[Sean in New Orleans]

In no, particular order:

1.) You hear people saying "The City Is Packed."

2.) There is a line at any seafood place, in the city, stetching down the street to purchase boiled crawfish or boiled crabs.

3.) Every other car is a convertible, with it's top down and you hear great dance music.

4.) There are these strange gigantic pipes on the neutral ground of St. Charles Ave that are apparently meant for streetcar construction.

5.) You drive your car in NOEast and see FEMA trailors at every other house.

6.) The FQ is packed with drunk drag greens that are continously exclaining "Happy Easter, Dawlin..."

7.) When you drive up the Industrial Canal Bridge on I-10 and the traffic slowes.

8.) Streets are closed off for another movie produstion.

9.) There are easter - egg hunts in your cousin's yard.

10.) A&P at Royal & St. Peter is open with long lines of people.....

And finally, when you walk down the street and smell "Morning Glory."

 

[tierwestah]

i don't mean to be a jerk or insensitive about this because i know you love your city. I do, heck Americans do... for what it was and which will probably never be again.

They haven't made much progress to the neighborhoods in the heart of the city leaving neighborhoods still in shambles and heavily contaminated. People are slowly moving back but not everyone.

Let's face it. Not to sound racist but people of color made this city, along with the birth of jazz and cajun spice character. Regretfully, those days are gone. The city will merely be kept for sentimental reasons. Possibly become a stop for tourists as a memoriable American City. They'll still have Marti-Gras but the city will be more of an artificial imitation of what it once was and a city that won't have the character it once did. It's over. Mother Nature made her final say and said a City is not meant to be there.


I'm really sorry to be the one to say this but it has to be said. I really do hope i'm wrong though because we used to go to New Orleans all the time. I felt comfortable knowing it was so close to Houston and Alabama. But since we can't have New Orleans right now, i guess we have to settle for San Antonio! :jk:

 

[Sean in New Orleans]

It's all good...your opinion is media based. I think you'll need to come to the City and visit before you make any type of true judgment. But, as long as the media chooses to fixate on the negative, you won't hear us holler...we still, do need help for areas that were flooded, and we won't jeopardize any assistance that is forthcoming for those people. But, if you come here and drive around, you'll certainly feel the 1.2 million people here, everyday, that, again proudly call this city home and are actively still picking up trash and debris that is a result of our memorable 2005 hurricane. Mark it...New Orleans, LA had a devastating hurricane in 2005. We understand that and are moving forward....

 

[Raleigh-NC]

If N.O. was a small town it would have been VERY hard to see the population return back to normal, but given the size and importance of this city, it is only a matter of time before life resumes its pre-Katrina pace. In fact, N.O. will become stronger than people remember it. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[TheCharlottean]

Sean, I don't mean to be inflammatory, but I'm pretty sure you're using civic pride in the face of a recovering disaster as an excuse for boosterism, and the only reason I'm saying that is because you keep making topic after topic about how New Orleans will return to its former glory.

We know it will, and we that have been to New Orleans in its heydey are glad to know it will be back in full force before long, but we don't need to be constantly reminded. We just know.

I would love to see more development project threads about NO, but as far as "We'll be back" threads, I think I speak for most people on this forum when I say we'e not being told anything we don't already know.

 

[Geaux Tigers]

^Word. We keep hearing over and over and over and over again about New Orleans will be back, and now you keep telling us it is back. Great! Let's see proof and some dirt flying now.

BTW, I don't want to throw salt into any wounds, but I'm running into MANY former New Orleanians here in the Dallas area who say they aren't going back. And, I'm not talking about "the former citizens" you like to say aren't welcome back who were a drain on society. I know the ones you're talking about and they aren't welcome here either. I'm talking to productive members of society that have jobs and an education that tell me they will never move back home. They've been back to meet with insurance adjusters, collect their check, and they're bidding New Orleans good bye and good luck!

