Center of the World

When I was home in July for my uncle's funeral, one of my grandmother's neighbors asked me "Why are you in New Orleans?"

As we got deeper into the conversation he explained to me that he couldn't figure out why anyone would waste their time helping to rebuild a city that was full of, what he called, lazy people unwilling to help themselves.

Back in July, I thought his comments were funny -- funny in the same way that anyone who speaks as if they're an authority on a subject they've never experienced is. He had never met Richonda Bridges, Richard Nagle or Joycelyn Heintz. As it turned out, he had never met anyone from southeastern Louisiana.



I also thought his comments were funny because for a young adult living in a post-9/11 world New Orleans met two of my leading requirements of place: 1.) the opportunity to do work that improved the world I live in, and 2.) the opportunity to have fun with passionate peers looking for a home that also satisfied these two requirements (I feel like this is coming off as a poorly written personal ad).

I thought his comment was funny in July -- but today, February 7, 2010, as I imagine it would be difficult for anyone in the country (or for much of the world) to flip through a newspaper without seeing multiple references to the city of New Orleans, his comment has risen to a new level of irony. Today I live in the center of the world.

New Orleans was the center of the world not too long ago. The day Hurricane Katrina ripped through the southeastern coast of Louisiana, the world looked to New Orleans in horror and in pity.

But today, I imagine people aren't looking at New Orleans with horror(unless you are a Colts fan...zing) and, while recovery still has a LONNNNNNG way to go, nothing about this week's events should invoke pity. The Black and Gold are in the Super Bowl for the first time in history! We are in the middle of Carnival's parade season and are just days away from one of the biggest parties on Earth! And, as of yesterday, we have elected a new mayor!



My grandmother's neighbor got it wrong.

Please don't misunderstand me, there are valid concerns that people have with rebuilding a city that is at (and in some places below) sea level. There are reasons to question why someone would want to spend their time rebuilding New Orleans. But I would argue that anyone who has ever met the residents of the Greater New Orleans Area would be quick to note that the people are not one of those reasons -- they are this city's great asset.

But...there are reasons. And I do think about them. The primary purpose of this blog will be to work through, for the benefit of myself and my readers (Hi Mom and Grandma) why -- despite the challenges present in having a city on this particular piece of earth -- New Orleans and its people are more than worth the effort.

Today is an incredible day for this city. But, as I'm hoping you will soon agree, this is a city that has a habit of making seemingly normal days feel incredible.

Thanks for reading and Geaux Saints!



[Author's Note: I will update this post with pictures and a few pertinent links tomorrow. I'm looking out my window and watching people dressed in black and gold heading to their pre-Super Bowl celebrations. I have a celebration of my own to be at and am still a shower and a six(ish) mile bike ride away (that's six miles with a giant apple cream cheese-stuffed king cake!)]