Woke up before 6a to finish packing and get ready to go to the airport. Carried the luggage downstairs teetering on the edge of falling a few times with our large suitcase. Shortly after Mom and Dad showed up from breakfast at La Peniche and we chatted a bit and said our goodbyes as the airport shuttle showed up.
The shuttle picked up a few other couples, almost all universally late by a few minutes. What is up with that? There was a German family on the bus that was snapping pictures of the Mercedez-Benz Superdome sign. Arrived at the airport (Louis Armstrong International) and went through security pretty uneventfully.
Genetta had a Subway breakfast sandwich while Addison, Michelle, and I had a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and grits or hashbrowns (I had the hashbrowns, of course, blech grits) from a small Praline Connection branded eaterie. Yes, again!
Our Southwest Airlines flight took off on-time and we enjoyed seeing the marsh south of New Orleans and then the eventual narrow strip of sand just prior to the Gulf of Mexico. The trip was pretty uneventful with the exception of some bumpiness right before landing in Orlando. Once in Orlando Genetta, Addison, and I got off the plane to get some food and visit the restroom. As we were about to step off the jetway, however, we noticed that they were about to board the Orlando folks onto the plane. So we turned around, not wanting to risk being stranded in Orlando. Though, come to think of it, that wouldn’t have been too bad…
Flight to Raleigh was also uneventful but the Southwest Airlines crew came more alive. They announced before takeoff that they “…apologize for the sub-standard service that section D will receive.” During the safety spiel they told parents to put on the air mask first then put the air mask on their child. If there were multiple children, put the air mask on the one with the “most potential” first. Haha. On landing they sang a little ditty in a Southern accent. Kind of funny, except that Raleigh is about as Yankee as you can get now-a-days.
Adrianne, Darby, and Conner picked us up in their mini-van and we set off for home. While traveling (or, rather, being somewhere else — the traveling is actually a bit of a pain) is wonderful it was good to be home and with our kitties.
Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005, killing 1,464 people and leading to a fundamental population shift from the city that persists to this day. As pictures aired constantly of the flooding and stories of some of the terrible things the city endured (some true, many not) questions would be raised by friends like “Why build a city there?”, “Why don’t they move?”, and “Should we even rebuild, particularly on my dime?”
The city’s location is unfortunate, to be sure. While the early 1700s French settlers chose the best place they could (the French Quarter is the highest ground in the area) they did not, or could not, anticipate the expansion of the city into lower areas. Nobody moved to New Orleans, or was raised there, thinking “Heck yeah, I want to be under sea level!” It is no different than those living in earthquake zones — 99.9% of the time it is not an issue.
New Orleans, more than perhaps any other city in America, is unique. Few cities are so defined by and take pleasure in their music and food to the extent that is seen with New Orleans. No other American city evokes European cities as much as New Orleans. It is the product of its environment, that it improbably survived. The French and Spanish origins. The influx of Caribbean people. The climate, which is distinctly subtropical. It is at once a very old, decaying city and also a city alive with music pouring out of doorways and delicious smells filling the streets. Would you leave? I sure wouldn’t. The good far outweighs the bad.
Should we have rebuilt? Of course! Not only for the reasons above, but because the Port of New Orleans plays a major part in the economic health of our country.
Contrast this with where I live. Sure, it’s great, but when the best thing you can say about a region is “good hospitals”, a “safe place to raise the kids”, and “business-friendly location” I know that if both this area and New Orleans were flooded, and I could only save one, which I’d choose…