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 Do You See What I See
Debbie Peltier
Editor
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The day after New Year's was a beautiful Spring-like day. We decided to ride to New Orleans to walk around the French Quarter. This is something we all do very often except this is a trip I will never forget. This was my first trip since Hurricane Katrina.
I really don’t want to fill THE VOICE with Katrina articles, however I feel this was my reality check. It will be a very long time before New Orleans as we remember it, will ever be the same.
Our first stop was in Metairie where Peter is doing work on a friend’s home off of Veterans Boulevard. She had about four feet of water in her home after Katrina.
The blue tarps were not new to me. I saw many on our drive to Key West after Hurricane Ivan. Even the stoves and refrigerators piled near the road were familiar sights. I can see this here in town.
A few houses in the Metairie neighborhood had signs of life. FEMA trailers occupied the driveways while the SUV’s were parked on the street. I could see the homeowners cleaning furniture on the front lawns.
Our friend was a lucky one. She weathered the storm at the hospital where she works... Her cat witnessed the water and had to spend four days on a bed in the flooded home.
We had family from New Orleans staying “in the country” right after Katrina and tried our best to entertain and comfort at the same time. Our friend from Metairie came and spent a few nights at my house. This was her first visit to my new house. She looked around and noted that if my house floods my dining room table and chairs could be salvaged. The legs are iron. That was a reality check for me too and also an opportunity to inform her I purchased the set at Graugnard’s here in town. She did return to D’ville and purchased everything from Graugnard’s.
Now she has a new house with the same address. The sheetrock had to be redone along with the new cabinets, appliances, floors, furniture, etc. I want you to do your own reality check. The next time you enter your home visualize 5 feet of water in it. I know besides losing my furniture I would also be replacing some clothes and the majority of my shoes. It seems I stay with way too many things on the floor.
We left Metairie to drive through the lower Ninth Ward and Lakeview. These neighborhoods looked just like the pictures in TIME magazine. The Ninth Ward had no signs of life. There is very little to salvage. The shotgun, camel-back, and duplexes that were built long ago will never be replaced. There weren’t enough working facilities for a FEMA trailer.
The marking on the houses left an eerie feeling in my stomach….one dead, sick cats, one dog. The water line was also obvious.
Lakeview looked like a tidal wave had hit. Utility poles were parallel to the sidewalks. Cars were still leaning up against some poles with the front bumper on the sidewalk and the rear bumper on the utility pole. There were some signs of life here but not much. No FEMA trailers and no need for the blue tarps. It was a very sad sight.
Our next stop was the French Quarter. Life is about the same here. We saw the usual young people dressed predominately in black with their piercing and tattoos. We visited with our friends Muriel the artist, Donna, our bartender at Touches on Royal (that’s another story), and Claire, our D’ville girl who now has a bar on Conti.
Everything looks about the same there. A few restaurants are still closed and some stores have chosen not to re-open. The steady stream of tourists is just not there. Luckily Katrina spared this part of our history.
Another reality check hit me when I got home. We are so rich in history. It is important that we fund our museums that are dedicated to preserving our history. Our Historic District is second in size to the French Quarter and we came so close to losing that. Tourism will bounce back and we have to keep our history in tact so they have something to see and visit.
We were all blessed with a wonderful Christmas and New Year. It is important that we keep kindness and patience in our hearts whether it means waiting in longer lines at our banks or being stuck in traffic in Baton Rouge. Remember, a lot of these people have lost everything, their homes, their cars, their pets, and even their families.
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