Blog: Love and hate in New Orleans

JessN · January 4th, 2009, 10:53 PM

The game recap done, here's my tribute to the city of New Orleans. Not sports-related, but it is something I felt needed to be written: http://www.tidefans.com/forums/blogs...w-orleans.html

TideWatcher · January 5th, 2009, 12:24 AM

Being someone affected by Katrina and knowing many others, I appreciate your article. I am not the fan of the city that you are, but I do feel for the people and hope things are getting better for them. There is a lot of history in the city and worth visiting for any who haven't been there. You don't have to go to French Quarter to experience great food and hospitality, or to enjoy the city.

trenda · January 5th, 2009, 08:03 AM

Good stuff. I have been on a couple of missions trips to New Orleans and Gulfport to do some restoration work (physically and emotionally) and can confirm that, indeed, there are areas that are physically just dead. However, the people I've encountered were far from dead; and their perseverance, faith and determination are uplifting. I would recommend anyone who has a chance to go do some work down there. It's definitely worth the time and effort.

Vinny · January 5th, 2009, 08:17 AM

Nice article. We are planning to go to New Orleans in October for a week. It will be my wife's first time there, but I have been there at least 20 times.

SavannahDare · January 5th, 2009, 01:27 PM

Nicely written, and thank you for it. New Orleans has been my favorite city ever since I was a student at UA and my roomate, whose mother comes from a very old Creole family in NOLA, basically kidnapped me and took me down for an up-close-and-personal tour for my 19th birthday (drinking age was still 18 in LA then!). Now that we live only 75 minutes east, on the Gulf Coast of MS, we have rejoiced at NOLA's slow return from the ravages of the Katrina aftermath. Our early trips over after the storm were heartbreaking, but each trip since has shown us more life, fewer FEMA trailers, fewer blue roofs, and more of the electricity that epitomizes this amazing city. I wish I could say the Gulf Coast of MS is recovering with the same gusto, but, alas, it goes slowly for many of my neighbors here. Still, this whole area of the country, from New Orleans to Mobile, is very determined to fully recover from the devastation that was Katrina, and Ivan before her. There is something very special here. The local flavor, be it the people, the food, the music, or simply life on the bayou and the ocean, is the most unique I've ever lived in. I am so proud to be a part of it. I am so proud that most of my neighbors chose to come home and rebuild, higher, stronger, and with hearts that will not be deterred.

crimsonbleeder · January 5th, 2009, 02:00 PM

	Quote:	JessN
	The game recap done, here's my tribute to the city of New Orleans. Not sports-related, but it is something I felt needed to be written: http://www.tidefans.com/forums/blogs...w-orleans.html

Beautifully written, Jess. Truly. I, too, have been a New Orleans "frequent flier" since the age of about 11, and going almost as many times as you. Something in my heart has not allowed me to go back there since Katrina, even though I consider the city as one of my favorites, and certainly have the most memories (mostly fond, some not, but memories nonetheless) of the "American Paris". Not too courageous, huh? Well, no, and perhaps even selfish. Had tickets to go to the game, with a nice hotel room, and something just wouldn't let me go---so I gave them away. Fear? Maybe. Fear of having to deal with that tragedy on some level and see so many people who were affected by that in the city I love and have played as a musician. So many friends and acquaintances, like yours, who just "disappeared", or worse, wiped from existence.

But I, like you, have not visited New Orleans for the last time. But my time was not last weekend--it just wasn't right. I am convinced more than ever that the time to deal with this for me will come, though, and your writing did a great job of making me realize that. So thank you.

Hal Bennett · January 5th, 2009, 05:13 PM

Having been born in Ragland, Alabama; educated, among other places, at Samford University; and having lived in the New Orleans area for a total of 28 years, I must say to you, respectfully, that your view of New Orleans is typical.

Perhaps I could express it this way. My son used to come over here to Gulf Shores, Alabama, from New Orleans, to fish on the state park pier -- it is now being rebuilt after the ravages of Hurricane Ivan some years back. The "regulars" on the pier referred to anyone who was NOT a regular as a "tourist."

New Orleans has always had its two aspects, just like some tourist meccas in the Caribbean and the Bahamas. There is the flashy side that the tourists see; and then there is the poverty that envelopes the island. And New Orleans is an island in more ways than one. Not only is it a bowl, sitting precipitously between Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi, it is an island of European culture sitting squarely on of the edge of the Bible Belt. No, most of the French-extract people there no longer know French at all. But their culture is definitely largely derived from their French and Italian roots. Throw in the African-American culture and a few Anglos, both of whom are suffered by the older culture, and you begin to understand New Orleans.

