Perhaps for the sake of brevity I gave the impression that the relatively physically unscathed area of New Orleans, the part that visitors generally see, has been unaffected by the life-altering devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Make no mistake: the small businesses of which I spoke are peopled by owners and employees, many of whom, if not most, have also lost their homes, and are losing their livelihoods and life’s investments and work, as well. I have two employees and two friends who are living at my business because they no longer have homes. When my business fails, they will have no where to live, nowhere to work, and I will lose my home (in the “pristine Garden District”); my business has been financed on the back of my personal residence, as so many small businesses are. The duality I spoke of is a physical one only; we are truly all in the same boat, but there are no federal life-preservers for us business owners, for whom more loans are no longer feasible. Only an infusion of tourist revenue can help us now.We have been without it for seven months. We are all victims of the storm.
The back-breaking and heart-breaking work of volunteers who are helping to clean homes cannot be underestimated. It is giving hope to those who felt none, and it is a constant reminder that people have good hearts, yet it is not work that everyone can do. I think Miss McMillin would admit that the totality of the ruin cannot be understood until it is seen, and it cannot be seen unless it is visited. Sometimes the most helpful thing an individual can do is to take this newfound understanding back to their home state and work with their own Washington DC congressional delegation to push through the help we need. I know no one who has viewed our reality and not been profoundly affected. I would not call them gawkers.
Again, I cannot thank the selfless volunteers who are coming to our aid in our time of need, a need that is complex and multi-dimensional. Thank you to Miss McMillan, who I know speaks from the heart.
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