Brink

In New Orleans some people have been pushed to the edge with nowhere left to go. Many of them were already living on the brink ..economically and psychologically speaking. Now their survival is at stake. In Jefferson Parish there is a Mad Max-like community living in squalor ..the social structure obliterated. Although some may have a roof over their head ..they have little food or water ..and no power. Junked appliances and wrecked cars are everywhere. I've been told they have a messiah though ..a social worker who siphons gas and goes driving around scavenging supplies. He comes back dispensing ice, cookies, candles, water and anti-psychotics ..anti-psychotics? I suppose those are good for shattered nerves and broken dreams. Where are they going to go? Many have never been outside of New Orleans ..and they’re frightened of what’s out there. Hell, I would be too if I had to abandon home like that. It's become like a Third World country since it was passed over during the evacuation ..I wonder if we’ll pick them up during the next period of reconstruction.

Resurgence: A new book by E. L. Doctorow called ‘The March’ depicts General Sherman’s demolition of the South ..and how it cultivated the seeds of resurgence.