It rained all day yesterday and was supposed to rain all day today too, but I checked the radar, and it looked like rain wouldn’t come in until the evening–plenty of time to get on the Surly and travel around town to see how folks are remembering the hurricane and the failure of the levees five years ago today. I headed to Mid-City and then out Canal to make a stop at the Katrina memorial at Charity Hospital Cemetery. Continue reading
Katrina Anniversary
Sunset Over Lee Circle From the Fifth Floor of the Ogden Museum
Oh, the difference a few degrees and a few more percentage points of humidity make! I didn’t need to towel off following my couple miles bike commute to campus. After work there was practically a chill in the air! Well, not quite, but close enough. I headed down to the museum for music and to check out their exhibit of photographs from right after the levees broke following Katrina. Continue reading
Blighted House on Mehle and N. Rampart in Arabi
I had a lovely day getting some reading and writing done before hopping on the Surly for a trip to the doctor’s office. At the end of our appointment I asked her how she was doing as the 5th anniversary of Katrina and the levee breaches that flooded New Orleans. She told me a harrowing story of her escape from the city, so terrible it seemed like out of a movie. But it wasn’t. And hers is one story among thousands and thousands and thousands. Continue reading
Our Recovery in Progress Sign at Evans Playground at LaSalle and Valmont
It’s the first day of school–one of my very favorite days of the year. I got up early, polished my apple, and hopped on the Surly to meet this season’s new recruits. Three classes and a burrito later and I was back on the bike heading downtown for a stop at the gym, which today was just an excuse to lounge in the steam room. Continue reading
Lanterns on the Pedestrian Bridge at Bayou St. John
I don’t know what to write today. I barely knew what to see today. It’s the fourth anniversary of Katrina, and I am acutely aware that I wasn’t here then. I was living in Hartford, Connecticut, trying to finish my dissertation, missing California, and hating the uncomfortable broken-down office furniture the college had moved into our furnished apartment. I wished I was home. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 