You mentioned the "factories" you saw on the way out of town. They only APPEARED to be factories. The only factory I ever found in New Orleans was one that made neckties, and that one was downtown, not far from the Superdome. That is New Orleans', and Louisiana's, problem. Alabama has been raking in the contracts lately, though there are one or two car factories, I hear, in north Louisiana. New Orleans is about tourism and the Port. That's it. The Superdome itself is based upon a certain segment of the Tourism industry. Then there is the Seafood Industry, which basically is a thousand little industries, from individual people with crabnets to shrimpboats and restaurants -- much of which is connected to Tourism. Finally, there is Mardi Gras, the MAIN concern of New Orleans, and of course it is all about tourism.

New Orleans has always been like this, in one way or the other. In Antebellum times, the city was dependent upon the rest of the South for the cotton that piled up in bales on the wharves along the Mississippi -- just as it now depends upon tourists who come down to the Sugar Bowl and for Mardi Gras. The inhabitants of New Orleans view themselves as being on display -- for your favor. They are catering to you, either by carrying your bags, or by providing a show for you at Mardi Gras. Any way you look at them, they see themselves as being Orleanians, and you are among everyone else, those who come down to provide their living.

JessN · January 6th, 2009, 12:48 AM

	Quote:	Hal Bennett
	Having been born in Ragland, Alabama; educated, among other places, at Samford University; and having lived in the New Orleans area for a total of 28 years, I must say to you, respectfully, that your view of New Orleans is typical. Perhaps I could express it this way. My son used to come over here to Gulf Shores, Alabama, from New Orleans, to fish on the state park pier -- it is now being rebuilt after the ravages of Hurricane Ivan some years back. The "regulars" on the pier referred to anyone who was NOT a regular as a "tourist." New Orleans has always had its two aspects, just like some tourist meccas in the Caribbean and the Bahamas. There is the flashy side that the tourists see; and then there is the poverty that envelopes the island. And New Orleans is an island in more ways than one. Not only is it a bowl, sitting precipitously between Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi, it is an island of European culture sitting squarely on of the edge of the Bible Belt. No, most of the French-extract people there no longer know French at all. But their culture is definitely largely derived from their French and Italian roots. Throw in the African-American culture and a few Anglos, both of whom are suffered by the older culture, and you begin to understand New Orleans. You mentioned the "factories" you saw on the way out of town. They only APPEARED to be factories. The only factory I ever found in New Orleans was one that made neckties, and that one was downtown, not far from the Superdome. That is New Orleans', and Louisiana's, problem. Alabama has been raking in the contracts lately, though there are one or two car factories, I hear, in north Louisiana. New Orleans is about tourism and the Port. That's it. The Superdome itself is based upon a certain segment of the Tourism industry. Then there is the Seafood Industry, which basically is a thousand little industries, from individual people with crabnets to shrimpboats and restaurants -- much of which is connected to Tourism. Finally, there is Mardi Gras, the MAIN concern of New Orleans, and of course it is all about tourism. New Orleans has always been like this, in one way or the other. In Antebellum times, the city was dependent upon the rest of the South for the cotton that piled up in bales on the wharves along the Mississippi -- just as it now depends upon tourists who come down to the Sugar Bowl and for Mardi Gras. The inhabitants of New Orleans view themselves as being on display -- for your favor. They are catering to you, either by carrying your bags, or by providing a show for you at Mardi Gras. Any way you look at them, they see themselves as being Orleanians, and you are among everyone else, those who come down to provide their living.

What tourist-based locale DOESN'T "see themselves as being (whatever), and you are among everyone else, those who come down to provide their living"? The same is true of Disney World workers in Orlando, Fla., or the bag boys on the RTJ Golf Trail in Alabama.

What's a fact about this trip is that it was different than any of my others. On most of my previous trips, we stayed with the now-deceased family friend referenced at the end of the column. He was a 50-year resident of New Orleans and we didn't just see the tourist spots when we went. We also detected a different attitude from the people who were in service positions then. It has changed.

Perhaps it's because there was a 10-year gap between my visits that the change was so noticeable. If you turn up the temperature in your house a fraction of a degree every day, you'll always be comfortable. But if you leave one day, come back a year later and it's 30 degrees warmer inside, you'll be hot.

I have no doubt there are scam artists in New Orleans, but to suggest it's all a ruse and the natives are just playing us is a little disingenuous. I suspect they probably are motivated by the fear that people will stop coming -- and as part of the process, their unique culture may be scattered to the ends of the earth -- so they're trying to be nicer. But I also think they've been affected by this so profoundly that it's coming out of their souls and through their eyes.

sweet diane · January 6th, 2009, 09:54 AM

I was born in Slidell LA in 1960. My dad, FAA, was transferred to the Houston Center in 1965 so my memories are few, yet significant. Many times people have a hard time pin pointing where I am from by my accent which is a LA/TX/AL mix. It all hit me on one visit back sometime during the 70's.. listening to ladies chatter at Schwegmann's (sp?) Grocery in that unique 'Norlins' language was comforting.

