Fat Tuesday
Under normal circumstances, today would be the joyous high point of the New Orleans Mardi Gras season. Tomorrow Lent begins, but for Fat Tuesday the motto is "Let the good times roll!"
That would be under normal circumstances. This year has been far from normal, primarily because of Hurricane Katrina, which wiped out a good part of the city six months ago. Six months during which very little has been done to bring the city and most of that part of the Gulf Coast back to even close to what it was. Less than half of the storm's debris has been hauled off. Basic infrastructure such as electricity is still an iffy proposition. Most schools and courts still haven't opened. The local plan for reconstruction which the federal government insisted upon and then rejected appears to be dead.
Still, a Mardi Gras was put on by the people of New Orleans, albeit one on a far lesser scale. The theme this year was "C'est Levee," which to my mind is a pretty good indicator that the human spirit isn't easily dismissed.
This week, Scout Prime, a young woman and a blogger from Madison, Wisconsin has journeyed to New Orleans to see just what is happening there. The trip, financed in large part by some generous friends at Eschaton began yesterday. She will be blogging via podcasts, video blog, and of course words. In fact, she has already begun.
I urge you to go to her New Orleans blog site all week to learn what's actually going on in one of the most joyous cities in the nation, a city that has been pretty much forgotten by its own federal government.
While it may make you sad, it will be well worth your while.
Again, that's Scout New Orleans.
That would be under normal circumstances. This year has been far from normal, primarily because of Hurricane Katrina, which wiped out a good part of the city six months ago. Six months during which very little has been done to bring the city and most of that part of the Gulf Coast back to even close to what it was. Less than half of the storm's debris has been hauled off. Basic infrastructure such as electricity is still an iffy proposition. Most schools and courts still haven't opened. The local plan for reconstruction which the federal government insisted upon and then rejected appears to be dead.
Still, a Mardi Gras was put on by the people of New Orleans, albeit one on a far lesser scale. The theme this year was "C'est Levee," which to my mind is a pretty good indicator that the human spirit isn't easily dismissed.
This week, Scout Prime, a young woman and a blogger from Madison, Wisconsin has journeyed to New Orleans to see just what is happening there. The trip, financed in large part by some generous friends at Eschaton began yesterday. She will be blogging via podcasts, video blog, and of course words. In fact, she has already begun.
I urge you to go to her New Orleans blog site all week to learn what's actually going on in one of the most joyous cities in the nation, a city that has been pretty much forgotten by its own federal government.
While it may make you sad, it will be well worth your while.
Again, that's Scout New Orleans.
posted by Diane at 4:14 AM
1 Comments:
Diane,
Thanks for reminding us of this important blogging experience. I've bookmarked your blog and Scout Prime's New Orleans experience.
Sometimes I get so enmeshed in my own life that I forget the bigger devastation that has occurred in New Orleans. It's important to be reminded of the lack of progress.
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