Katrina took everything we had. Every.single.thing. In the days and weeks after the storm I didn't ever think about leaving New Orleans, though, because things were going to get better since the people who came back here must really want to be here and must really want to help make this city great. But I was wrong and it's far from great. There are so many problems in New Orleans. Crime is a problem. Government corruption is a problem. The state of public education is a problem. Having to look left then right then left then right then left then right before leaving the house is a problem.
Why do I live here when so much is wrong? My response is feeble and perhaps childish--it's because I love this city. I wish that I didn't. I wish that I could turn my back on her and go off and live somewhere else that's far more prosperous and much safer. But I can't. I love her. I love her so much that it makes me angry with myself, because loving this city doesn't seem to make any sense. I overheard a conversation this morning at the Park that sounds like so many other conversations I've been a part of and have overheard over the past two years. "...I know, but then you walk around Audubon Park and it's nice outside, and it sucks you back in." Just when you want to hit the road and leave New Orleans in the dust, you find a reason to stay.
1 comment:
Beautifully said, Jen.
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