where would you rather go? las vegas or new orleans? this is a complete no-brainer for me. answer would be new orleans in a heartbeat - each day of the week and twice on sunday.
but, being as it is, i think we're on the brink of watching one of the country's major cities become a ghost town. are they going to rebuild new orleans? i saw a headline on last week that read THE BATTLE FOR NEW ORLEANS; can it go back to the way it was? i think that the U.S. has crossed a line that's permanent, and it's going to leave scars.
such a vibrant, exciting, mystical, spectral, ALIVE city can't be recreated or replaced, and the aura - the mix of emotions you feel there - the feeling that this place can't be real, that you're imagining all of it, and the sense that there's no law, and it's always teetering on the edge of anarchy - has never been more in your face than now.
now there's just a feeling of terrible regret and sadness - regret that this city is never going to be the same, sadness for the people dealing with the destruction of their lives. that's pretty much left of new orleans for me. no more stumbles throughout the french quarter, listening for the next secret jazz club i'll stumble upon, no more sights, sound and senses that you can't find anywhere else.
i'm so sorry for the people who lived or worked, or just loved new orleans. i hope that they can put their lives back together, whether it's moving on or moving back, if it comes back. but i just don't know. i hope it does, but i'm not optimistic. i'm just sorry.
at the same time, i have a very strange feeling in my gut about a)the folks who didn't leave when they were warned and b)the government that has, so far, not done its job making the situation. firstly, you were warned! i'm sorry, but you knew what was coming, but you chose to "ride the storm out." i have a feeling the next time your state declares emergency, you'll mosey out. and as for the good ol' u.s. government, get your shit together and do what you can to save those folks. witless as they may be, it's your job to get them out of there safe and sound.
the old ghosts of new orleans have left, with new ones of this tragedy coming in to take their place.
it's over. new orleans is done.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
new orleans was great the three times i went downt here. somehow it won't be the same. it'll have that "feeling" hanging over it.
2-socks,
You are a good writer, 2S. I think you should post more regularly--schedule something weekly or bi-weekly. I know I busted your balls some time ago, but it was honestly all in good fun. You have good candor and your entries are liquid (they flow). I check in routinely to see when you have opinion--get in step, bro. I am looking forward to more, despite my reputation as a metro-scumbag. Here's a seed of an idea for you to write about--The SMC newsletter: why so thin with the class accomplishments? Seriously, though--hit me with something esoteric soon. Maybe a response to an article from Scientific American or the Lockhorns...I look forward to your next article.
With utmost sincerity-
Darren
Post a Comment