I went to college at the University of Southern Miss, about an
hour from the Big Easy at a time when the legal drinking age was 18.
In college it was a regular road trip. Last time I was there I found
one thing. The French quarter really hasn't changed much. The
character of the place was still there. Not that much different in
Jackson Square, and even some of the businesses were still there. BTW
find Cafe Demond for some coffee and Bignets ie French Doughnuts. One
or two of my college hang outs were gone, lost in a fire we found out
by asking around. Yet there were plenty of places to party, listen to
Dixieland Jazz, find a Dixie beer, go get a Pat O'Brian's hurricane.
Time had passed, but the people were still the same friendly folks that
could make a stranger seem like an old friend. You had to be very
careful. There were places you didn't want to be, but common sense is
usually all you needed to stay safe.
Then came Katrina. Yes its a while but hurricane damage of that
magnitude isn't rebuilt just because its not on CNN or Fox News
anymore. New Orleans politics is as legendary as the French quarter.
Do not be surprised to see a great deal of Katrina damage still there
if you get off the beaten path. The tourist areas will be just fine.
Many other areas will be ok too, but you are going to see hurricane
evidence I suspect in many unsuspected places. I hope more has been
done to rebuild than I suspect.
I haven't been to the Big Easy since Katrina, but I have been to
the Mississippi Gulf Coast two or 3 times since. Just over a year
after the storm, a great deal of the debris had not even had the
process of removal begun. How bad was it in Mississippi??? I walked
down main street in Bay St Louis and realized that the night Katrina
made land fall, at 6 feet tall I would have had over 20 feet of water
over my head right where I stood. Though not as confined as it was in
NO, it extended for miles and miles and went inland for several miles.
It took 3 years to get the debris cleaned up, and not much construction
was on going.
Id be interested to know what you find, and hopefully it will be
lots of building or should I say rebuilding.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Photo suggestions?
From: Don Roberts
<droberts@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, January 29, 2010 6:58 pm
To: List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students
<photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Off to New Orleans tomorrow. Hopefully it will be
warmer than here in Iowa. If it is not we all may be in trouble. But
anybody have photo suggestions there? I have done the cemeteries and
will try to go back. Marvelous places. And Jackson Square always has
colorful people. Anything out of the ordinary that I might look for?
Don
BTW we have made the final arrangements for a trip to Japan in Nov.
Any of our members living in Japan yet? I was there for 2 years in the
Navy 50 years ago. Do you think things have changed? Besides getting
much more expensive? Anyway, I would like suggestions for non tourist
sorts of locales. I loved the small towns and rural areas when I was
there and hope to find more.
