Surreal Is The New Reality...
I just talked to my friend Dale who lives in New Orleans and I was just so struck by all that he had to say about life in New Orleans now. Since he has been in town he says he spends his days shoveling sludge out of his new, old house that he never got to move into, sponging himself off, and then heading to one of very few restaurants for a drink and salad as he's a vegetarian. He told me that even tough he's only been working like this for a few days now that it seems that all he has known before has been washed away and life now demands only that he wake, shovel sludge, and go to a restaurant before the 8:oo pm curfew sends hime and everyone else in the city back home. If they're lucky enough to have one. He mentioned a friend or acquaintance, whichever, that came home to find his two story home leaning on his next door neighbors and a condemned sign on the door. How is that for surreal?
Dale mentioned to me that a few places in the city still had Wi Fi connectivity and he wanted a card so he could access the web through his notebook. I told him I could get one off the web and have it sent to him. He chuckled and let me know that no one delivers to New Orleans right now. He had told me earlier that it was third world there, but honestly I cannot comprehend the situation that so many people are in. He says that as he travels between his apartment and his house, he is constantly shocked at the destruction the city has been subjected to, and when he believes it can't be worse, he finds something new. Because his apartment is on the second floor, he still has a refrigerator. He has been trying to help his friends with the rare commodity. Shocking, to me at least. I've never lived without a fridge. I'm sure some older people have, but to me the concept is medieval. I'm a spoiled American. Sorry.
Dale is glad that he's back in the city though. For him, New Orleans is home. So he's glad to be back in the city he loves and shovel sludge out of a home that he never got to live in. I know that he's working for something and someplace he loves. That makes it worth it. Even if the claims adjuster condemns his house at the end of the week. He's there and trying his best to move on. I guess that's it. No happy ending or moral to this story. Just one guy shoveling sludge, eating and drinking in a devestated city. Like thousands of others...
Dale mentioned to me that a few places in the city still had Wi Fi connectivity and he wanted a card so he could access the web through his notebook. I told him I could get one off the web and have it sent to him. He chuckled and let me know that no one delivers to New Orleans right now. He had told me earlier that it was third world there, but honestly I cannot comprehend the situation that so many people are in. He says that as he travels between his apartment and his house, he is constantly shocked at the destruction the city has been subjected to, and when he believes it can't be worse, he finds something new. Because his apartment is on the second floor, he still has a refrigerator. He has been trying to help his friends with the rare commodity. Shocking, to me at least. I've never lived without a fridge. I'm sure some older people have, but to me the concept is medieval. I'm a spoiled American. Sorry.
Dale is glad that he's back in the city though. For him, New Orleans is home. So he's glad to be back in the city he loves and shovel sludge out of a home that he never got to live in. I know that he's working for something and someplace he loves. That makes it worth it. Even if the claims adjuster condemns his house at the end of the week. He's there and trying his best to move on. I guess that's it. No happy ending or moral to this story. Just one guy shoveling sludge, eating and drinking in a devestated city. Like thousands of others...
posted by Anonymous at 10:10 PM
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