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Geoff’s parents came to New Orleans last week. It was their first visit since the failure of the levees. They could have confined their visit to the French Quarter and the areas of Uptown that escaped the ravages of the flood waters. But they know the city and wanted to see first-hand the extent of the damage and the recovery.

Fortified with iced coffees and extra bottles of water, we set off on what locals have come to call the Tour of Destruction. (Note for our out-of-town readers: The tour can easily take 4 or 5 hours even while staying within the city).

The geographic expanse of the devastation — now 11 months on — is still hard to process. The 8th ward. The 9th ward. The lower 9th. Down into Chalmette. Back into the 7th ward. Into Gentilly. Lake Vista. Vista Park. Lake View. West End. Mid-City. Signs of hope and progress along the way to be sure. But still, the vastness of the destruction and personal loss is what sticks with you.

That evening, back in the Marigny, John Boutte sings ‘Louisiana 1927’ (appropriately adapted: ‘Six feet of water in the streets of the Lower 9’). He’s done it for months now. We’ve heard it before. But after the day’s tour it hits hard once again. Tears again. They’re honest and not the only ones in the bar.

Another Tour

On Sunday, local writer and bon vivant Ian McNulty organized the second annual Tour de Pants Bike Pub Crawl in Mid-City. Coinciding with the finale of the Tour de France, rhyme gave way this year as 40+ bicycles headed out under the banner of the Tour de Struction.

All of the stops on this year’s tour flooded at least partially following the levee failure, and some were severely inundated and looted as well. Each stop was thus a testament to the rebirth of the city; each an example of perseverance and determination.

The New York Times reports that Lafayette, LA is recreating a New Orleans neighborhood —literally copying the buildings brick for brick. That’s fine. We’re a pretty generous lot and we don’t mind sharing what we have. Besides, we know that much of America could learn a thing or two about neighborhoods from New Orleans. But what will be harder to recreate is the community that exists down here.

Take another look at the picture above. We understand that when much of the country looks at a picture like this, they see lounge-abouts and people who would rather party than put their city back together (translation: they deserve what they get). But let us tell you what we see when we look at the people in that picture: We see a surgeon who just worked 43 days straight in the city’s shattered health care network. We see a neighbor whose house flooded and who lived in that house without heat or electricity throughout the winter so that others would see the block was not completely deserted. We see a woman who renovated a house so that a family from Gentilly could stay in the city. We see an attorney working to ensure justice in the city. We see an architect who moved to New Orleans after the storm to help with the rebuilding. We see a bunch of neighbors who have discovered strength and skills they never knew they had. Neighbors who are working tirelessly to rebuild one of the great American cities.

Most importantly for the future of this city, we see people who also understand that community is not an abstraction and that sometimes you need to put down your sheetrock mud, hop on your bicycle, and hang out with your neighbors.

Filed under: Editorials