"Home in Post-Katrina New Orleans"...heartbreaker from DFA staffer.

I've been home for fifteen days in post-Katrina New Orleans. And a single one of the many sites, sounds, smells should be enough to break one's heart. The scenes I've seen and stories I've heard are horrific.

But, strangest and scariest of all is the new attitude the city holds—a distinct perspective on life that isn't normal.

Here are some situations that my fellow New Orleanians (the few that have returned) have faced or described with some degree of flippancy.

Two hour lines in the grocery store

Eight hours in the post office

No mail for three months

Paper plates and folks at fancy restaurants (it's great that the restaurants are finally open)


Leaving Orelans parish and sometimes the greater New Orleans area if you actually want something quickly

Waiting in a driveway for forty-five minutes while a truck (finally) picks up some (but not all) the garbage in the median

Being stuck behind a garbage truck for an hour and instead of cursing the truck driver out, thanking him and his crew profusely

Holding onto moldy, flooded furniture in case FEMA arrives

Taking out anger on Michael Brown by scrawling "This stinks just like Brown" on a discarded, smelly refrigerator.

Responding to an unhelpful insurance adjuster by creating a hit list (painted on plywood)

Introducing a house guest as someone who swam out of her house.

"My family has no place to stay after December 16th" (from a tenth grader)

The downstairs flooded—we're staying upstairs

Commonly heard in the street: "We only had wind damage—no big deal."