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July 15, 2006 From the air, it’s hard to tell that New Orleans faced a Category 4 hurricane almost one year ago. The Twin Span bridges that carry I-10 over the eastern edge of Lake Pontchartrain, knocked askew by Katrina, are open again, connecting the city to its neighbors to the north and east. The Louisiana Superdome, where thousands of residents took shelter during the storm, gleams in the sunlight, its shimmering white roof restored to pre-storm glory in anticipation of the return of the Saints this football season. The first sign of anything amiss comes when I get off the plane. Confirming what I had read on the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport website, a number of shops and restaurants were still closed. Otherwise, the terminal looked like any other busy airport, inside and out. Driving away from the airport, down I-10 across Metarie and taking I-610 north of New Orleans, to avoid the Central Business District, business seems to be booming. Chain stores, car lots, hotels, and restaurants are packed with people, and traffic on the freeway moves at a brisk clip, despite the volume, in the early moments beyond rush hour. But beyond Chef Menteur Highway, the extent of the devastation gains foothold in the mind. The roller coasters at Six Flags New Orleans, closed since before Katrina roared through, stand as eerie, otherworldly sentinels over the urbanized marsh. Instead of serving its world-famous pancakes, an IHOP sits unoccupied and desolate. Instead of being filled with the sounds of happy children and their accommodating but somewhat aggravated parents, a Toys “R” Us is boarded up and tarped over, its bright, colorful façade mocking. Condos, town homes, mansions and more modest single-family residences shared the same fate; instead of providing shelter, they are now merely devastating eyesores on the landscape. And then, there’s the smell—a musty, sour smell that sticks with you until you reach the safety of Bayou Sauvage and the Twin Span. Slidell, to the northeast of New Orleans, also has its share of black eyes—shops and businesses once vital to the community, now lost to the storm. Riding up I-59 into eastern Mississippi, there are fewer businesses to see. Many of them are open, but some are closed. The trees, though, testify to Katrina’s wrath. In some spots along the freeway, it looks as though a giant decided that the forest were the candles on his birthday cake. Along the main drags through Hattiesburg, US 98/Hardy Street and US 49, the only evidence of the storm is higher traffic volumes. But in Laurel, along Beacon Street, some businesses remain closed. I have seen hurricane damage before. What Hugo did to Charlotte back in 1989 still lingers in my memory, but it’s the memories of the forests knocked down in Florence and Clarendon counties, in eastern South Carolina, that still get to me. Nature destroyed in mere minutes what it had taken many years to nurture. It looked a lot like another infamous natural disaster, the Tunguska event of 1908 which, had it happened a little later, would have devastated London or New York. But all the television footage that I saw did not prepare me for what I saw in and around New Orleans. It’s one thing to keep tabs on things from the safety of your own home, well away from the action. It’s quite another to be exposed to it firsthand. Two years ago, I visited New Orleans because my sister had some surgery there. I had a chance to see some of the things the city is known for before it was devastated. It still amazes me, even now, that anyone who stayed to face Katrina survived. It’s even more amazing that anyone is still in the city. So many who left will never come back, and I can’t say as I blame them. But my hat goes off, and my heart goes out to, all of those who are willing to rebuild and live in the areas devastated by Katrina. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written over 100 articles for Useless Knowledge. He has also written the unpublished novels The Writer's Nightmare and Santa's Sleigh Is Missing. He works as a business analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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