What Recovery Looks Like Two Years Later

“I had no idea you were such a morning person,” my friend Beth commented during my visit to Louisiana. “Beth, that’s because when I stayed with you after Katrina, I was so worn out every day – now I’m here for fun!”
I did feel guilty gadding about , while there is still so much work to be done. One afternoon Beth and I drove up to Renaissance Village, at one time the largest of the FEMA trailer parks. There still appear to be about 400 trailers (down from 1,500), and they’re closing entirely as of June 1. When I was working at Renaissance in late November of 2005, the residents hung Christmas lights and put decorations on the front stoops of their trailers. Two years down the road, they don't appear to have the heart any more for decorations. And where these folks will go, I don't know. As you're entering the French Quarter, some of the gloomy, boarded-up old public housing buildings sit ominously along the edges of Rampart Street. The city has finally cleared the channels to demolish these projects, but support appears to be mixed at best for the alternative plan for its neediest citizens, like the people in Renaissance Village who will have to find a new place to live come May.

And Beth, Daddy, and their friends fretted about me going to New Orleans by myself when six people were shot, with two dead, in the Central City area on Christmas night. And while crime is a big problem, I couldn’t NOT go. Before leaving Beth’s I did a little research on Brad Pitt’s “Make it Right” initiative, and drove straight out to the Lower Ninth Ward to check out the pink tent city.

My friends in New Orleans seem to feel Brad Pit and Angelina Jolie are sincere in their commitment to the city. And if you judge only by the “Make it Right” website, it’s hard not to be impressed. But when you drive out to the huge, open field that used to be a large chunk of the Lower Ninth, it’s daunting– despite the giant pink monopoly pieces. I’m mean, for instance, as far as I could tell there still aren’t any electrical poles and wires out there. It’s cheering to imagine the award-winning designed little houses popping up like crocus after a long winter, but anybody who’s had any experience in post-K recovery knows that NOTHING is going to happen until the utilities get straightened out.

I also stopped by Habitat for Humanity’s Musician’s Village. (right) Unlike the more controversial “Brad Pitt”houses, these somewhat emulate the familiar “shotgun” style of the area. But, I could not figure out why they weren’t built higher? I understand it costs about an extra $15k to build up one storey on stilts, but I just don’t get it. And it’s not like Katrina was a once in a lifetime event – a friend told me the Lower Ninth flooded during Betsy, and of course most expect it to flood again. Sarah, a blogger in New Orleans, offers a little insight – it sounds like it is related to whether or not a house is in a historic district, and whether or not it qualifies for the extra funds to pay for the added height. But still doesn’t make much sense to me…

And finally, while previous posts waxed rhapsodic about my favorite eateries and businesses that all appear to be up and running, not all have survived. La Madeleine on Jackson Square never reopened (though rumor has it that Chef Boswell of Stella! will reopen Stanley, his breakfast and lunch place, in that prime location). Some of the best redfish smothered in crawfish sauce that I’ve ever eaten was served at Mike Anderson’s on Bourbon (photo above) . But, like many New Orleans residents themselves, the restaurant has permanently decamped to Baton Rouge. And then there’s Hillery’s. Our defacto lobby bar across the street from Olivier House, over the years we got to know owners Ed and Hillery Moise, and bartenders Gregory and Jerry. After managing to limp along for months after the storm, they closed up shop two months ago.

But, here’s the thing. Owning a business is always a tricky proposition – Ed and Hillery might have closed regardless, storm or no storm. And in this economy we’re all being forced to hunker down, look after our own, and hope that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Circumstances and an infuriating bureaucracy have thrown a seemingly infinite number of obstacles in the path of these folks. But for the first time in two years I sensed optimism, and I saw a physical manifestation of the resiliency of our fellow citizens in New Orleans. It may not be the light at the end of the tunnel, but at least they’re not about to drive off a cliff in the dark.

Tourists–and the Party–Return to New Orleans

A look at the bright side of New Orleans since my last visit slightly over a year ago...
Check out this line at Café du Monde. The town is crawling with tourists. Between the Christmas holiday, the Sugar Bowl, the BCS game, and a convention of economists, I have not seen the French Quarter this busy since pre-K times, and business wasn’t too shabby over on Magazine Street, either.

