St. Bernard Parish (County) New Orleans’ Overlooked Neighbor Chalmette, La. June 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
People are drawn to the places they’ve lived. I couldn't imagine returning home to devastation. Still today, sunglasses block eyes, but not tears. For the residents of St. Bernard, many approaching year two in FEMA trailers and frequenting restaurants not quite like they remembered, every day is a struggle for attention.
New Orleans became the crown jewel of KATRINA’s seedy remains and attention. The Big Easy is the high school quarterback in the post-KATRINA competition for love and affection.
It’s made St. Bernard Parish feel like the last kid picked for dodge ball.
Murphy Oil, based in Chalmette, La., failed to properly hurricane-proof one of its massive storage tanks. Twenty-five thousand barrels spilled on the parks, streets and homes of St. Bernard parish. St. Bernard's road to recovery has and will continue to be an uphill battle given its proximity to Orleans Parish.
A friend of mine and fellow AmeriCorpsian, John Haley, is stationed in St. Bernard Parish. He lives in a FEMA trailer. The digs are nice but small. They remind me of a studio in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.
John took me on a tour of St. Bernard. Born out of white-flight during segregation, most Chalmettians are white working middle-class citizens. Pre-K population of St. Bernard was 67,000 according to the 200o Census. Locals estimate about 27,000 are there today.
The homes are suburban renditions of the Lower Ninth Ward. Two and 300,000 dollar pre-storm properties sit gutted and vacant block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood.
One high school is open. So is one major grocery store. And one entrepreneurial Domino’s franchise owner operates out of a trailer adjacent to his flooded business. The delivery guys take pizza through a makeshift drive-thru window.
Massive FEMA camps are the new neighborhoods for many Chalmettians.
When a visitor, developer wants to volunteer or help in the gulf-coast they think, “New Orleans, here I come. “
It’s only natural.
Overlooking St. Bernard could be fatal for the parish, New Orleans’ neighbor to the east.
Many St. Bernard residents, according to John, are optimistic about their Parish’s future. And in America, the last kid picked for the game usually grows up to be the Doctor of the group.
Click in the image to begin Video. The images are grainy and unsteady. Kind of like the City in some ways, I guess.
Video #1: New Orleans' Mayor C. Ray Nagin Video #2: A 18-year-old New Orleanian on his way to Tulane University in the fall.
New Orleans’ Rally June 13, 2007 LouisianaStateCapitolBuilding Family and Friends—
Disclosure:This was a political rally and since I have employment ties to the Mayor’s Office, I will not comment directly about the videos.
It’s 80 miles to Baton Rouge. Organizers of the rally procured 20 brand new bright yellow school buses to take New Orleanians to the Governor’s mansion.
These buses were beautiful. “At least the schools have new buses,” I thought.
I walked behind one. “Mississippi” the plate read. And the next one, “Mississippi” and the next “Mississippi.”
“We can’t even get Louisiana buses to transport our citizens,” a resident said to himself but loud enough for me to hear.
It was the first hot day of the Louisiana summer. Pants stuck to men’s legs by nine a.m., sweat beaded while standing, and ladies’ nylons must have been bordering on unbearable.I wonder why women still wear nylons.
We made the drive to the Governor’s mansion and state patrolmen, politicians and news cameras greeted the New Orleanians. Signs lamented about the broken Road Home and poor medical conditions. The people talked about how their state had failed them. News reporters asked what they thought the rally would do for the future of their City.
People cheered, laughed and smiled. This wasn't an angry crowd. People walked and hugged all the way to the Capitol steps.
Leaders and residents from St. Tammany, St. Bernard, Jefferson and Orleans’ parishes spoke. The laughter turned serious. Their voices trembled. Their voices carried. And politicians were concerned little about following protocol.
And after standing for an hour in the Louisiana heat, the people went inside. They walked by docents and security guards, lawyers and legislators, all enjoying the comfortable capitol air conditioning.
The Mississippi buses pulled away at 2 p.m. People were hot, but happy, all wondering what the gathering might accomplish.
s are nice but small. They remind me of a studio in 
