Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans??

This past week was full of emotion for New Orleanians.  Saturday August 29 was the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  

Just like every other family in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, my family lost everything.  

They were fortunate enough to be able to get out of the city before Katrina made landfall. 

 My father, who was a homicide detective in New Orleans at the time, had to stay. 

My mother, brother, aunt, uncle and 3 cousins all came to Tennessee where I was living at the time.  

They were all able to return to New Orleans about 3 months later to begin rebuilding their lives.

Over these past 10 years, my entire family was able to return home and rebuild. 

 Many of their homes are nicer now than they were before Katrina.  

I wish we could say the same about many parts of New Orleans. 

 Most of my family lives in the Gentilly area and they are still in need of basic necessities found in most neighborhoods in this country.  

It is disheartening that most people have to drive at least 15 minutes to get to a decent grocery store or to a restaurant.  

Don't even think about any quality shopping, unless you are looking for a Dollar store!

Even though New Orleans still has a way to go, it has improved tremendously since Katrina.

 It is plain to see that the folks running the city want it to look entirely different than it did pre-Katrina and for the most part that is a good thing.  

What isn't a good thing is how slow the progress has been and how only certain areas of the city are being revitalized.  

New Orleans is my home and if one day the stars all lined up correctly I would love more than anything to move my family back, but that is not something I can see happening in the near future.

I will continue to pray for my city to get back to the wonderful place we all know,  love 

AND MISS!!