On my way home from a business conference in New Orleans last weekend I drove through the 9th Ward to see what it looks like, almost 2 years after the fact.
Won't you join me over the fold?
Finding the 9th Ward was easy enough.. it was just a mile or so off I-10 east of New Orleans. When I drove down the exit ramp I looked to my right to see a large building that was in ruins.. the roof collapsed into several floors. Most of it was hanging by little boards, pipes and wires. As I drove further in I noticed that most of the homes were vacant and boarded up. The destruction there is amazing – especially since the 9th was not directly in the path of Katrina.
To tell the truth I expected to find gangs and thugs wandering around. I hadn’t planned on getting out of my car. But everywhere I drove people waved hi.. Everyone seemed very friendly. And there were lots of people on the main roads. Not so much on the side streets.
I stopped on one of the back avenues to take photos of a home overgrown with vines when a man pulled up in an old pickup truck. He said hello and we began to talk. His truck was loaded with plywood and building supplies.. he pointed to his house down the street with a blue tarp on the roof and said he is busy making repairs. He works 7 days a week to make ends meet.
To my astonishment, he seemed at peace with everything, wasn’t angry with FEMA or the Bush administration. I asked if there was plenty of work for people who lived in the 9th ward, he said absolutely. He was also appreciative of the Mexican laborers who are there helping out.
He told me that the local government is still going through the houses searching for remains. Bones were recently extracted from a home not far from his. I didn’t ask if he knew the person. The X’s on the houses are from these searches. I guessed that the bottom number represents human loss.. Most have 0 or nothing, but I saw a few that had 1 or 2 listed. It was creepy. The smell wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected.
A few businesses were open but most were boarded up. FEMA trailers were here and there. I saw one lot full of them, but I wondered how many more weren’t fortunate enough to have somewhere to live. I hope that whoever takes office next year will make NOLA and the 9th ward a priority. Residents received $2000 for repairs, but most homes really ought to be razed. I doubt anyone can build a house for two grand.
A little further down I-10 there was a section of forest/wetland... lots of trees and greenery. I remember because I drove to NOLA in 2002 and loved the scenery. Now there is a section of a few miles where all you can see is the tops of trees sheared and snapped in two... brown and gray spindly tops everywhere. New Orleans was very fortunate that Katrina veered east.
Here are a few of the photos I snapped while there.
UPDATE
Doc Zombie suggested the following photo be included in this diary. I wholeheartedly agree. THIS sums up the Bush Admin perfectly:
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