Post Katrina casualty

I received an e-mail from the classmates.com website telling me that several of my classmates from high school had left messages. I am always looking for old friends (and new ones, for that matter) so I thought I would check it out and see who's talking.

I didn't see any old names that I hadn't contacted but I did check out the news and notifications site about my old high school. It turns out that my old school, our old high school, is about to be demolished. Interesting news. Kind of sad in some ways. But not unexpected. I guess they haven't been using it since Katrina. The pictures I have seen post Katrina really showed that the place was a mess.

My school is located in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. It is about half way between the lower Ninth Ward and my old childhood home in the "upper" Ninth Ward, or the "east village" (the Village d' Lest neighborhood). During the flooding after hurricane Katrina in August, 2005 the school had about 8 feet of water in it. I remember seeing a video that someone had posted about the school. The video showed the school fenced off and sealed up. The videographer found a way inside and said that the stench was unbearable.

Well, I guess the time has come to tear it down. Just kind of sad. I have only been back to New Orleans once since I graduated in high school in 1976. I had planned to go the summer of 2005. Budgetary concerns kept us from making that trip. I had wanted to show my kids where I grew up. You know, give my kids some perspective on their old man. The place is different now. I still hope to show them New Orleans. But it will be a different place.

Maybe someday.
D.