It was a really great time going to New Orleans with you this past week. I learned a lot through you, so thanks for being you and allowing us to usher hope and healing into the hearts of New Orleans.

I did have to question you though. You say “The rich neighbourhoods were all fixed up, along with the tourist sections while the poor neighbourhoods were left as is and will probably eventually just be demolished. “

For the life of me I can not figure out what you are talking about. Where? If you are refering to St. Charles and the riverside of St. Charles then you should know that they had no flooding what so ever. Some houses had wind damage but that’s it.

The largest tax bases for the city (and the homes of most of the richest residents – black or white) would be Lakeview and New Orleans East. Both are still in awful, terrible shape. In Lakeview there might be one house in every 3 or 4 blocks like you describe that has had anything other than gutting done. Many of the houses inbetween are still ungutted there as well.

I would not even say that the Lower 9th is the poorest part of town either. They were unlucky enough to take the full hit from the worst breach in town. As you saw, the structural damage in that area is almost total. That is why they will be demo’ed. The same thing is true on a smaller scale next to the London Ave. and 17th St. breachs. The breachs were not as large so the demo area is smaller but economics has little to do with it.

I do appreciate you coming and everything that you did. I don’t know where the city would be without the kindness of strangers such as yourself. However, I feel that along as people consider this a poor, black problem they miss the point. The water could not tell who lived where and it did not care. The victims of Katrina look exactly like the face you see in the mirror – regardless of what you look like.

What I was talking about was not just neighborhoods either but individual houses where I would notice over near Bernard exit off Highway 10, the massive mansions were all fixed and looked beautiful, the grass was being looked after on the median in front of their houses when we were there, and then we would drive a km away to people’s houses that didin’t have such beautiful homes and no one at all lived in that area except a few people in their trailers. The people with money could afford to fix their houses up quickly while anyone without obviously had to suffer without a home, stay displaced and work harder to get some work done. I never made any separation between white and blacks at all, I would’nt do that. I also don’t think that the poor neighborhoods are being demolished because its all about economics, the water hit where it hit. Thanks again for your comment Jamie, and helping me better understand the situation, i was only there for a week and am still quite confused about a lot of things, you hear a lot of stories from a lot of different people and try to make an unbiased view after it all.

It amazes me that things are in such shape almost a year afterwards! I could hardly believe seeing it all.

Thanks for the thoughts and all that. It’s cool that you took out some of your summer for some tangible, and eye opening work.