And joy of joys, my favorite oyster house has finally reopened! albeit in a smaller space. I can’t tell you the number of times I've stood outside Felix's on Iberville with my nose pressed up against the glass wondering when they’d reopen and I could sit down to a mess of fried crawfish tails. It could be rose-colored-glasses syndrome, but my Felix experience this visit surpassed even my most golden memories. The tails seemed plumper and hotter, the remoulade fresher, and the service was definitely faster and friendlier.

And how ‘bout Hoi Polloi over on Chartres Street? The irony that swanky, girly store owner Lisa Shedlock would find success easier to achieve in post-K New Orleans than on Main Street was not lost on those of us who follow the downtown A2 retail scene. Lisa wasn’t in the store, but her mom Elise (above left) said they’ve had good luck with new lines like PJ Salvage and Maven Cosmetics, and they have high hopes for strong sales as the BCS looms.

Speaking of the BCS game, check out the swag for sale in the recently refurbished French Market (the work on the flea market side is complete, and they don’t seem far from done on the fresh produce side). Like the rest of the French Quarter, business in the Market was hopping.

What about Bourbon Street? Wednesday night after drinking this go-cup (strawberry, kiwi, and 151 rum) from one of the five dozen daiquiri places, the quality of my photography understandably deteriorated. But America’s unique corridor of bawd seems back to its licentious self, and as always there was considerable police presence to make the tourists feel safe. Katie (below right) is a local college junior, and I asked if her parents worried about her job. “I’ve worked on Bourbon since I was 18, and never had any real trouble.” If The Button fed me that line I wouldn’t believe her for a second, but as my local companion said, “it’s different for kids who grow up in New Orleans.” Imagine just how much different for the Katrina generation...

Oh, and as if the run-of-the-mill liquor flowing on Bourbon weren’t enough, did you know absinthe is legal in the U.S. again? Scott, a bartender at Tony Moran’s (the restaurant connected to the Old Absinthe House), poured us a free tasting. Sugar cube, lighting on fire, the whole nine yards. Ick. That anise flavor that I don’t care for. But the charcuterie plate (left) we ordered was mighty fine.

At the far end of Bourbon, a sad note for fans of Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, the piano bar in the oldest (supposedly) building in the French Quarter. Johnny Gordon, their ancient piano player, has Alzheimer's and retired to South Carolina. For as long as I can remember, Johnny has been banging away “Piano Man,” the entire Elton John catalog, and on a couple occasions made a good natured attempt to pound out “Tubthumping” after I sang it (off key) for him. I took this photo in November of 2005, when it was essentially a few Quarter locals and relief workers like my buddy and me singing along. Johnny, you’ll be missed.

"Tubthumping" has always been an anthem of sorts for my friend Kelly and me when we're in New Orleans. But, come to think of it, what an appropriate song for New Orleans as the city continues to try to rebuild.

I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never going to
Keep me down

More to come in my next post about the more serious side of recovery.

Where Y'at?

Warning: This post has absolutely nothing to do with Ann Arbor, except that I’m writing it.

Holiday greetings from Louisiana! The Brouhaha is being brought to you this morning from The Cottage, our home away from home at the Olivier House Hotel in New Orleans. Over the years I’ve become friends with the Danner family, owners of Olivier, and they are always kind enough to let me decamp to one of their nicest (and most quirky) accommodations. Long ago, The Cottage was actually the home of an elderly lady – it has a kitchen, working gas fireplace in the parlor, and the little private courtyard off the hotel pool that you see in the photo at right. When the lady passed away, the Danner’s bought the house and made it a part of their hotel. Tres jolie!

I’ve been in Louisiana since before Christmas, enjoying a somewhat sub-tropical take on the holidays. I spent five relaxing days in Baton Rouge, where my hostess Beth threw a party at her lovely new home on Sunday night (photo left). The weather was 55 degrees, clear and beautiful, but everyone was complaining about the cold. Meanwhile, I was running around barefoot! And I totally overdosed on bourbon punch, sweet potato casserole, butter beans, cornbread dressing, and turkey (not to mention enough chicken salad sandwiches to feed a small army). They really know how to eat and drink down here, but I’m afraid to check my cholesterol level or step on a scale. And Beth's father gave me electronic files of all his late wife's recipes. I told Beth that since I don't have a legacy of down home cooking in my own family, I'm going to co-opt hers!

