written by my father, John Pilgrim, on February 26, 2006.
Off to the Lower 9th Ward again. Destruction is total, and almost indescribable. Whole blocks with no sign of houses, an area previously with no vacant lots. Occasional concrete pads, sticks of former houses, bricks. Not cleared by humans; cleared by Nature.
A few poignant moments. A couple, probably with an insurance adjuster, pointing to where their house had been. Kid’s bicycle, sitting in front of a house, the house nowhere to be seen. A barge sitting on the levee. A fence gate and stairs, leading to… nothing. Cars upended. Cars on cars. Cars on houses. Houses on other houses. Houses in the middle of the street. Downtown New Orleans easily visible in the distance.
Some owners still haven’t been back. It’s a lot harder when you have very little money, no place to stay when you come here. Not even able to clean out what little may remain of your house and belongings.
Then to Chalmette, in St. Bernard Parish, a nice suburban area of very nice homes. All damaged, mostly totally. More poignant moments. Two teen-age boys, one picking up the skateboards in his front yard that he was able to rescue. Inside of a house, muck 1-2 feet deep, coats hanging in the front hall closet, sofa in the living room, refrigerator on its side in the kitchen, patio door open with shade shaking in the breeze, grill in the backyard, along with hose and garden shed.
Then to the Upper 9th Ward and the Habitat site. 2 square blocks of vacant land (formerly a school, razed some years ago, now bought by Habitat.) Will be the site of 70+ single-family homes. Adjacent across the street, another cleared site that will be the home of a Music performance center, and next to it, some Habitat housing for older musicians whose sweat equity will be giving lessons, trying to pass along the New Orleans music heritage. I hope to be able to do some work on these sites over the months/years to come.
And back to the city. Water line visible on virtually every building, once your eye gets used to looking for it. Even in the Central Business District, offices and stores and hotels had 1-2 feet of water. The storm was an equal opportunity destroyer.
And the surreality of going back to Mardi Gras. Great spirit, good crowds, perfect weather. 5 parades today, including two of the biggest and best.
And then back to our condo, our courtyard and our patio. Where all is serene.
And now to watch the future as New Orleans works to come back. To what, not clear.
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