End Times
This was the lede paragraph in today's print edition of the Strib, from an article written by Joseph B. Treaster and N.R. Kleinfield of the New York Times:
"A day after New Orleans thought it had narrowly escaped the worst of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, water broke through two levees on Tuesday and virtually submerged and isolated the city, causing incalculable destruction and rendering it uninhabitable for weeks to come."
Despite the fact that I was already aware of these details when I purchased my paper, I was taken aback by the clarity and stark reality of those first 41 words.
Floods are responsible for some of the greatest social upheavals in our history. I don't know if they will or should rebuild New Orleans, but it is clear that many, many people who made up the fabric of that city won't be going back. They will scatter around the country and especially the south. They will settle with relatives, or in some cases just blend in to a community during the time when they are at a refugee camp. They will go wherever their prospects are, and for many people that won't be New Orleans.
History's full of stuff like that. In 20 years, maybe there will be a badass marriage of Creole cooking and Memphis barbeque. Not much to show for all of this tragedy, but I'm having a hard time thinking of many silver linings.
11:09:40 PM 
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