Speaking of fantastic food and fearing the scale, I have to tell you that I enjoyed a meal last evening that probably has to go into my top ten pantheon of dining experiences. I’ve been wanting to go to Stella! in New Orleans for years, but usually haven’t been able to convince my traveling companions because the food isn’t Louisiana vernacular. Since I was on my own last night, I dashed down to the little place on Chartres Street in the French Quarter and found a slice of culinary heaven.

The meal started with an amuse bouche of Tasmanian wild salmon served sashimi style with a kimchi and mango sauce. Loved it. Then I ordered the foie gras appetizer, which was grilled and served over a toasted brioche with CHEESE GELATO (don’t ask me why, but this worked) and a drizzle of wild blueberry sauce. The rich, buttery foie gras combined with crunchy bread and the cool, creamy cheese of the gelato brought together several layers of “mouth feel” that were as surprising as they were delicious. For my entrée, I ordered one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, Duck Five Ways. The two more traditional preparations, the seared duck breast and the "laquered" leg and thigh, were perfect. But the duck miso soup and the moo shoo crepe interpretations were only so-so, and the wontons were not appealing at all. The niblet of foie gras in the middle slid out of the wonton like a little glob of fat. So, while not a home-run, the entrée was definitely a stand-up double.

After all that, how could I have had room for dessert? Yet, when I heard my waiter Adam describe the grilled cheese and chocolate to my neighboring table as his favorite thing on the menu, how could I resist? Yes, you read that correctly – grilled cheese and chocolate. It was a little sandwich of brie and dark chocolate, buttered, grilled, and drizzled with more of that lovely wild blueberry sauce. To. Die. For. Speaking of Adam, the service was certainly top notch. Discreet and knowledgeable, plus a team of non-uniformed hosts who would swoop in to assist. And I was impressed that Owner/Chef Scott Boswell was actually in the restaurant, out mingling among the guests. I was also impressed by the rose petals in the loo. Since I was too self-conscious to take flash photos of the food in the small, dark dining room (even I have limits), I thought you’d find this pic entertaining.

Besides eating like a glutton, social calling has been on my agenda and one day I drove over to Lafayette to visit Arthur and Terry McViccar. They are Ann Arbor expatriates recently relocated to be closer to family in Louisiana, and you may have known Arthur as the facilities manager at the Michigan Theater. They are living the bayou life, literally – they’ve got crawfish, fig and pecan trees, and a menagerie of pets. "I haven't quite gotten into the whole Cajun lifestyle yet," Arthur told me. "For instance, I didn't offer you a beer when you walked in the door this morning, and I didn't offer you a beer for the drive home."

In addition to visiting with Art and Terry, I was invited to attend a Christmas Eve Bonfire, a holiday tradition along the River. Trent and Kay James live in 150-year-old Creole-style plantation house named Bagatelle that they inherited from his family. Located on the River in Iberville Parish, the house was originally downriver in St. James Parish, but–get this– Trent and Kay put it on a barge and moved it upriver 30 years ago! They felt the area in St. James was getting too industrialized. On Christmas Eve, they invite all their friends and family to an open house and bonfire. Trent spent weeks building up the pile of wood, and after a generous dose of diesel they lit it around 7pm and I have to tell you, the flames must have been shooting 30 or 40 feet into the air. Biggest damn fire I've ever seen. And as if that weren't enough pyro, they set off fireworks, too! "Do you have to get a permit to do this?" I asked Kay and her daughter Kate (right). They turned and looked at me like I was some kind of crazy woman.

Two years after Katrina, many residents of Louisiana like the James family appear to be going about their lives much as they did pre-storm. In my next post, I’ll tell you a little bit about what I’ve observed of the people and places who continue to be impacted by recovery from the worst natural disaster in our history.

The Buzz in Bethlehem

The youth group at the First United Methodist Church on State Street performs “What’s the Buzz in Bethlehem?” every year during the holiday season as a fundraiser (view video clip). Highschoolers have the prime speaking parts, and this year The Button’s friend Katie played Rebecca, one of the innkeeper’s daughters.

“There’s always much mayhem with bees,” was how Katie’s mom described the somewhat revisionist interpretation of the Nativity story.

We are the bees
We are the bees
We swarm, we sing, watch out we sting!
We’re here at the King David Inn

We are the bees
We are the bees
We come to this inn to visit our kin
We’re here at the King David Inn

In addition to the usual complications of too many guests (including a drama troupe from Jerusalem), the inn suffers from an infestation of bumble bees and one particularly precocious wasp named Tyler. I’ve seen “What’s the Buzz” over three or four years, and even an unreconstructed heathen like me gets a warm, fuzzy feeling every time.

