you would like them. But watch this winter, there is a large art biennial planned. You will see culture on parade leading well into the next Mardi Gras Season.
To me it is kind of like a good gumbo pot, as someone close to me use to say whenever I asked her for family secret recipes, 'First you seasons it." You'll see some seasoning there this winter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGCRncVOkS0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93VI4p1bdEk
Gotta love the Glamourous...I think Brush is feeling a little like dancing.
That was a cool thing to do.. thanks. ;-)
http://abrushwithcolor.blogspot.com/2008/09/if-life-gives-you-bowl-of-lemons-go.html
"So there is a lot of soul left." but it's all scattered around the country as if by Katrina, and those soul's owners have to be given the incentive to go back there, and they only will if they are guaranteed that their dwellings will not find themselves under feets of water once again. At least it made Bush take actions to reduce USA's contribution to global warming.
I'd love to to your fiesta as it would make a fantastic subject for my blog. Périgueux has somewhat become an active jazz town. But finance is tight so I will have to wait for better times.
Glad to hear that Gustav has been kind to you. W
William,
Here, go to this link. You can get the local jazz stream from WWOZ and it rocks during Jazz Fest.
http://www.wwoz.org/programs/streams
I can't speak for everyone else. But I have the unfortunate curse of mold allergies and asthma. 90,000 square miles is a lot of mold. My lungs close up when I am in the area from the moment I arrive. So there's a perplexing issue. I like breathing more than not, so I am here for now. Trying to deal with that little conundrum: my heart vs. my lungs.
So far breathing is still winning...;-)
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