Anyway, I guess my point is, when you tell us that metro New Orleans is back to it's pre-Katrina population numbers, I have to ask how? Many homes in St. Tammany are still destroyed and all of St. Bernard is gone. The east bank of Jefferson Parish was at build-out years ago and I know most of Mid-City New Orleans is still uninhabitable. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I have to question the 1.2 million number you keep throwing out. I know lots of people have returned, but there are thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who will never live there again and are permantely gone from the state.

 

[ComingtoHouston]

^Word. We keep hearing over and over and over and over again about New Orleans will be back, and now you keep telling us it is back. Great! Let's see proof and some dirt flying now.

BTW, I don't want to throw salt into any wounds, but I'm running into MANY former New Orleanians here in the Dallas area who say they aren't going back. And, I'm not talking about "the former citizens" you like to say aren't welcome back who were a drain on society. I know the ones you're talking about and they aren't welcome here either. I'm talking to productive members of society that have jobs and an education that tell me they will never move back home. They've been back to meet with insurance adjusters, collect their check, and they're bidding New Orleans good bye and good luck!

Anyway, I guess my point is, when you tell us that metro New Orleans is back to it's pre-Katrina population numbers, I have to ask how? Many homes in St. Tammany are still destroyed and all of St. Bernard is gone. The east bank of Jefferson Parish was at build-out years ago and I know most of Mid-City New Orleans is still uninhabitable. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I have to question the 1.2 million number you keep throwing out. I know lots of people have returned, but there are thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who will never live there again and are permantely gone from the state.

i don't really mind these threads. I mean the MEDIA dropped the ball on giving us current updates so Sean in New Orleans is doing a good job representing his city. As long as these threads don't jump in to false claims and lies about New Orleans, i'm cool with it.

I always loved New Orleans and i like to know how progress is going right now. Tierwestah made a somewhat ligitimate statement but i do think that New Orleans is capable of returning back to what it was. Especially if there's still 1.2 million in the metro area. What is the current city population post katrina?

 

[Evan]

Yeah, I don't blame Sean either. New Orleans was and still is, a national treasure, and I don't mind seeing him talking about whats going on there. Katrina is off the minds of most Americans. We are like an old Commodore 64, cut the power and our memory is wiped clean. What happened yesterday doesn't matter because we forgot it.

I also like hearing about things down there. I have a friend that lives in Lakeview and I hear about things from him also. Sean isn't far off the mark, they are slowly digging out down there.

 

[ROCguy]

i don't mean to be a jerk or insensitive about this because i know you love your city. I do, heck Americans do... for what it was and which will probably never be again.

They haven't made much progress to the neighborhoods in the heart of the city leaving neighborhoods still in shambles and heavily contaminated. People are slowly moving back but not everyone.

Let's face it. Not to sound racist but people of color made this city, along with the birth of jazz and cajun spice character. Regretfully, those days are gone. The city will merely be kept for sentimental reasons. Possibly become a stop for tourists as a memoriable American City. They'll still have Marti-Gras but the city will be more of an artificial imitation of what it once was and a city that won't have the character it once did. It's over. Mother Nature made her final say and said a City is not meant to be there.


I'm really sorry to be the one to say this but it has to be said. I really do hope i'm wrong though because we used to go to New Orleans all the time. I felt comfortable knowing it was so close to Houston and Alabama. But since we can't have New Orleans right now, i guess we have to settle for San Antonio! :jk:

I agree with you 100%.... It's the same situation with San Francisco. I was watching a special on the 1906 quake last night on the History channel and a historian brought up a very good point; When you go to the "old world" Europe, Asia, and the Middle east... you see ruins of former cities scattered accross the land. Pompeii is one extreme example, but there are many others. The point is, that over time in the "old world" the people realized that they had built these cities on areas not ideal for them that were prone to extreme natural disasters. They then built them on land that could sustain them much better, but keep the ruins of the old cities in respect and rememberance for their significance. But the USA is still VERY young, as are all of its cities. Just like they rebuilt the cities in the old world the first couple of times, we rebuild ours. But eventually, people will come to the realization that that isn't a sollution. The next New Orleans Hurricane and the next San Francisco quake will cause more devistation the the previous. There is no one who doesn't have respect for New Orleans or realize it's significance in American History. While I don't think it should be downright abandoned and left as "ruins", it should NOT ever get as big as it was pre-katrina. It should be kept as nice tourist area because luckily most of the tourist areas escaped heavy damage.