Merry Christmas Ann Arbor!

Security Cameras at Pioneer

I attended the informational meeting about security cameras at Pioneer High School last night. ('Cause I don't have anything better to do on a cold, blustery Monday night during the holiday season.)

Before attending, I was actually pro-cameras. I really didn't feel that our children should have an expectation of privacy in the hallways and parking lots of the school when their safety is at stake. But, based on the presentation by administrators at the meeting, safety isn't really the issue. Crime incidents at the school are primarily property theft related.

School officials feel that cameras will help successfully "close" criminal incidents, as well as allow intervention in fights or trouble before they actually happen and thus lead to a safer school. Yet they didn't produce any data to back up these assertions - they didn't even come prepared with numbers analyzing Huron's usage of cameras for the last six months, let alone comparable data from schools in Michigan that have used video surveillance for a longer period of time. And if there's one thing I can't stand (actually, there are a lot of things I can't stand...), it's when someone expects people to make a decision based upon generalizations without the data to back them up. It's sloppy, I don't like it in business meetings, and I certainly don't like it when civil liberties are at stake.

I was so irritated that I fired off an email to Superintendent Robertson, Principal White, the school board, and some of my fellow lefties in the ACLU. Here it is...

"I am the mother of a 9th grader at Pioneer and I attended last evening’s information meeting in the Little Theater at school. I try to be an informed and responsible parent whose eyes are wide-open to the realities of our world today. And it is soul wrenching to me that a couple times each year my daughter and I have to review her “emergency exit, phones don’t work” strategy.

Going into the informational meeting, I had the opinion that security cameras SHOULD be installed at the school. However, after weighing the information presented last night, as well as assessing other data and opinions, I have changed my mind. Not the intended effect, I’d imagine.

Principal White did an excellent job of outlining how video surveillance would be simply one tool in a menu of methods for achieving a safe environment at Pioneer. All present seemed to agree that “human” measures are best, and I was not aware that the school district already employs assistants whose responsibilities sound very similar to that of private security, simply without the uniforms.

That said, administrators do not appear to have historical data that indicates “non-human measures, ” i.e. security cameras , would decrease the number of criminal incidents. If such data from comparable schools (Plymouth Canton for instance) were available I assume it would have been presented. However, I do find it reasonable that video surveillance can assist in the resolution of crimes, and I’m surprised such information was not compiled and distributed last night.

As the daughter of a principal, I can imagine what it’s like for Principal White and the other administrators to be on the receiving end of phone calls from the parents of children who have had items stolen. And I understand that the hours spent on learning the whole story of an incident could be time better spent. But our students should not sacrifice their right to privacy during school hours` for the sake of solving primarily property crimes more easily.

Property crimes aside, Principal White and Officer Foster feel that monitoring video will help the assistants anticipate trouble and send staff to intervene in potentially volatile situations. Video surveillance did not prevent the mall shooting in Omaha, nor other recent high-profile incidents. And while I realize that incidents that WERE prevented by video surveillance don’t produce headlines, again I would assume that if there were data to support this it would have been presented.

One of my primary concerns is the access to the video files, and this was not addressed at all last evening. How long would the files be stored? Who would have access to them? How would they be erased? In light of recent news regarding our government’s “mishandling” of videotapes, my small faith in the ability of government institutions to deal in a forthright manner with evidence and documents has been reduced to an infinitely small level. Installing the cameras as administration essentially says “trust us” is simply not acceptable.

Finally, Pioneer is open 20 hours a day and to me that is the most cogent point made all evening. As a compromise, I would suggest that cameras be installed but only turned on “after hours.” This would address several concerns. Children are required to attend school, and thus don’t have a choice regarding whether or not to submit to video surveillance if the cameras are on during the day. After hours activities are a choice – just as I can choose to not shop at the mall if I object to security cameras, children AND adults can choose to not attend after hours activities at Pioneer. Also, it seems that some of the most disturbing thefts – the new mixing board, lockers cut open with a bolt cutter, car thefts– have occurred after hours. Video surveillance would assist in solving these crimes while impacting the fewest number of people. My daughter and I discussed this compromise over breakfast this morning, and she seemed to find it reasonable, “Yeah, that would help catch the kids from Huron who trash our cars after games,” she said. (all issues devolve to the cross-town rivalry, it seems) Principal White told the audience that the teaching staff overwhelmingly support the use of cameras, and I would suggest that an “after hours” compromise would address their concerns as well. Intellectually I know that surveillance cameras won’t make me safer in the parking lot or an isolated hallway at night, I would find it psychologically comforting.

