FRIENDS …

Ann Shannon Snodgrass

Our lifelong friends, Wayne and Ann, just flew back to New Orleans after a few very short days' visiting in our home. Their home was filled with nine-feet of water during Katrina and is a gutted shell now, waiting for FEMA, the City of New Orleans, the insurance company--somebody to make a decision so some semblance of normalcy might return.

We visited them last year to enjoy Mardi Gras season. The fishing trip they'd planned with us during November became, instead, an R&R trip for them in April.

We cooked their favorite foods, let our dog drag us for long walks through the neighborhood, sat and contemplated the clouds, flowers, trees. "This place is so clean," they said. "No one's putting their belongings out on the street to be hauled away," they said. "You can actually drive to a neighborhood grocery store that's open. People are smiling. It's cool here and dry, not high 80's and muggy. Your microwave works."

They're our age--mid-60's--but had never seen the Rocky Mountains up close .. a frigid rushing stream swollen with snowmelt, frozen lakes, tiny new leaves dancing on aspen trees. Our day trip into the mountains had a feeling of unreality.

They were so grateful for a church group that visited New Orleans last year to help with the cleanup. More, much more, remains to be done. "More help is needed." they said. "Don't forget the people of New Orleans."

And, they identified this article "One Dead in Attic" that left me with such a terrible sense of sadness. http://www.nola.com/weblogs/bourbon/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_bstdiaries/archives/2005_11_17.html#094498

Please, share this if you know anyone willing to help.

Thank you.

Ann