 

[Evan]

Well, but people think a little bit differently in the modern world than they did back then. It is beyond peoples comprehensions to think that we would never rebuild New Orleans, no matter how many times it was hit. Nor LA, or San Francisco, or any other American or world city that is stricken with disaster. If Miami were blown to hell and back tomorrow by a hurricane, would we rebuild it? Of course we would. What if it happened every year for a decade. Would we still walk away and leave Miami in ruins? Of course we wouldn't. Suppose a typhoon takes out Hong Kong tomorrow. Would the world stand for an abandonded Hong Kong? Of course not.

Modern people don't think that way. I understand where the guy is coming from on the History Channel, but that is not an option for most people in the world today. We rebuild, and we rebuild again if necessary. New Orleans will be every bit as big as it was before Katrina, it's just going to take awhile.

At some point in the future, it is going to happen again, and when it does, we will rebuild it again. The only way I can see us not willing or able to rebuild a stricken city would be some man made disaster that renders the place unfit for habitation, such as Love Canal.

 

[Audiomuse]

I love New Orleans so much. The vibe; voodoo, Mardi Gras, French Spanish and Italian influence, and the ghosts. The food is superb and the architecture is fantastic. I am glad to hear N.O. is coming back. But-- what about all of the French style archtecture? What has happened to it. If most of it is damaged and never restored it will be bulldozed and turned into a modern building. I would not like that. I think they sould rebuild NO with French style! Also I am worried that the population would never come back to its 450,000 ways. I mean little towns in my area of 4,000 people have welcomed about 5 families each. There have been 2 new Cajun resturants in my area both owned by Katrina victims and a Matress Store in Warner Robins which recently opened. I don't know but the population factor is bad.

 

[Cannonized]

Yall may be interested in watching the New Orleans mayoral debate on MSNBC tonight at 9pm e, 8pm c. Should be well done. Moderated by Chris Matthews and Norman Robinson. It should give you a very accurate idea of the current status of the city. Watch it if you can. Should be entertaining.

 

[JRQ]

Can we have a combined New Orleans thread, tacked at the top of the page? I'm not trying to sound rude at all, but there are quite a few NO threads lately, and a tacked thread would help alot to organize them.

 

[Suburbanite]

Well, but people think a little bit differently in the modern world than they did back then. It is beyond peoples comprehensions to think that we would never rebuild New Orleans, no matter how many times it was hit. Nor LA, or San Francisco, or any other American or world city that is stricken with disaster. If Miami were blown to hell and back tomorrow by a hurricane, would we rebuild it? Of course we would. What if it happened every year for a decade. Would we still walk away and leave Miami in ruins? Of course we wouldn't. Suppose a typhoon takes out Hong Kong tomorrow. Would the world stand for an abandonded Hong Kong? Of course not.

Modern people don't think that way. I understand where the guy is coming from on the History Channel, but that is not an option for most people in the world today. We rebuild, and we rebuild again if necessary. New Orleans will be every bit as big as it was before Katrina, it's just going to take awhile.

At some point in the future, it is going to happen again, and when it does, we will rebuild it again. The only way I can see us not willing or able to rebuild a stricken city would be some man made disaster that renders the place unfit for habitation, such as Love Canal.

The difference between Miami and NOLA is that Miami is above sea level and NO is not. The fact that New Orleans is sitting is a sub-sea level "bowl" on one of the most hurricane prone coasts in the world is reason enough that it should not be rebuilt. Rebuilding it will only lead to more death and more destruction when, inevitably, another hurricane comes along. Remember, most of the destruction and death was not caused by the winds of the hurricane but the water that filled the "bowl" during the storm surge. Miami would never be flooded to that extent during a hurricane.

