I spent the weekend in New Orleans this past weekend and describing what the weekend was like is difficult.
The city is very different right now. Even though the mayor has "opened" the city for repopulation not many people have returned. Most of the people I saw in my neighborhood came in only to assess and pick up a few things and leave again. I also saw many people loading Uhauls to leave town. I assume that is what they were doing as when I was driving out of town I saw many Uhauls and trailers loaded with belongings headed west.
The entire town has a weird feel to it as New Orleans used to be a city that never slept is now put to bed at 6:00 PM. My experience was that the curfew was not strictly enforced inside the city, but if you were caught outside the city after 6:00 then you would find it difficult to re-enter that night. This did happen to me, but luckily "found" a way back into town. I could stand in the middle of the intersection near my house and look in all directions and not see or hear anything. The only sounds were the occasional police or National Guard patrol.
The city also has a terrible smell to it now. Now I know that New Orleans was not the freshest smelling of cities before Hurricane Katrina, but now with all the rotting food and dead things still decomposing. As the wind blows you smell carries to all reaches of the city. It is impossible to get away from indoors or out. (Again, I refer you to the pictures of my refrigerator below.)
Tulane’s campus is looking much better, from what I could see. President Cowen’s statement about the campus being closed to everyone was very true as there are armed guards at every entrance. It looked as though much of the debris has been removed and repairs were well underway. I still believe that it will be difficult for the school to open in January. Not that the school will not be ready, but I wonder if the city will be. Hopefully, if Jefferson Parish and Metairie is any indication it will be ready. Metairie appears to be well on its way to being able to support a large population whereas New Orleans does not even have basic services available at this time. Water is still not potable, electricity is still not available to much of the city and even much of Uptown, the only hospital open is Touro and that is for emergency services only, but you can go out to Jefferson Parish for medical needs, and it will be sometime before all this is back up and running.
I don’t say these things to be a pessimist, it is just what I feel and what I saw this weekend. I just didn’t see that much progress from what I saw two weeks ago. If you also consider what I saw in Lakeview it is hard to be very positive about the state of the city right now. I know many of you are reading about how the French Quarter is returning to life and it is, sort of. Bourbon Street is still lined with out of state police cars. They must have taken over the Royal Sonesta as a dorm/command center. Bars, stores and restaurants are beginning to open and only have to wait for the health department and supplies to reach them. There are several bars opening around town, but even the ones that once served food now only serve beer and drinks without ice.
The good news is that there are thousands of workers in town working to restore services, remove debris, maintain safety, and repair just about everything. I even had firemen from North Carolina come by the house to make sure I was doing okay. I will also be posting so links soon to pictures, articles and more information about school and the city.
I hope the goals of the school and city are realized and I look forward to seeing everyone very soon.
Take care,
Kevin