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9/3/05

Labor Day and Katrina

As late as the rest of the world, I started taking in images and information about Katrina yesterday. I'm still processing the extent of the disaster.

I was looking forward all week to counting down to the Labor Day Parade on Monday and to the imminent arrival of a little one in my family. I was talking to my friend Sarah who studies steel pan culture about attending tonight's steel pan contest in Brooklyn.

Now I wonder, how festive can Labor Day be in light of all the sadness and devastation left behind by Katrina? What would Katrina's victims think of floods of people dancing to jolly calypsos as they are flooded by despair and neglect? Mostly, what world is the little one coming into?

Answers to some of these questions seem obvious but others aren't. As sure as life goes on, the trauma of those grappling with disaster will endure...
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9/07/2005 2:47 PM

    From:
    "Now I wonder, how festive can Labor Day be in light of all the sadness and devastation left behind by Katrina?"

    To:
    "FOUR prominent Haitian bands delivered all the gouyad I needed for the year: "

    You definitely lost MOI. Quelle affaire!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alice B.9/08/2005 8:36 AM

    Hey Anonymous,

    Yup, human nature is that complex. And yes, people's moods evolve. Clearly, Sarah had an influence--she makes lots of sense-- but mostly, the day before the parade I ran into two New Orleans musicians who sought refuge at a friend's house in New York and they were looking forward to the parade... I was planning on going anyway but that helped a lot... I would have liked to see more Katrina references at the parade though, especilly on the floats...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9/08/2005 12:40 PM

    More refs of Katrina you said, well too bad, I guess my Caribos were more looking toward their yearly yayad fest! enough to last for 1 year according to some;-)
    May be someone , somehow should have or could have passed a flyer or 2 around the Pkway and/or set a food collection corner where revelers could have dropped canned goods/water and toiletries ect...A couple of bins from K Mart and away we go!
    Then again that would have reduced the required 1 year supply of gouyad time!;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Japronika10/02/2005 12:48 AM

    just showin luv...

    ReplyDelete