When life is good, you tend to take things for granted. Life is good for me right now, but I don’t ever want to take things for granted.
I live in New Orleans. I was born and raised here, but about 20 years ago left for Dallas due to the financial climate in Louisiana. I spent 16 years there and raised my two daughters, Shannon and Kelley. A career move sent me to Atlanta for almost two years. My mother’s declining health prompted a move back to New Orleans on August 10, 2005, two weeks before Katrina hit.
After the storm and my mother’s subsequent death, I chose to stay in the city. I purchased a flooded home in Lakeview, where I had spent most of my childhood. I am happy and at peace here.
However, any window of my house affords views of the contrast between rebuilding of the area and the lack of progress. Although life is good for me, I can’t take it for granted.
Add to that my “driver” behavior style. I want to see Lakeview shine again. Part of that is seeing the essentials brought back. I can do little about bringing in the retail, grocery and gas stations that make a neighborhood convenient. But perhaps I can do something about the community elements.
The one I am most passionate about is bringing a library back to Lakeview. The NOPL Master Plan shows the Lakeview Smith branch not reconstructed until 2018. This is heinous. An entire generation of children will live in the community without access to the joys of a public library.
Can I do something about it? Maybe. Will I try to do something about it? Yes!
