The Authentic Eccentric

Our friends are reclaiming their New Orleans home - this is part II of their story.

We just returned from another recon mission into the city. This time the NOPD was back on duty manning the checkpoints and fewer National Guardsmen. They’ve all been shipped off to Texas where they are not needed… don’t get me started. As soon as we rolled down the window at the checkpoint, the stench came wafting into the car. The smell is still bad but significantly better than our first trip. At least Hurricane Rita gave the city a good rinsing.

New Orleans is still a ghost town and eerily quiet. No traffic, no businesses open, no people, no pets, (except for the occasional stray), no shrubbery, no grass, no sirens, no construction crews, no streetcars, no restaurants, no schools and worst of all: no children. All of our friends say they are not bringing their children back until the city is clean and rebuilt. You can’t imagine how creepy a feeling it is with no children in sight and seemingly no future.

This all seems like a bad movie. Night of the Living Dead perhaps. I’m just waiting for the bodies to come to life and start attacking us. Although I must say I am looking forward to seeing Michael Moore’s movie about this whole event.

On a positive note, we could hear birds this time. On our first trip there were no sounds of animals but this time we heard birds and saw a few squirrels in the trees. It was amazing to see the pigeons fighting over the cat food we put out for the stray cat.

We still don’t know when the city officials will allow us entry back into the city. Of course, the sooner the better. The sooner we clean and rebuild… the sooner we get our children back.

Katrina | Hurricane Aid | Orleans Parish | New Orleans