So we went to New Orleans the first time back in April. I enjoyed it. But it was not what I was expecting, nor was it what I had hoped. And here's the reason why. Ray works all day Saturday, and all day Sunday. I knew this going into it, and I actually had a lot of work that I brought with me and intended to do. And I did. I worked much of the day Saturday while Ray worked. We were able to go out Friday night, again Saturday night, and in the end, we stayed an extra night and went to another area of town, more where the 'locals' hang. All in all, we had a great time.
Anywho- that was the first time I went with Ray.
I went back last weekend with him again. I had planned to go to the Audubon Zoo, Aquarium, and to the IMAX theater.....I didn't end up doing any of those things. Saturday I went to Magazine Street to eat lunch, and then I just went back to the hotel and waited for Ray to get out of work so we could go to the French Quarter to go on a Ghost Tour....again, another thing we didn't do. Golly. Are we going to do anything as planned?!?! No. The answer is just no. Saturday night, we ended up going to The Cat's Meow on Bourbon Street. It's a karaoke bar, which serves the Category 5 Hurricane, which I must say is soooo much better than Pat O'Brien's.
This is the shirt the bar sells...got me a good chuckle.
Ray and I at Cat's Meow.
So after a night in the Quarter, I woke up a little hung over....those drinks sure were tasty!!
Sunday I decided I would go back to the French Quarter and see if I could find a museum or something to do that would take up a little time. I had about 5 hours to burn. So I found myself in front of the Louisiana State Museum. For $6.00 I was able to enter, and boy did I find something special inside. Downstairs was the Hurricane Katrina exhibit, and upstairs was the Mardi Gras Museum.
I honestly feel like I have nothing to say about the Hurricane exhibit, and at the same time I feel like nothing I say would make any bit of sense or would be the least bit valuable.
I took a number of photos, that I'll share with you, and I will do my best to share any feelings I had. Please note, some of these photos are graphic in nature.
When you first walk in, you are greeted with the piano, of none other than, Fat's Domino. Many believed that he had died in the hurricane, and someone had spray painted on his home something like, RIP, or to that extent. Fortunately, days later, he was reported to be safe, and with family out of state.
You also see all of these bottles hanging from the ceiling. And I do not know what they are supposed to represent, however, Ray thinks maybe it's a persons story in each bottle. You can see a rolled piece of paper in each one.
You enter to see a board of previous hurricane's, and then it starts a timeline. There are some videos, and stories of these hurricanes beginning many, many years past. Did you know, there was a hurricane in 1965, Hurricane Betsy, which was soon nicknamed "Billion Dollar Betsy"? This was the first storm in New Orleans that cost over 1 billion (1965 US dollars). The outcome was much like Hurricane Katrina. Most of what I learned from that hurricane came from Wikipedia.
After this, you walk around a corner and there are some tv screens and the beginning of the timeline in August 2005. Again, these I did not take photo's of. Now I am quite sad about this. On the tv's you are shown news and weather reports, and warnings from local representatives urging people to pack what they need, to get in their cars, and head north. Not east, not west, but north. I then will continue with this time line, with dates, and times of each important fact.
You turn the corner to find what is causing all this noise, and the blueish light I earlier described. Three giant screens. The same footage, shown in a different order on each screen. The first image I saw was just water. Water on streets, filling up homes, trees down over roads, and the wind just gusting so hard and so fast. There was a video of a beautiful golden retriever dog, standing in the basement of it's home, with the stairs blocked, the poor thing had no where to go, and the water is just rising up it's body. It was so sad. In so many areas, I saw these animals, left behind. Of course, I do not know, and can not speculate on anyone's life, but there is no way I would leave my dog behind. And, again, I know I don't have a leg to stand on here, because this was not my reality, and I just have to hope that there was just no way these people could take their animals, but it just rips my heart out. And I constantly see this beautiful dog looking so incredibly sad, and hopeless.
I sat here for about 10 minutes watching this video, over and over again, and the volume is so loud, and my mind is just racing. 'What were these people feeling?' 'How could this happen?' I wiped tears away from my cheeks as I stood up to go to the next area.
You enter an area called, 'The Attic.' In New Orleans, most residents keep an ax in their attics, for situations such as flood waters, in case they need to escape out of the roof of their homes. They have a model of an attic built, an ax that was donated by a family who had to use it, and a little written statement of what this represents. You can then lift a telephone reciever, over which you hear the story of a woman and her daughter and thier escape story. Again, walked away from there in tears. As I walk out of this area, I have two choices, to go straight, into another dimly lit room, or turn left into what looks like a hallway. I chose to go straight.
