Farewell Bay St. Louis, Welcome to New Orleans
It was hard to depart Bay St. Louis today for me. I felt that I had connected to the residents of the community and that they had left a permanent mark on me as well. Coming into Bay St. Louis I had perceptions about the situations revolving Hurricane Katrina and after my experiences in the great city of Bay St. Louis, my perceptions have done a complete 180 degrees. I thank the community for helping me change my views.
Riding along the I-10 interstate connecting the two devastated cities of Bay St. Louis and seeing all the destruction was a rude awakening. The images depicted by the media were disturbing, but to actually ride up and down the highways that served as evacuation routes was a whole new experience. It was hard for me to fathom how the city of New Orleans was flooded so bad until I learned of the faulty levy system and how it protected a city that was literally situated in a ‘bowl’. Riding over the bridges that were suspended over the bodies of water that caused so much harm to innocent people was amazing. I never fully understood how water could be so forceful until I saw the magnitude in size of the neighboring lakes and gulf waterways.
Entering the city was interesting, because this was my first visit. I am kind of happy that I had not seen New Orleans prior to Katrina, because it would have hurt me more to see how beautiful the city was compared to the hindered city that remains. It was still very hard for me to see windows still boarded up and business shut down even 2 years after the storm. I can hardly believe that the destruction is still so evident so long after the waters have receded.