homecoming
Thought I'd share this:
"When September Ends" debuted right before Katrina. I couldn't listen to it without crying for a long time.
This was good.
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Thought I'd share this:
"When September Ends" debuted right before Katrina. I couldn't listen to it without crying for a long time.
This was good.
I didn't forget about part three of my Katrina posts, I just got a little derailed. Honestly, between the death of Steve Irwin and the 5-year 9/11 anniversary, I just didn't really feel like writing about Katrina. But here goes the "One Year Later" post.
One year after Katrina is pretty much a mixed bag. The key word for everything in the affected areas is "Patience." A close second is "Waiting." The biggest and most difficult hurdle for residents and rebuilders to face is the red tape. Some areas have come a long, long way in only a year. By January, most areas of Jefferson Parish (Metairie, Kenner) were allowing rebuilders to hook up FEMA trailers in the their front yards while they rebuilt. Orleans Parish was, and still is, a whole different matter. Due to yards and yards of red tape, residents are not allowed to hook up their FEMA trailers because the power isn't on. In order to get the power on, you have to have a power permit. The parish/city government is not issuing power permits, however, until they know how many people will be returning. People aren't returning, though, because they government won't issue power permits for them to move FEMA trailers into their yards and start rebuilding. There is a huge power struggle going on. Despite the absolute foolishness of some of Mayor Nagin's statements recently, he has produced some very good ideas about getting the city moving again, getting FEMA trailers into the Parish, getting residents moved back in. Unfortunately, the city council has been fighting him tooth and nail. Apparently, any idea they don't come up with can't be a good one. Or at least any idea they can't take credit for. In some areas, like St. Bernard Parish, residents are still waiting to find out the plan: will their house be a candidate to rebuild? will it be removed in order to strengthen levees? will it be a park? Slowly, but surely they are finding out and are finally able to make real decisions and plans for the future.
When my grandmother finally moved back into her house in July or so, she was the only person on her street back in. Now there are a number of people back into their houses. The main problem everywhere is just the waiting. Waiting for permission. Waiting for supplies. Waiting for workers. It takes weeks to get an electrician. The demand is so much higher than the supply. Some people are waiting to get FEMA trailers now that they have the permission to hook them up; others are waiting for FEMA to come pick up the ones they aren't using anymore. And everyone is waiting for enough people to move back so that the area will be stabilized.
The scariest problem now is, of course, the crime. Gang warfare has escalated phenominally in recent months as they fight over territory that was either abandoned by gangs who left or was theirs before and must be reclaimed. In the abscence of many older gangs and gang members due to evacuation, the gang members murdering each other in the streets are so young: 12, 13, 14. These kids need prayer and guidance. Business owners and police officers need support and prayer themselves. There is so much territory to patrol that when something does happen, it just takes too long for officers to get to the scene.
There are a lot of problems left to deal with. Katrina was devestating to this area. But good things are happening. The city is taking baby steps back to where it was, and hopefully beyond that to where it ought to be. I added some links after this. The first is to the city's website, the second to a map of the rebuilding. Though ya'll might find that interesting.
I have sat here today trying to find words to say about 9/11. About where I was; about how I felt. When I watch the footage today, I still get the same chills I had that Tuesday morning. I was alone when I found out what happened. Kelly taught 2nd hour. I didn't teach until after lunch. When the phone, all I could think about was that I just wanted to sleep in. I answered it anyway.
"Renée. Something terrible has happened. There were terrorist attacks."
"What?"
"Some terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Some terrorists hijacked some airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Nobody knows how many other planes have been hijacked. The buildings are on fire."
I don't even remember what we said after that. All I could think of was all of those people in those buildings. Our radio barely got any stations (yay, Griffith). So I got ready as fast I could while weeping, and ran over to the Grille to see if the news was on yet. It wasn't yet. So I ran back to my car, drove off campus and listened to CNN on the radio. I can still hear the newscaster's voice as he described the Towers falling. I still don't think I really believed what was happening. Who believes things like that can happen? By now I just couldn't take it anymore, I had to see this. I drove back to campus. By this time the news was on in the Grille. By this time there were people in there watching the footage in silence. I think that's the only time in my 6 years at school that there was such silence. I don't even know how long I stood there next to Yukimi Song, the two of us weeping. I think the only reason I could still stand on my feet was because my arm was around her, and hers around me. At some point, we went to get something to eat. I don't even remember everyone who was at that table. I know Kelly was. I know Jeremy Killian was. He said the thing I will never forget: "I understand now why Catholics pray for the souls of the dead. Because it all seems so hopeless."
I have no idea what I did in those two speech classes that afternoon. I know the first thing the students asked was, "Is it true?" I do still remember their eyes when I explained the truth. I remember feeling sick after the OK City bombing. This was beyond that. The thought of so many people dying is too much to grasp. What was phenomenal to grasp was what I wrote about the next day, and what is still so important to focus on: "It has been wonderful to see Americans filling their role as American. To see this great people stand on its feet, refuse to accept defeat; mourn with its soul, yet work as it must to keep moving." The fact is, thousands and thousands of people's lives were saved because average Americans and courageous rescue workers helped other people. I will never take a firefighter or police officer for granted again. And I will always hope that if I am ever in a situation remotely like that, that I will be one who reaches to help someone else. Because someone else is more important that I.
September 11, 2001, is still a ragged gash hidden under the skin for so many people. I can't imagine what it's like for New Yorkers, for those affiliated with the Pentagon, for families who lost. What I do know is that we need to keep a little of that raggedness no matter how much we heal. It's important.
First of all, this post was hard for me to do. There are so many pictures to choose from. I tried hard to pick the ones that will mean the most to my readers--ones that tell the story for those of you without personal experience of the area. I haven't put captions on the pics because I lost track of which ones I uploaded when, but you won't need them, really. The pictures speak for themselves. A few things I'd like to point out: the pictures cover Slidell, New Orleans, and Plaquemines Parish; in one shot you will see a large boat on the side of the Interstate, about 2 miles from the north shore of the Lake;the indoor shot with the panelling walls is the house our aquaintances lived in in Slidell; the shot of the inside of the house (with the mauve furniture) is from the house where my dad grew up, in Gentilly; a couple of shots show the rescue marks, they also show where the water was at the time they were made; a couple of shots show the water lines as the pumps were finally brought back on line and slowly moved the water out of the city; one shot shows a house on stilts surrounded by other stilts--there used to be a group of houses there over the water, only one was left; one shot from Plaquemines shows a bridge with a group of masts pushed up against it; finally, everything that you see that's brown ought to be green--the saltwater destroyed most of the vegetation, including very old oak trees, in the city.
So. Here you go. To start you off, I put a link below to an area map.