New Orleans.

Last Tuesday, I returned from my first trip back home since the wedding last November. I flew into New Orleans to see Laura, a good friend of mine from middle and high school. She and her husband, Jay, live in the French Quarter and agreed to host me for a few days. After three flights and many hours, I arrived in New Orleans looking forward to seeing the city for the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew that I needed to see whatever there was to see.

On the ride in to town, I found it difficult to tell what was hurricane-related and what was just neglect, not being too familiar with New Orleans' outer limits. I vowed to assume that thing were not hurricane-related, unless it was obvious or a local told me otherwise. When we neared the city, I saw that the roof of the Superdome has still not been repaired. That was my first indication that this visit would be more powerful than I had anticipated.

In the Quarter, Laura and Jay have a great townhouse and a sweet life filled with law school, lawyering, two chubby cats, and one handful of a dog! The area where they live was not affected by the flooding and wind damage that devastated the rest of the city (the Quarter is on higher ground...) but the economic impact of such a disaster has not been lost on that area. Someone here in Hawaii said to me yesterday that Bourbon Street is hosting as many tourists as it did pre-hurricane. I find that hard to believe. We saw tourists and locals enjoying themselves, but it was no street party. Most of the bars and restaurants were almost empty, and one owner told me that she can't find people to work because there simply not enough people living in New Orleans these days.

The post-Katrina New Orleans that I saw was one that cannot escape Katrina's legacy. As I looked through the paper on morning, I noticed that every article I read mentioned something about Katrina and her effects on the city. One day I visited the main library where Linda, a long-time friend of my mother's, is the director. Half of the first floor is still full of FEMA workers who are providing assistance to the city's residents, some of whom are still returning to the city for the first time. The library lost much of their collection due to the heat and humidity in an airconditionless few weeks following the storm and they are operating with a fraction of their necessary staff.

That night, I had dinner with Linda and Jack, who had just returned from the annual fishing trip. I was lucky enough to enjoy a fresh-caught whole striped bass, perfectly grilled with lemon and parsley! After dinner, we toured an area known as Lakeview, which is a middle class area on the other side of City Park from their home. Lakeview was devastated when one of the many canal breaks occurred and flooded the area with many feet of water. Though there were some signs of life - people living on the second floors of their homes - a once thriving residential and commercial area is virtually a ghost town.

What I could not escape, no matter where I was in the city, were the spray painted marks on each home, telling the story of the storms aftermath. If you watched CNN at all after the storm, you saw these large x's with cryptic numbers and letters on the flooded homes. They're still there. Even in homes that have been cleaned up and are now housing people, a spray painted code still reminds the owners, should they have forgotten, that they were part of something historic and horrible. Linda, Jack, and Laura each shared a part of their life with me during my short stay in the Big Easy, and I take seriously their desire for me to be a witness to what New Orleans has become. I hope they are spared another storm this year and have the chance to continue on the long road to recovery.