French Quarter & lower 9th ward

not neccesarily in that order. this from me Deny,
Good morning PJs coffee shop ( note: NOT STARblechts) Then cousin david drove us around the lower 9th ward, Unbelievable. Before visiting N.O. I couldn't believe that 2 years later, here in US of A, there are still areas without electricity & people living in FEMA trailers. WHY? HOW? here in the US of A? So from the inside scoop, yes, it is a horrible situation, yes there could be more assistance, but the assistance they recieved was squandered and misused. And it seems there is lots of indecision within the local gov about WHAT to rebuild. The Local news is still very much about rebuilding & problems with gov decisions. I am surprised that not much of it filters out to mainstream news. Although I hear Anderson Cooper says these people who are rebuilding in these hardest hit areas are in denial, since it was not Katrina but the levee breach that is responsible. ( Now NOCuz's if I screwed this up PLEASE correct me, please)
Having never been to NO I have no idea was it looked like b4. But the devestation is incredible. the roads are rutted & trashed, the post levee breach markings are still on most houses, there are trees & debris still on top of buildings. Things haven't been cleared or cleaned, there is a house on top of a car ( the spray paint sign says 1600 people died 4U2 take this picture ) while next door someone is rebuilding a house. The requirement is 3 ft above the ground level, which is silly when you realize the water rose way above the roof in this area. So I am guessing they don't know if they can fix the levees enough to make these houses safe. Although the cynic in me thinks someone wants to clear the decks... There are some really strong folks hanging strong in the 9th ward, who are either rebuilding or living in the FEMA trailers. There are alot of businesses that have not come back because there is no one to work in them. The population has been cut in half. The french quater has t shirts with jokes about it. It is all very sad, irritating, depressing, angering, unerving, so many more words I will fill in tomorrow....
So much for french quarter fun..... I had beginets & cafe at Cafe Du MOnde, did a bit of sovenier shopping, drank some beer, looked at pretty buildings & the ole miss, enjoyed the humidity that I will be experiencing in FULL this summer.
heres a couple pix, maybe more tomorrow. Mags didn't write today, so far she hasn't offered much in this HAS SHE??? :)