Marathon Runners
Three months, a quarter of a year, ninety-two days. That's how long it's been since Katrina hit. The toll of these trying months can be seen on the grim faces and in the tired eyes of the people going about the business of acclimating to the "new normal", although no one really knows what that is quite yet.
At a local restaurant I went to last week with some co-workers, all the employees were wearing a t-shirt that said, "Katrina recovery is a marathon, not a sprint." I haven't decided if that is inspiring or daunting but the phrase has been stuck in my head since I saw it.
Here are two articles about the New Orleans normal:
There's no place like home. Determined to be back in New Orleans, "urban homesteaders" are now living on the second floor of their flooded houses.
Hard road back for New Orleans.
"This city of feathery Mardi Gras masks and chilling vampire yarns grapples with its new realities: More than 100,000 homes and businesses remain uninhabitable. More than three out of four residents live elsewhere. More than 5 million tons of storm debris is still on the ground. The power company is bankrupt. Workers are in short supply. Its pro football team is playing in Baton Rouge, its pro basketball team playing in Oklahoma City, its thoroughbreds racing in Bossier City, La. Its first -- and so far only -- public school reopened Monday. The police force is in disarray. Scientists are recording alarming mold levels. Suburban suicide rates are spiking. Local doctors are operating out of tents. The Catholic Archdiocese is $40 million in the red. The mayoral election scheduled for February is in doubt because of logistical problems.
The concern for many here is simple, which makes it even more terrifying: Will New Orleans ever be itself again?"
Thanks to beccak1961 and mustbered for linking to the second article.
At a local restaurant I went to last week with some co-workers, all the employees were wearing a t-shirt that said, "Katrina recovery is a marathon, not a sprint." I haven't decided if that is inspiring or daunting but the phrase has been stuck in my head since I saw it.
Here are two articles about the New Orleans normal:
There's no place like home. Determined to be back in New Orleans, "urban homesteaders" are now living on the second floor of their flooded houses.
Hard road back for New Orleans.
"This city of feathery Mardi Gras masks and chilling vampire yarns grapples with its new realities: More than 100,000 homes and businesses remain uninhabitable. More than three out of four residents live elsewhere. More than 5 million tons of storm debris is still on the ground. The power company is bankrupt. Workers are in short supply. Its pro football team is playing in Baton Rouge, its pro basketball team playing in Oklahoma City, its thoroughbreds racing in Bossier City, La. Its first -- and so far only -- public school reopened Monday. The police force is in disarray. Scientists are recording alarming mold levels. Suburban suicide rates are spiking. Local doctors are operating out of tents. The Catholic Archdiocese is $40 million in the red. The mayoral election scheduled for February is in doubt because of logistical problems.
The concern for many here is simple, which makes it even more terrifying: Will New Orleans ever be itself again?"
Thanks to beccak1961 and mustbered for linking to the second article.