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Thank You - And Farewell
Today is the last day for entries in this blog. I want to thank AOL Black Voices for making New Orleans a priority and giving me the opportunity to share my slice of New Orleans with you. Thanks to Spike Lee for doing it right. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this blog and to write responses, questions and insights. And to those who have brought New Orleans and the Gulf Coast into your hearts, into your homes, and exerted valiant efforts to help us there in your town, your efforts are supremely appreciated. And lastly, to those who made the pilgrimage to New Orleans to help in your own way – we are truly humbled by the way in which you’ve you stepped into the void created by the fed’s faulty levee system, slow response time, and begrudging assistance, to love and support your fellow brothers and sisters in our darkest hour. All of you are the real Americans – not the distorted caricatures created by our government’s actions, which have created such animosity towards the U.S. in the rest of the world.
I've always said, 'You don’t choose New Orleans – New Orleans chooses you'. You know if you have her in your blood – she is a haunting call, beckoning you to her. She is a flame, alluring, distinctive, unsettling even, that's already alive in your soul the moment you first encounter her. She is unlike anything else, at once a delirious magic spell, a mother’s unswerving love and devotion, a tragic disappointment, an unbridled passion, a dreamland that stands arms akimbo, stubbornly planted in long ago.
And if New Orleans lives in your heart, then this past year was not easy for you, for any of us. We’ve seen aspects of our collective selves that was troubling – at times, even horrifying. But in the midst of this self-reflection, we are rising up, developing character and fortitude, and bettering ourselves on an individual, community, and governmental level.<spanstyle =""> Which means that all this suffering did not happen in vain. Which means we’ll one day burn brighter and stronger because of what we’ve accomplished – together.
Until we meet again
In our beloved New Orleans,
Deborah
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I have never been to New Orleans but you are so right, she chooses her own and one day I will get to her but until then I will continue to mourn for her and for the rest of my life from August 29, 2006-Sept 04, 2006 will always burn in my heart. And I will always seek justice for the murdered and abused children of Katrina. The ones that were murdered and raped and snatched, the ones that the media and the politicians say does not exist. It was impossible for it not to exist. Does anyone not think this was a gold mine time for those who prey on the young? Unsupervised and orphaned children everywhere with the perfect alibi for their death-Katrina. Even before the flood New Orleans was filled with child predators and to think that they did not take advantage of the opprotunity is just plain foolish. Someday Justice will prevail for these children of New Orleans but until then I will continue to mourn just as America and New Orleans continue to mourn.
Nandi
9/3/06 4:53 AM
to RETURN HOME. That "special flavor" spilled by Katrina can be added back into the pot and stirred in with all the lovely spices & aroma's of life which makes New Orleans what is was and will be again.. Those who have not come home ARE
the missing ingredients. Together, nationwide, we can replace, rekindle all that we once had.. I'm a H. IVAN victim so I know... I'd like to see ALL your articles if they are archived- just tell me where ! Best close... Sending LOVE and PRAYERS from our hearts in Florida to all the "hearts of New Orleans" "'my kind of people"....
Blessings
Jackie B. Slaughter
Slaughter777@aol.com