In this room, you see and hear so many things that make my heart again, sink and feel heavy. I'm going to share the photos here.
Looking at the items above, and reading what they represented, truly made me feel so thankful for the opportunity to see this, but more so, that my life has never had to see such heartache, such turmoil, such devastation. Part of me has a bit of jealousy for the many volunteers who were able to help this city become what is war prior to this wretched storm.
Let's continue with the photos.
The Superdome after the storm
People trying to get into the Superdome. I believe there were roughly 40,000 people seeking shelter that made it into the Superdome. This was supposed to be a shelter of last resort, however people fled there as a gathering point. Initially they were not allowed into the building. Ray thinks this was where people were supposed to meet to catch a bus out of town, but in the end, there were not enough buses.
When Ray took me to New Orleans, we drove through The Lower Ninth Ward. Many of the homes that had not been fixed, that were empty, and were still standing, some barely, had these X's on the doors or garage doors. Here's what the X's mean, and what the areas of the 4 quadrants represented.
This was a door from an apartment building, I do not know why it only had the X and nothing else.
This was a garage door taken from a home.
Also in this room of items there was a story of a man named Tommy Elton Mabry. He stayed in his apartment from the day after the storm until October 2005. You can see his story on the blueish photo. he kept a journal on the walls of his home.
I then walked into an area that had many different exhibits of the MR-GO (Mississippi River Gulf Outlet), the levees, how the water rose, and how this storm took over this city. Remember, or maybe, realize, Hurricane Katrina itself did not cause this damage. Effects of Hurricane Katrina caused this mess. The storm, yes, did do damage, high winds, and rain surely
The next few photos are about coming back home, digging through the rubble to find items the storm left behind.
These next few are from Thomas Neff. His website obviously is much better, but these photos were so touching. He has a book that I'd like to have someday. http://www.thomasneffphotographer.com/#home
The last area I walked into was this room. When I first walked in, the middle screen said a video would begin momentarily. I waited, and realized shortly into the film, that each of the panes on these 'windows' were screens showing the videos of state and city representatives, and residents of the New Orleans area. These people are determined to make The Big Easy what it once was, or better. They are sad, but realize that there's no choice but to move forward.
I will return to this exhibit. I certainly will take more from it the next time, and maybe even the time after that. I have not even shown or shared with you half of what I saw, felt, or heard during my short 2 hours there. My hope is that Ray will visit the museum as well. Certainly he will have strong feelings towards this as well. He reported to the area shortly after the storm had passed, and spent the better part of a year helping to feed, and rebuild with the LA Air National Guard. Thankfully we have celebrities willing to help rebuild, and other volunteer organizations ready to make this area the place so many call home.
During my first visit, as I mentioned above, we drove through the Lower Ninth Ward. There are many homes, some barely standing, some rebuilt, some their owners never came back... Also in this area is a Domino Sugar Factory where 19% of the country's sugar is refined.
Hurricane Katrina had absolutely no impact on my life. None at all. I knew no one who lived there, except a girl I went to school with who was going to college there. I knew that she was safe and out of the area. Other than the news, this did not affect my life in the least. But a small part of me wishes I could have helped somehow. I felt the same way after 9/11, as well. Days after, I was ready to pack my bags and head out. Of course, I never did, and I still feel terrible about that. One thing I read last week, and I feel terribly that I can't find it again, was a reporter who had covered 5 wars overseas saying that he had never seen anything like this. He said in wars there are rules, and here there were no rules. This was in regards to the shambles of this city. The law enforcement has always had a bad reputation of being shady, and they still do to some degree...but there were a lot of bad things happening days after the storm.
I have a new found love for New Orleans. I think that it is a beautiful little city with so much history, and such charm. I do hope that one day I can walk around for a whole weekend with Ray, so that we can learn more together about this cute little place, and not roaming on the same streets on my own. But I'm thankful that I could see this beauty. And I hope that whatever the levees of New Orleans, and it's outskirts face, we can correct before the next devastating storm.
Prayers to the angels who passed in August of 2005, prayers to the volunteers, and support who are the heros, and prayers to those who visit and intend on making NOLA better than ever.
Upstairs was the Mardi Gras Exhibit...but I think I've left you with enough for today. I'll return tomorrow.
Some of the sites I've visited over the last week:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Betsy
http://www.hurricanekatrina.com/
http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/Katrina.htm
http://www.nola.com/katrina/
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/jan-june06/golfcoast_3-08.html
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