Big Lie, Small World*

UPDATE: Monday, Sept. 24th. My debris pile was picked up by the City in the past few days. One less thing to get depressed about today. I really needed the help at this point. I also got my household trash out at home before Team-Veronica, made it around the hood today. I got up late due to my new, wacky schedule I am trying to get used to. My needs are not that much different than the adaptive issues we had back in Oct. 2005. So today was a lucky day, or I just have learned patience? From here on out, things will be much better. No more of this nonsense, I hope. Truly, A Brand New Day, or ok, year. Six months . . . six hours? This definitely contributes to my new perspective.

Didn't stepping outside this morning feel refreshing? It was like California weather, no humidity! Likewise, things have suddenly turned a refreshing corner in regards to my being able to make personal decisions about my life rather than my life feeling like an episode of Lucha Libre for the past two years. I am restacking and counting my bricks.

We have put the Treme lot on the market. The insurance issues are clear and there being not much money to actually rebuild as it all was dumped directly into the mortgage (one reason people can't actually rebuild as they had imagined) leaves us only one option, really.

As things go in this hellbound recovery, the debris from the final clean-up of the foundation is now caught in the gap between the Army Corps' leaving and the City's taking over the task of debris removal. My neighbors suddenly are 'in touch'.

I reported my debris pile last month when we took down the foundation, which was prior to the Army Corps' official pull-out. Now, I am in a battle to get my debris picked up. The Army Corps has bailed on us after only two years.

I as an American citizen, have to beg for large garbage pick up after a Gov't Failure/Natural Disaster in America. Iraq gets an upgrade to top priority. Maybe I need to blow up my debris pile with some TNT left-over from WWII to get it picked up?? Maybe I need to crash a plane into it?? I'd love to set it afire if I hadn't really great neighbors. . . I am fed up. As they are. . . . So, I am in the queue for City pick up, but my neighbors are getting impatient. For the first year, I was so worried the Army Corps would come and clear the land without permission, now the problem has turned completely around. So there you have it ! Welcome to my existence in hell for the past two-years, in limbo with my insurance company, now in limbo for the new reality of cleanup. I am sure I am not alone in this respect. Schizo New Orleans life.

Here is Chris' email from across the street from me. It was a dud email address, so I could not respond directly to him. Chris is soon to be a father and will be relocating to a more suburban and family-friendly part of the city. I imagine he wants my lot clean before he puts his house on the market or just rents his place. He's not at all interested in raising his child in Treme.

"Laureen,I found your site through Metroblogging some time ago. Myself and several other neighbors have unsuccessfully tried to have the city pick up the trash heap that your workers left across the street from the remnants of you house. Could you have someone take care of it. I don't think that the Corps or anyone else is collecting debris from the neighborhoods. Thanks,Chris 1509 Gov Nichollsyoungobrien@hotmail.com."

I have contacted the QOL officer for the Treme and the 311 people who set me up in the first place. They have ALL assured me they are working on the list per the Sanitation Department on behalf of people like myself who were left in limbo. The reference No. is 201-6028. My correspondence with the agencies has been consistent and up to the minute. Stephen is getting his FEMA trailers removed as well. I happen to question the 'several' part of Chris' statement. We don't have several neighbors. At least not several who actually give a shit. We may have several if you count the guys who sit around drinking beer all day.

This is the first thing working its way out of my life at this time.

On the other end of brick restacking, I had recently thrown out a symbolic bouy to force myself to take the LSAT in an all out effort to return to my life in legal research. The perfect job here in the city seemed rather just out of grasp. So I decided it is what I really want to do and if I had to, I would go to law school to do it. I have invested many years of my life in learning and I have grown to love law libraries as a specialty.

In the simple act of throwing out this chance-riddled flare toward my own future, an opportunity of irresistable appeal was handed to me. Sometimes you only have to formally discard one thing in order to make karmic room for another thing of larger importance. I have been fortunate enough to have the option of going back to my professional field of legal research and am grateful as I can be for this critical change toward a more stable job that directly relates to my pre-K life. I have not yet recallibrated where my writing will fall into place, but I am sure it will. Frankly, I am bored to death with it right now. I am bored with observing this place. Emily has offered me one important thing about my perspectice vis-a-vis my work and writing since Katrina. A writer will write. No matter what.

Thanks to you all for your patience ~ I hope to get the debris pile is moved soon.
-L.

*Sting: Brand New Day