St. Louis Cathedral

Home..... I think.

Well, after mass at St. Louis Cathedral it was all downhill. Mass was awesome. It was a great experience to see people of faith rebuilding their community one step at a time. Never have I heard applause in a Cathedral, but it erupted when the Archbishop declared the Cathedral school would be open by the end of the month. I am not Catholic, but have gained a healthy respect for their sense of community in South Louisiana.

On a sour note, TV was awful. After a month of hurricane coverage even I was able to find a fairly clean pair of jeans and a dark colored collared shirt. But CNN among others showed up in clothing barely fit for the beach. I felt embarrassed at times to be a part of the media circus surrounding and sometimes invading the real life story that morning.

The next day was a bombed story in Baton Rouge followed by a press conference that yielded little in the way of photos, but released stunning information that at least I had not heard or comprehended.

St. Bernard Parish has the money to pay it's employees for two more pay periods and then they will be bankrupt. With no tax base the parish president declared that they will have no ability to pay the employees for a minimum of 2 years. In the parish there are 66,000 homes. 6,000 have flood insurance. 100% of the homes there recieved flood damage of some degree. FEMA always told them they didn't need it. Its impossible to predict what will happen with that parish.

After traveling to Vinton, La. to do a story on the horse racing industry I was told to pack my things and go home. One month to the day from when I left.

I arrived home last night to a bedroom I didn't recognize, to streets being rebuilt that were fine when I left, to a living room with new furniture and to a life I vaguely remember as my own. As the day has worn on I guess that it feels a bit more like home. But I feel so many of the same emotions coming back that ruled my life before I left. Anger, frustration, dismay and constant dissapointment. Add to that the fact I am dealing with having everything I need after being with so many who had nothing.

I have so much to be thankful about, but I find it so hard in this city.

I took some extra days this weekend (my paper gave me no days off) and I am planning on getting out of town. Going somewhere, doing something or nothing at all.

I need to make a change to my life. I need to find a way to use what I have experienced to further my life, professionally, personally, spiritually.

Somethings got to give.