 

[Cannonized]

Can we have a combined New Orleans thread, tacked at the top of the page? I'm not trying to sound rude at all, but there are quite a few NO threads lately, and a tacked thread would help alot to organize them.

Good idea, but at the moment, there are 3 topics about New Orleans on the first page... along with 5 about Houston.

 

[Sean in New Orleans]

^Word. We keep hearing over and over and over and over again about New Orleans will be back, and now you keep telling us it is back. Great! Let's see proof and some dirt flying now.

BTW, I don't want to throw salt into any wounds, but I'm running into MANY former New Orleanians here in the Dallas area who say they aren't going back. And, I'm not talking about "the former citizens" you like to say aren't welcome back who were a drain on society. I know the ones you're talking about and they aren't welcome here either. I'm talking to productive members of society that have jobs and an education that tell me they will never move back home. They've been back to meet with insurance adjusters, collect their check, and they're bidding New Orleans good bye and good luck!

Anyway, I guess my point is, when you tell us that metro New Orleans is back to it's pre-Katrina population numbers, I have to ask how? Many homes in St. Tammany are still destroyed and all of St. Bernard is gone. The east bank of Jefferson Parish was at build-out years ago and I know most of Mid-City New Orleans is still uninhabitable. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I have to question the 1.2 million number you keep throwing out. I know lots of people have returned, but there are thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who will never live there again and are permantely gone from the state.

There are many former New Orleanians that aren't coming back..and my heart and sympathy go out to them with their losses. My own parents had 17 feet of water in their home (5 feet on the second floor). But, truth be told, just because they say they aren't coming back does not mean that they aren't being replaced. There are over 100,000 new citizens to this city that never even contemplated living here before Katrina that live here now. And as far as numbers...I know my numbers. There isn't a reason in the world for me to make stuff up...I'll give you an example. Yes, St. Bernard Parish was destroyed, but, over 25,000 live there, now, and sleep there every night.

 

[Sean in New Orleans]

BTW...this thread was meant as humor that only New Orleanians and those that frequently visit here would understand.....

 

[JPKneworleans]

^Word. We keep hearing over and over and over and over again about New Orleans will be back, and now you keep telling us it is back. Great! Let's see proof and some dirt flying now.

BTW, I don't want to throw salt into any wounds, but I'm running into MANY former New Orleanians here in the Dallas area who say they aren't going back. And, I'm not talking about "the former citizens" you like to say aren't welcome back who were a drain on society. I know the ones you're talking about and they aren't welcome here either. I'm talking to productive members of society that have jobs and an education that tell me they will never move back home. They've been back to meet with insurance adjusters, collect their check, and they're bidding New Orleans good bye and good luck!

Anyway, I guess my point is, when you tell us that metro New Orleans is back to it's pre-Katrina population numbers, I have to ask how? Many homes in St. Tammany are still destroyed and all of St. Bernard is gone. The east bank of Jefferson Parish was at build-out years ago and I know most of Mid-City New Orleans is still uninhabitable. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I have to question the 1.2 million number you keep throwing out. I know lots of people have returned, but there are thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who will never live there again and are permantely gone from the state.

Geaux, I'm not a rah rah New Orleans supported, but Sean's comments, when viewed in the light of experts who are involved in the New Orleans recovery on a day-to-day basis, are not far off base. I live here, and I see it day by day. I've been back since October.

If you'd like to challenge Sean's statements, I invite you to come here youself and see the progress.

 

[Sean in New Orleans]

Here's another reason you know New Orleans is back:

I came across a bearded middle-aged bum, today, kneeling on the sidewalk praying over his food as pigeons ate it...one of about 50 bums I saw today Downtown (I'm attending a seminar on Floor 49 of Place St. Charles for two days). You have to wonder where the bums went during the storm and how did they get back?! It's not like they took off time from being bums...

 

[Catmendue2]

Keep it coming SEAN. :cucumber: keep it coming.