The Anniversary
Like a lot of residents of the New Orleans area, I have mixed feelings about this day. I remember where I was five years ago. I was in Memphis, intermittently in the lobby and at a hotel bar, watching my city come apart at the seams. I’ve mostly avoided “Katrina + 5″ articles in the media the last week or so, and I intend to continue to do so.
It’s not that I want to forget; I couldn’t if I tried, obviously. It’s more that so much of what I read, particularly articles “debunking Katrina Myths” just don’t capture the feeling that those of us directly affected have as a result of the levee failures. I cannot say how much I appreciate the support of folks from elsewhere. I don’t think I could have made it without support from friends after the storm. My friends in Memphis and middle Tennessee cheered us up and housed us after the storm. My friends from all over the country sent money they probably couldn’t afford to send, or who just checked in with me to see if I was okay. That includes folks who knew me only from reading this website, many of whom had never contacted me before. Those are all debts I’ll never be able to repay.
But if you don’t have a direct connection to the area, I don’t think you can really understand what Katrina did to us. I’m not sure you can understand the attitude we have here now, and I’m not sure you can appreciate how proud many of us are to have come back and started the rebuilding process.
It’s been a long haul, and it’s not over by a long shot. When the BP disaster occurred, I know a lot of people suffered. There was a feeling that just when things were going fairly well, we got another shot to the gut was to remind us how fragile things really are.
But just as there were predictions that New Orleans would never be rebuilt after Katrina, the predictions about the loss of our fisheries as a result of the BP disaster have proven to be premature. Louisiana and Gulf seafood is as safe as its ever been. It’s the most thoroughly tested seafood in the country, if not the world. I have no doubt that just as conventions have started to return to New Orleans despite the stories of death and mayhem after Katrina, Gulf seafood will soon regain its good reputation.
I know this is rambling, and I apologize. I suppose the message I want to convey is that while things are still difficult here, we’re on our way back. Changes that followed Katrina, and changes that will no doubt follow the BP disaster are going to result in positive things for the area. Our schools are better, our levees are – we hope – stronger, and it appears we are finally getting some recognition that the loss of our coastal wetlands and barrier islands is a national rather than local concern.
I don’t speak for anyone else, but I sense a feeling of optimism in these parts that I haven’t in a long time. If you want to know what I’m talking about, come down to visit. In another month or two the weather will be pleasant, and we’d love to show you what it means to have a good time in New Orleans.
I was trying to find a photo from my flickr page that would match the text above. I think the image below sums up my feelings pretty well. It’s from an event during the New Orleans Wine and Food Expo, the Royal Street Stroll, and it this doesn’t entice you to visit, I don’t know what will…
Bacchus Invites You To New Orleans
