Day 4. Back to Shirley's.
Home. Is it still home if there's nothing left of it but the wood in the walls and the boards on the floor? Is it still home if everything inside the house floats to new places, mildews, and becomes unidentifiable? Is it still home if other people invade it and cart out everything and hastily throw it on the curbside?
Will New Orleans ever be home again? Is all the gutting, cleaning, demolishing, rebuilding worth the effort to rebuild this place into a home? What about for Ms. Shirley? Will she ever be at home in the city? Will she ever return to her house and call it home?
When we returned to Ms. Shirley’s house in the Lower Ninth Ward today, we resumed the gutting process. We continued shoveling out the dry wall and taking out many small items and clothes as well as the fridge and other appliances. I found today’s work difficult, and the combination of the looming sense of futility in my mind and physical exhaustion made me want 3:00 to arrive quickly. I don’t like to wish time away, but I found it almost impossible to find a hint of joy in scraping up the rubble of someone else’s life. Only it wasn’t just a someone, it was Shirley.
She didn’t come to the house today, but searching through her things, and all of her children’s and grandchildren’s things, still seemed improper. In fact, I think it may have been better for her that she wasn’t there, because watching each of her possessions turn into one of three categories of waste—either electronics, haz-mats, and contents—would have been unbearable. Electronics are items with any electrical capacity, haz-mats are hazardous materials such as medicines and household cleaners, and contents are everything else.
We tried to salvage what we could, especially irreplaceable things—photographs, certificates, jewelry, and other memorabilia. Our leader at the Episcopal mission told us earlier that families in New Orleans often live near each other, an idea that seems sweet but obsolete in our modern world. Unfortunately, this tradition backfired, as not only one member of the family lost pictures, but all of the family members lost their pictures. Many people’s wedding pictures, even Shirley’s, were ruined in the storm, and all other copies are gone.
With all the wreckage that still remains from the storm, and all the damage to houses, buildings, and spirits, it’s understandable that many New Orleanians don’t want to return to the city. Others, especially those from the ninth ward, simply don’t have the resources to rebuild. Some people, though, long to return to their city, their home. To outsiders, rebuilding damaged house and restoring the city to its earlier life may seem futile and a complete waste of effort; but to those who live, or lived, in the city and love it, restoration and rebuilding WILL be the next phase of their lives.
As for Shirley, she’ll keep on living in her city, whether or not she can ever return to a real home or just the framework of a house. Her determined spirit will lead her, her family, and all those she helps to make New Orleans home forever.
P.S. Ms. Meng, Sarah wanted me to correct her appreciation of the pasta from “delicious,” to “delish,” which is, in fact, a far greater compliment. We all appreciated your peanut butter cookies today as well. They, too, are “delish”!
Will New Orleans ever be home again? Is all the gutting, cleaning, demolishing, rebuilding worth the effort to rebuild this place into a home? What about for Ms. Shirley? Will she ever be at home in the city? Will she ever return to her house and call it home?
When we returned to Ms. Shirley’s house in the Lower Ninth Ward today, we resumed the gutting process. We continued shoveling out the dry wall and taking out many small items and clothes as well as the fridge and other appliances. I found today’s work difficult, and the combination of the looming sense of futility in my mind and physical exhaustion made me want 3:00 to arrive quickly. I don’t like to wish time away, but I found it almost impossible to find a hint of joy in scraping up the rubble of someone else’s life. Only it wasn’t just a someone, it was Shirley.
She didn’t come to the house today, but searching through her things, and all of her children’s and grandchildren’s things, still seemed improper. In fact, I think it may have been better for her that she wasn’t there, because watching each of her possessions turn into one of three categories of waste—either electronics, haz-mats, and contents—would have been unbearable. Electronics are items with any electrical capacity, haz-mats are hazardous materials such as medicines and household cleaners, and contents are everything else.
We tried to salvage what we could, especially irreplaceable things—photographs, certificates, jewelry, and other memorabilia. Our leader at the Episcopal mission told us earlier that families in New Orleans often live near each other, an idea that seems sweet but obsolete in our modern world. Unfortunately, this tradition backfired, as not only one member of the family lost pictures, but all of the family members lost their pictures. Many people’s wedding pictures, even Shirley’s, were ruined in the storm, and all other copies are gone.
With all the wreckage that still remains from the storm, and all the damage to houses, buildings, and spirits, it’s understandable that many New Orleanians don’t want to return to the city. Others, especially those from the ninth ward, simply don’t have the resources to rebuild. Some people, though, long to return to their city, their home. To outsiders, rebuilding damaged house and restoring the city to its earlier life may seem futile and a complete waste of effort; but to those who live, or lived, in the city and love it, restoration and rebuilding WILL be the next phase of their lives.
As for Shirley, she’ll keep on living in her city, whether or not she can ever return to a real home or just the framework of a house. Her determined spirit will lead her, her family, and all those she helps to make New Orleans home forever.
P.S. Ms. Meng, Sarah wanted me to correct her appreciation of the pasta from “delicious,” to “delish,” which is, in fact, a far greater compliment. We all appreciated your peanut butter cookies today as well. They, too, are “delish”!
posted by Annie @ 11:31 PM
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