Civic Engagement

What a crappy week. I don't even know why. I really wish I had something to complain about here, but I don't. It was just kind of blah. And tiring. For no reason. Dude I'm freaking exhausted right now. Maybe I have mono.

Some good news happened during this time though. I found out for sure that I'm going to New Orleans over Spring Break to volunteer for recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The way that storm was handled..for years now..is an absolutely tragedy, and nothing less than a failure of such proportions that we should all be ashamed as Americans to have let it happen in what should be the greatest country in the world. Now, that rant aside, though the government should be doing 300% more to clean this mess up, the fact remains that they simply are not. So that leaves volunteers to pick up the slack, something I cannot wait to do.

My family lives on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi (side note: I still spell that in my head every time I write it. Oh, second grade.) They were incredibly lucky to have come through the storm with homes. My Aunt Clara, however, sent photos to our family of the damage all around them. There was virtually nothing left in places. 

As for New Orleans itself, the destruction there is something that likely affected all American musicians in a way at least slightly deeper than sitting through a news report. New Orleans is far from an economic center of music in the United States, but it is easily one of the cultural centers. It is a city where music thrives as not only something seen in halls and bars on weekends, but on the streets all the time. And it is a city that every American musician has a soft spot for. And if they don't, they should.

During the time that Katrina struck, I was working as a newspaper delivery driver part-time. The radio was typically tuned to NPR or Air America. This was not CNN or your evening news. These stations held back nothing in the grizzly details, they spoke to people in the arena-turned-bathroomless-shelter and on the streets. It was almost unbearable to listen to it and think 'New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.' This, combined with my family's proximity and my soft spot for New Orleans left a lasting impact. Then I started hearing about college groups that were taking trips down there. I've always wanted to be a part of one, but it wasn't offered at Castleton. So this trip is something that is years in coming, and I'm looking forward to it.

Not to mention, Spring Break is the second week of March and I live in New York. New Orleans is warm.