I work in Gretna, right across the Mississippi river from New Orelans. It’s morning right now and I wanted to show you one of the buildings I pass in the morning. The curtains are kind of soggy because it’s been raining but some morning’s they are blowing in the breeze, like they’re waving to me as I drive by. There’s lots of debris everywhere! So you really have to be careful because there’s no road crews or anything to clean up, so the freeway has lots of junk on it. The first week I was here, I got used to driving up on the sidewalk to go around fallen trees and abandoned cars and fallen building bricks that were blocking the way.

I’m enjoying the work and met a nice lady yesterday who had a tailoring business. She makes custom wedding dresses and tuxedos and she’s been at the same location for 26 years. She showed me pictures of her fallen ceiling and it was sad to see all the dresses in varying stages of completion. She broke down when she said she made sure she called all the brides she had as customers to let them know to make other arrangements for their dresses. Of course, they all understood. Many of them have fled the city and aren’t even here to get their dresses, but still she seemed heartbroken as making these dresses is her life. Even while we were talking she pointed around the room to the different women in the FEMA line to tell me… “I made her dress, and her dress.. and her dress”.

I hope she left with a little more hope. She seemed like a great candidate for aid and I tried to convince her so. She seemed better when she left.