Day 29 Late PM: Us In, Refrigerators Out; Rita Pictures Up; Gelfand Passes Away

And the natives rejoiced as high-speed internet access was once again restored to Kingwood, TX. Good news from New Orleans as well – Machelle informs that power is back on in the French Quarter, most of the Central Business District and parts of the Lower Garden District up to a couple of blocks past St. Charles and Jackson.

Return To NO: With Rita gone, D and I resume our earlier plan of returning to New Orleans for a day or two. The initial plan included cleaning out the refrigerator, but I’ve since talked with three colleagues who went back to NO to do the same thing in the last couple of weeks. Each one said the same thing – any refrigerator, without power for more than two weeks and which contained a lot of meat and perishables, has to be thrown out even after excessive cleaning as the smell and decay are almost impossible to get rid of. As intriguing an exercise in forensic pathology as it could have been, all of this talk of decomposition and insects in various larval stages has led to a house-wide consensus – we’re tossing both units and procuring new ones. (Well, not so much tossing as grunting and heaving while the beasts are ushered to the curb after being taped shut.) End of refrigeration story.

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Hurricane Rita Aftermath: Surprisingly enough, our Houston suburb of Kingwood suffered the most damage related to downed trees and, hence, extended loss of power. In Houston proper, other than a fallen telephone pole that blocked passage on Westheimer, we didn’t see anything untoward at all. Except for very few open restaurants that served food, the Tragedy At Burger King and the truly pathetic taping-of-windows job at one place of business. As Kenya Hudson comments, “I’ll never understand why people tape windows. The only benefit is that maybe the glass will stay together when it’s broken.” In reality, the glass does not stay together when broken. Studies have shown that the glass merely cuts through the tape and makes for one sticky mess. The same studies mention that taping serves to make the taper feel better – all benefits are welcome.

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Professor Gelfand Passes Away: M. David Gelfand, the Ashton Phelps Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law at Tulane Law School, passed away last night while swimming near Pensacola, FL. Gelfand was also the president of the recently-created From the Lake to the River: The New Orleans Coalition for Legal Aid & Disaster Relief, which I’ve publicized on this blog. Machelle writes, “Morgan [another New Orleanian friend and lawyer-to-be] has been working closely with [Gelfand] since the storm, and we were ready to get rolling on some stuff … Morgan was especially depressed.”

In this FindLaw article, the professor outlined the need for careful reconstruction, optimism and cooperation in New Orleans 2.0. It’s never a great time to lose someone of such vision and vigor, but right now?

Caution is necessary, lest policymakers again ignore the planners who have long insisted upon a higher, better-engineered levee system (like those in the Netherlands) and tougher building codes (like those in Florida).

… the “new” New Orleans should take account of the racial impacts of demolition and reconstruction. A model for this could come from the racial justice movement in the environmental field. Though the movement has typically focused on challenges to the location of undesirable industrial plants in poor and minority neighborhoods, it provides mechanisms for assessing the racial impact of changes – even those deemed “gentrification” by the developers — on a particular neighborhood …

… even if that vision proves to be a chimera, I know that on February 28, 2006 (Mardi Gras Day), or sooner, real gumbo will tantalize my tongue … I will catch throws from a parade on the Avenue, I will sing … and I will second-line while waving my handkerchief in the air — all in my beloved New Orleans. But that handkerchief also must dry the river of tears I have shed for flooded neighborhoods and my lost neighbors.

What a great spirit. Let’s remember Professor Gelfand’s message and, on February 28th, wave our handkerchiefs for him and his beloved New Orleans.