Semblance of a Whole

Further Reflections on New Orleans

My earlier entry on the situation in New Orleans seems rather crass now that the full scale of the tragedy is apparent. Looking back at what I wrote, it sounds like I care more about palm trees than people.

As the scale of the destruction and human misery have emerged over the past week or so, my thoughts have evolved significantly. I am still trying to assimilate the whole thing, and as surreal as it is to me, it is obviously magnitudes more so for those who were displaced by this disaster. You hear of hurricanes decimating small towns, but this is one of the major metropolitan areas of the United States. To put it in librarian-centric terms: New Orleans is one of only 5 or 6 cities in the country that can accommodate an event the size of the annual conference of the American Library Association.

Now that city is gone, maybe forever. And recoving from the ravages of the hurricane and subsequent flooding is not the only challenge the city will face. During my trip there last month, I learned the French Quarter is under serious threat from a particularly aggressive breed of termites, which is methodically destroying the historic buildings in that district. This CNN article suggests there is some hope for victory over these insects, but according to a colleague who took tour of the French Quarter guided by a member of the local park service, the situation is dire enough to have had drastic effects on property values. Apparently, effective treatment of the problem is prohibitively expensive. Let's just hope the little suckers all drowned.