In the wake of the Omaha mall shooting, this excerpt from an Associated Press article is particularly relevant:

'Reed Nyffeler, director of sales and marketing at Omaha-based Signal 88 Security, said his firm had received dozens of calls from local stores since Wednesday inquiring about stepped-up security measures. The holiday season is especially challenging for mall security because of the throngs of shoppers, making it difficult for employees and guards to keep track of potentially suspicious people, he said.'

During the day, the congested hallways of Pioneer are even worse than a crowded mall –security surveillance just won’t do that much good, and it impinges on the right to privacy of our children and sets a bad example. But in the evening, when school staff are not present and the district cannot afford to have the preferred “human” presence of the assistants, I think security cameras are a viable solution (though video file storage and access issues would still require clarification).

Both Principal White and Officer Foster stressed that the Ann Arbor School District has always been a leader. I would suggest that in this case, we lead by NOT blithely accepting 24/7 surveillance cameras in our high schools as have other districts. The erosion of our children’s constitutional rights for the sake of solving a property crime more easily or a mistaken sense of security should not be the “new normal,” at least not here in Ann Arbor. We can do better than that, and we can show how civil liberties and “law and order” contingents can reach an effective compromise."

TubaChristmas!

What could be more simple, more joyful, than TubaChristmas? Believe it or not, TubaChristmas is nation-wide! And in addition to Ann Arbor, eight other cities throughout Michigan participate in the seasonal, brass concerts. The first event was at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City in 1974, conceived as a tribute to the late artist/teacher William J. Bell who born on Christmas Day, 1902. Tuba on! (view video clip)

Season of Giving

Busch’s, FM 107, and Food Gatherers are conducting their annual “Rockin’ for the Hungry” food drive at the South Main grocery this weekend. Busch’s makes it easy to donate by offering grocery bags (right) that are pre-filled with appropriate canned and dried goods. For $10, you get $17 worth of food that you simply drop off with the volunteers on your way out.

With the radio station broadcasting live ("we're freezin' for a reason") from the store’s porte cochere, they’ve gathered over 120 tons of food as of lunchtime Saturday. April and Erin are volunteers from the Culinary Arts program at WCC – they were loading a second truck, and counted over 20 skids in the big trailer!


(Sung to the melody of “Jingle Bell Rock”)
Tags for all
Have a ball
Tag Days are here.
Donate to us, and bring kids some cheer
Good cheer is coming, to all the sick kids
Innn Mott, and Wash-te-naw!
It’s the ri-ght time
To make a beee line,
And grab a tag from us.
Tag Days is to-day
Don’t let it get a-way
Without helping out ALL those kids!

Singing with gusto, Jon and Stefan are second -year medical students at the U. Jon and another student, Ajay, “doctored” the lyrics in honor of the annual Galens Tag Days fundraiser. Galens is the University of Michigan Medical School’s honor society, and since 1927 they've raised funds for local children’s charities every year in December.

Donate money into the Galens’ bucket and you receive the eponymous tag to hang on your coat, thus able to proceed about your holiday excursions guilt-free and unharassed. This year they’re raising money for several different worthy causes, including the Corner Clinic and a playroom at the new Mott’s building.

(My love affair with malapropisms started early, and back in college I thought “Galens Tag” was some sort of Ann Arbor/German thing, akin to “guten tag.”)

These two young men clearly pulled one of the primo locations in town to solicit – right in front of Great Harvest Bread Company. Benefiting from free bread and hot cocoa courtesy of GHB, Jon and Stefan told me that the “Happy Van” fortifies all the volunteers. It’s supplied and driven by supportive med school faculty, and there’s even a song for when the Happy Van arrives…

(Sung to the melody of “Here Comes Santa Claus”)
Here comes Happy Van
Here comes Happy Van
Right down South Main Street
Careening over curb, and loaded with snacks and
Other things unnamed.
Look at the wa-cky fa-cul-ty, with smiles so happy and bright.
Keep it pouring into my mug, and maybe I’ll survive the night…