Jerryd's Blog Thoughts (re: post-Katrina New Orleans)

[ABM]

http://jerrydb.blogspot.com/

By the time you read this, it will have already passed, but I think it’s something that we all should reflect on. Five years ago our country was devastated by a natural disaster so big that not only did it cripple the beautiful glowing spirit of New Orleans, but took more than 1800 lives as well. It was a time when people not only questioned our U.S. government (deservedly), but also had questions about their faith. Five years later, where do we stand and what have we learned? Is there hope? Have we learned from our mistakes and built the levies up so nothing of this proportion could ever happen again? Would we be prepared for something of this magnitude if it happened again? According to New Orleans a top emergency management official, the effort was called a “national disgrace”.

My first thoughts when I sit back and think about where New Orleans stands after the hurricane is nothing to smile about. The city is still struggling due to the economic downturn produced after the hurricane. The crime rate is still one of the highest in the U.S.. Not to mention there was an oil spill that just happened in the region, which didn’t make it easier. Being able to go to New Orleans a couple times a year due to work has given me a first hand look at everything there. It has let me meet people that were there during the hurricane and pry information from them about the disaster. One thing that I have learned is their hope and love for the city hasn’t faded. Even with all the trials and tribulations that they have gone through, theirbelief that their city will be revived and back to a cultural destination that the world has loved and cherished has notfaded. More than that, they still have the belief and love for their city to stay there.

Hope is a word that is thrown around a lot without a lot of meaning behind it. Hope is a word that is so precious that the minute people have lost it, their world has turned upside down. Hope is a word that I think enlightens and capitalizes the city of New Orleans. Being down and out and left with nothing is something no one ever wants to experience. It is something that I can not directly relate to. I can, however, provide hope. Even though the hurricane is five years in our past, there are still people who need help. Sometimes we forget how blessed we really are when you have never been through a devastation like this. With our help, though, we can continue to aid the recovery process and help illuminate this once vibrant, beautiful, jazz-oriented town. If it’s time, money or talent, please do whatever you can to help. Then you will be doing something bigger than most do. You’ll be giving hope....

 

[Mediocre Man]

6% increase in violent crimes after 150,000 of them landed in Houston. New Orleans was a shit hole before the storm, and is now a bigger shit hole. Evacuees were offered rent free places to live, money, and job placement assistance, yet the mayor of Houston, Bill White" shipped a lot of them back to New Orleans after those people continued to steal and vandalize. Ah yes, the poor people of New Orleans.


Anyway, after you all bash me for those comments, know that I do really feel sorry for the good people of the city that were uprooted. There are many good people still here in Houston that really tried to make it work. My secretary happens to be from New Orleans, and relocated due to the storm. Great, great lady, that busts her ass for 40+ hours a week. Single mom with 6 kids that gives her all for her family. It's people like her that I feel for.....although people like her are all working, and doing their best.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

my cousin just moved to NOLA. Its one of my favorite cities in the US. Well, based on mardi gras I guess.