10/23/06 NOLA

[Dionne]

We left at 4M and arrived NOLA just before sunrise.On the way in we didn't get to see much. The traffic on I-55 south of Hammond into I-10 is combat driving. Especially during the early morning monday commute. Lots of construction trucks heading that way for another week.

Our mission was to take care of some passport issues right down on the end of Canal st. by the river. Once inside our walking zone which was Jackson Square and all through the French Quarter......Damage from Katrina still existed. Nothing big.....but a whole lot of little stuff. The FQ was damn near empty. All day long. There wasn't much traffic, not many pedestrians and most noteably we did not see a single delivery truck. There are alot of places for sale and rent in the FQ. There are alot of store fronts not open. The Cafe DuMonde begneits were the usual outstanding New Orleans breakfast. Not the first artist set up in Jackson Square. There are help wanted signs everywhere.

The damage I have worked in Waveland, Mississippi is different from what I saw in NOLA. Both areas have complete loss zones. In Waveland there was nothing.....a Sonic and a few gas stations. I hear it is changing. In NOLA, there are now places to stay as workers. And there is a bunch of work. From underground utilities to finish trim. There are also large areas in NOLA being bulldozed down. We saw a big spot.....like 10 acres or so. I don't know how to explain what it looked like.

I hope I'm not the first to say it....but the city of New Orleans will eventually benefit from Katrina. It's already obvious.

All opinions welcomed.

[MGC]

I was in Chalmette a couple of weeks ago visiting my brother. Jr purchased a Katrina flooded home and has been restoring it. The first time I visited the house was a shell. He has invested about $90K, doing the majority of the work himself. How he finds the time is a mystery to me. There is now a couple of grocery stores open in St. Bernard and things are looking much better......MGC