I take my second post-Katrina trip to New Orleans

I had to go to uptown New Orleans again yesterday, and I found the streets cleaned up a bit more than the last time I went. When I was through with my appointment, I drove to City Park, and despite the recent clean-up--or maybe because of it (the view was clear)--the sight was shocking. Where there used to be gorgeous giant oak trees, there were just blank spaces made worse by brown patches of grass and still-standing broken trees. I drove all around the outer edges of the park, then into Lakeview.

I cannot imagine what Lakeview looked like before the clean-up began--probably like a war had just taken place. I drove up and down the main highways, then through the side streets, and had to concentrate to keep my mouth closed--it just kept popping open as I drove by piles of debris, dead trees, abandoned cars, and shells that used to be houses. There was very little traffic, and I saw few people. A man was at work with his chainsaw. A couple, donned in face masks, drove up to a house, presumably theirs, to take a look. The stores, banks, and restaurants were all boarded up. I could hardly believe what I saw.

On my way out, I drove up the hill to see what had become of the coffee shop where many Lakeview residents used to meet. Outside was a row of cars, their paint destroyed by the elements. Though they had once been parked in correctly angled positions within the lines, Katrina had moved them around so that they were all jammed into each other like forgotten pieces on a big game board.