Return to New Orleans - Part III

Habitat for Humanity had only one build day scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, and I signed us up for it. It wasn’t a priority for Helen, but she knew it was one for me. So at 7:45 am, we found ourselves in the Upper Ninth Ward, ready to build. Aaron the handler has left Habitat and moved on – though he was there helping out; Patrick (who was our handler on our final day in March) left AmeriCorps and is now Habitat staff. It was good to see them again and to be remembered. This house was nine days in – concrete supports placed, frame built. The projects for the day were roofing and siding. I joined a siding crew, which meant being up on a sixteen-foot ladder, holding a heavy piece of siding in place while others hammered, and hammering while others held the siding in place (I was on the blue ladder...I'm not in any of the pictures; just took them from below to illustrate). My upper arms burned while I held that heavy piece, and even though I felt secure on the ladder, I thought that if I were to fall and hurt myself, it would not be good. Helen stayed at ground level and operated the power saw. I’m really glad we did it, even if we did leave at lunchtime.



At a conference, Helen had met the chief architect for Brad Pitt’s Make it Right Foundation, and he had offered to show us around the Lower Ninth on Saturday afternoon. That fell through, but not before we left the work site; half a day was enough for Helen anyway. We had lunch uptown at a well-known local place called Franky and Johnny’s, ice cream at a well-known local place called Creole Creamery, and since we were nearby, went to Audubon Park. I noticed in my book that the park has a labyrinth, so that was our first stop – I love meditating and walking on labyrinths. We were headed for the Audubon Zoo (where, in a song that I know only one line of, the animals axed for you), and Helen mentioned that even without our architect guide, it was more important for her to see the Lower Ninth Ward – so back in that direction we went. There are more houses there than there were in March – but, sadly, still more empty lots than houses and still many houses along the way marked for demolition. The architect called to give us some tips – a bayou at the end of a street that is reclaimed wetland, and a levee at the end of another street that offered a sunset view of the New Orleans skyline – same side of the river, but due to its crescent nature, the view was across the water. That levee was near Global Green homes – yet another non-profit with innovative homes. Lots of issues in New Orleans but also lots of opportunities! The architect also gave us a restaurant tip – Irene’s, in the French Quarter – elegant Italian. So, we didn’t see him, but he did a lot for us!