My great aunt's roots were deep in Norlins..French Creole. She was in her late 70's when my Husband and I married and he'll never forget talking Saint's football with her...down to player stats! A more refined southern lady you would never meet, yet she was all about Saint's football! Tho she spent most of her adult life in Laurel MS, until her death at 94, continued receiving the Times Pic daily. I was the only 'Bayou Baby' in the family so we shared that connection.

My last visit to Norlins was in Oct of 2004. We had lost my father in March, taken a hard hit by Ivan (ourselves and my mom in Gulf Shores) in Sept and were ready to get away. While we had a great time, had we known what was to come we'd have taken more in. I almost don't want to go back because so many sightes and smells I've absorbed over a life time of visits might not be the same.

I hated the way things were handled...from the mayor to FEMA, with Katrina. I was ashamed of some, proud of others. And even tho we are far from Norlins, Katrina left her mark here as well... many suffered all around the Gulf Coast. Our daughters have been on mission trips to the MS coast, another place that played a big role in my childhood. We've been over to the boats once since the storm and drove down and saw the Katrina wall and the devestated coastline.

I was so disappointed with the way the Sugar Bowl turned out. Yet, I am glad that the city got a boost. There is so much history there... my history there. The house we lived in the Slidell was gutted, yet still stands. The house I grew up in in Spring TX was damaged with Ike. My parents house in Gulf Shores lost its decks during Ivan and had a smelly fridge, yet remains in much better shape than the others even tho is stands one block from the Gulf of Mexico!

I still would love to live in Norlins at some point in my life. I'd love to be a Quarter dweller and be a part of that unique society. If you've never been, you must go. Explore the history, drink coffee and eat a beignet at Cafe duMond. When we'd go down Bourbon Street at night when I was a kid, I'd peek into the open doors of the establishments and was enthralled... tho I've been to Bourbon Street at night as an adult!

I'm sorry to go on so, but New Orleans will do that to ya! I guess it's that 'living on the edge' mentality. I mean, look at the city! It is a bowl surrounded by water! But it's OUR bowl surrounded by water.

Leeroy · January 6th, 2009, 12:26 PM

Great read Jess. I took a trip over in Dec of 06 and was shocked by what I saw on I-10 also. But, I found the people of NO to be what you described, humble and so hospitable that knew I'd would be back again.

I might add for anyone thinking about going. Don't wait for a bowl game or some other sporting event at the dome. Go over for a weekend see the other things the city has to offer. My two favorites when I go, the WWII museum (a must see), and the Rock & Bowl when Sonny Landreth is playing there.

Roll Tide

crimsonbleeder · January 6th, 2009, 02:28 PM

	Quote:	Leeroy
	Great read Jess. I took a trip over in Dec of 06 and was shocked by what I saw on I-10 also. But, I found the people of NO to be what you described, humble and so hospitable that knew I'd would be back again. I might add for anyone thinking about going. Don't wait for a bowl game or some other sporting event at the dome. Go over for a weekend see the other things the city has to offer. My two favorites when I go, the WWII museum (a must see), and the Rock & Bowl when Sonny Landreth is playing there. Roll Tide

I agree, the WWII museum is highly recommended, as is the Rock & Bowl, no matter who the live music is!

BhamTide · January 6th, 2009, 05:29 PM

That may have been the best peice I've ever read from you. It was the perfect description of our weekend, as well.

Coming over the bridge, I just looked at my wife and grinned. She knows how much I love New Orleans. The old traditional New Orleans. My great-great grandparents came from France through the port of New Orleans. They were brought to this country, as were many French immigrants, by the Gallatiore family. Their jobs were pre-arranged in Birmingham, where the first Gallatiore Saloon was located, working in the steel mills. The restaruant's menu still makes mention of those times.

Jess, we experienced everything you described from everyone we encountered. The service was beyond anything we expected. Funny thing was, we were just as happy to see them as they were to see us. We're already planning our next trip and we plan to stay a week to 10 days next time.

One thing that I found interesting. We spent most of Saturday in the Garden District. As usual, it was covered with Bama fans with New Orleans experience. The nicest part was that we only saw 6 Utah fans the entire day. I'm sure the novices were still tearing up Bourbon and thinking they were seeing everything New Orleans had to offer.

LCN · January 6th, 2009, 07:44 PM

Jess , the I-10 stretch you mentioned on the way in is still terribly bad but , you should've seen it 2 + years ago . There's been pretty good progress in that area over the past year though - so far as new or returning residents .