Now we'll all know how to sing the blues. (originally published Septemeber 8, 2005)
I've just finished reading my 746th article/blog on Katrina and we've all gone from shock to sadness to outrage to throwing every idea out there to try and fix this place. And pretty much all of them are good hearted, well thought out and can help make New New Orleans better than ever. But in the meantime we're left without a Big Easy. We don't have a place to go to listen to Jazz that's been uninterrupted since it was invented, to visit people who still believe and practice voodoo, and to celebrate Mardi Gras.
So I propose keeping New Orleans culture alive in every other major city in America till we can set it back where it belongs. I don't know if this means making French Quarters, like Little Italy or China town, but let's invite people to settle in and bring their slower than city life attitude with them. We can have New Orleans nights at bars where displaced musicians can perform. Restaurants can hire the displaced chefs and give buffalo wings a run for their money with some étouffée.
There's a lot of culture to be lost if we don't organize this diaspora. It truly does take a village.
I don't know how to pull this off so I want all of your ideas and then pass them along. We've got about 5 months until the next mardi gras so let's organize one in every city. Let's get displaced people to lead us in this. And most importantly let's make this Mardi Gras the one that will keep the next one alive, let's make them fundraisers with the money all going to Habitat for Humanity. Recovery will be over by then, but the rebuilding will just be underway.
I don't know if it's a silver lining to say that with this embracing of the south into all of our homes we can learn to truly sing the blues but there's something magical that can still be saved. That kind of magic Times Square lost when Disney moved in. That kind of magic Haight Ashbury lost when Gap moved in. That kind of magic that New Orleans lost to mother nature but has still not been lost to man.
posted by Jaime Schwarz @ 2:05 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Your comments on ways of "keeping New Orleans alive" are touching. Frequent tuning in to NPR seems to indicate that your call for action has been heard -- or at least proposed by other people. There are numerous organizations in cities around the country helping New Orleans musicians, and those musicians, in turn, are donating large chunks of their paychecks to NOLA charities. I'm certain that Mardi Gras around the world will have an especial poignancy this year. If we really want to support the city and its reclamation of nearly-lost heritage, however, we should GO to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and spend our money there.
Incidentally, my uncle was one of the bus drivers to and from the Superdome immediately after the disaster. According to his report (confirming what we hear on the news), the hurricane thankfully spared the French Quarter, most of the Garden District, and other historic areas. In my estimation, then, knowing what those outlying areas of the city are like, New Orleans might be greatly improved after it's healed from its suffering.
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