"Just a Little Bit Better" Fox News reports.
"Though 50 percent of New Orleans remains flooded and teams are still working to recover the dead, there are signs that hopelessness is beginning to lift two weeks after Hurricane Katrina plowed ashore. Burnt-orange rubble from terra-cotta tiles, wrenched from roofs and scattered about the French Quarter, wait in neat piles for collection along the curb."
Is this supposed to be a cheery little bit of news to read when meanwhile, there are still bodies to be discovered floating against neighborhood fences. This man could be someone's father or grandfather, and there have been and are many more like him.
Death is not something though, that has been feared in this town, look at the history of the Mardi Gras and the colorful funeral parades, and funeral wakes that has made this city unique. Death is a part of life. As well as mourning the life of the person who has passed, a celebration must be made to honor the life that person lived.
Yet while I admire the people who can celebrate all aspects of life, it would surely kill me if that were my Dad floating in the water among the debris.
As quoted from the article by staff writer Alex Oliver of The Times-Picayune written well before Katrina:
One aspect of parading in New Orleans that is particularly unique to the city is the lack of association with any particular holiday — people here have parades to honor a recently deceased loved one, or just for the fun of it. Parades succeed in bringing communities together, and it is perhaps this aspect of New Orleans parades that make them so special to attendees. Jazz funeral parades bring together family and friends to pay respect and honor the deceased, but they also serve as an open invitation for anyone whose life was touched by the honoree to come and celebrate the life of that person. Second line parades are organized and funded by marching clubs, but once the parade starts rolling the bands' music serves as a announcement that everyone in the community is welcome to come along and join in the fun. There are so many unique aspects of New Orleans that made it an easy city to love, but to visit and witness Mardi Gras, or attend a real New Orleans funeral; essences of what make the people of Big Easy so special.
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