THE BREECH IN LAKEVIEW:      THE CITY THAT DIDN’T FORGET TO CARE…

 Many of us enjoy listening to the “red-neck” humor of Jeff Foxworthy.  Many of us also enjoy hearing the famous top “Top Ten” list made by David Letterman.  If we combine these two famous entertainers we might get a

 “TOP 10 LIST OF …YOU MIGHT BE A KATARINA SURVIVOR IF…. 

1. You evacuated to Houston, Baton Rouge, or Atlanta ( or all of the above) and your mail ended up in Tulsa.

2. You have a” frequent tire program” at Fleur de Lis Car Care Center

3. When you enter a friends gutted home you can truly say and mean it;”This house looks Great!”

4. You get excited when your land line phone rings in your home even if it’s a wrong number.

5. You understand the terms FEMA, SBA, & ROAD HOME,  you can read and orange cross markings on the houses on your block and your can interpret the fine print on your homeowners and flood insurance policies.

6. You travel to Metry for gas, prescriptions food and clothes.

7. The workers at Lowe’s .  Home Depot and Wal-Mart greet you by name at the front door.

8. You know and can never forget that Katrina smell.

9. You find yourself slowly beginning to understand Spanish terms.

10. You laugh, you cry, you can suddenly be filled with uncontrollable road rage, and miss your family, friends and grandchildren… all within one hours time.

11. You can identify 14 different types of flies and gnats and have seen numerous forms of Louisiana wildlife within one block radius of your home.

 Since the horror of the flood waters of Katrina we’ve lost: loved ones, friends, pets, clothing furniture, our grocery, coffee shops, restaurants, and summer bar-b-ques.

 Since Katrina we’ve discovered:

New strength and determination and restraint.

New neighbors and friends

New attitudes toward our possessions: our stuff

How to love in the present moment

A deepening faith in God’s love and care for us

People from across the US who’ve come to help us rebuild our neighborhoods.

A renewed hope and enthusiasm as we see our neighborhoods, house by house, being slowly rebuilt.

We’ve found: A federal, state and local government that wants to help but because if red-tape bureaucracy have become bogged down in the rebuilding process.   We’ve found that we must depend upon ourselves to get things done rather than wait for the government to solve our problems.  We must do it ourselves.

         Cursing the darkness doesn’t bring the light; it merely multiplies the darkness.

 After the breech, one year later, Lakeview is rebuilding and will be rebuilt as a strong and vibrant community of families of faith and hope.  Some may have forgotten that our beloved Lakeview is not an entity unto itself but is part of the whole pie that is New Orleans.  As never before, we are all New Orleanians: brothers and sisters: where every neighborhood is important to make this great city and the Great City that Care has not forgotten.  Lakeview, Lake Vista, Gentilly, Mid City, The Lower Ninth Ward, The West Bank, Uptown and downtown St Bernard, all of us together, the people and families, the neighborhoods make this OUR HOME.

 The dark waters of Katrina that came in and violated our homes didn’t see black or white, rich or poor, Catholic or Jew, Protestant or Muslim: It was a huge natural terribly destructive event.  God did not send Katrina to punish us. We can debate and point fingers to the cause of this horrible event, but dwelling in the past doesn’t bring us into the future- rather it can pull us back down into the muck and mire that was in our city streets for too long.

 We must look forward together as families and the neighborhood of Lakeview: as one part of the whole of the families and neighborhoods that make New Orleans  the Great City that it was in the past, it is still today and will be in the future.  Every man, woman and child in our Great City is a part of our extended family.  We are all brothers and sisters striding forward to a brighter day, a new rebirth of this Great City by the River that we call home.

 Let us use this day, this one year anniversary of the greatest natural disaster in the history of our great nation, as the first day of the rebuilding of a NEW New Orleans. A city that cares about all her people. A city made up of families and neighborhoods that work together, support each other and strive to make the future a safer and healthier place for our children and grandchildren.

 We will never forget Katrina: each of us is a survivor of the horrible event. But thanks to our families and our neighborhoods, Our City, this beautiful City that God has placed in this location, can once again become a beacon of hope and a model of resilience for the rest of America and for the world.

 God bless America: Land that I love, Stand beside her and guide her with the Light from above.  From the mountains to the prairies, to the ocean whit with foam.  God Bless America my home sweet home… God Bless America my home sweet home. 

 Can you hear it?… Can you feel it? .. It’s the music that you’ve always known.. It’s the Spirit of Louisiana…… makes Louisiana HOME.

Deacon John Pippinger