Ray in New Orleans

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December 10, 2006

Darrell

I took a friend down to Common Ground's Lower Ninth Ward project today to put in some gutting hours. We did a house on N. Villere, the last house on the left next to the levee. It looked tiny from the street, but the rooms seemed like they went on and on.

At lunch time a car came around with hot food for everybody. Blackeyed peas, beef stew, fried corn, and french bread. The guy serving the food was named Darrell (I hope I'm spelling that right) and once we discovered we were both locals, he and I got to talking about stuff that you don't usually talk about much with the other CG folks, who are great goodhearted people but they ain't from here, y'know?

We talked about the recovery. Talked about food. Talked about the Saints. Talked about the May 3, 1978 flood, and he told me a little about Betsy, which he is just barely old enough to remember.

Pre-K he was living in the Tulane/Gravier area, renting. There is no Road Home for renters, there was no renters insurance, so everything he owned is gone and isn't coming back and there's nobody around who's going to help him replace it. He was a waiter at Brennan's and made good money, like the Brennan's waiters do, since waiting at Brennan's is a serious profession.

He evacuated to Arlington, Texas, and just returned 45 days ago. Everybody told him not to come back. It sucks in New Orleans, they said, but he came back anyway, cried for three days, and ended up volunteering for Common Ground in return for housing at St. Mary's. Brennan's said they would take him back once he's ready to come back, but he can't work at Brennan's while dorming at St. Mary's because he has to be impeccably groomed, starched and pressed, and you just can't maintain that personal regimen when you're living communally with a bunch of volunteers.

So he has a chicken and egg problem. One of the many chicken and egg problems that people face. He can't rent his own place without a job, but he can't get his old job back without first getting his own place. So he feeds the Common Ground house gutters while he tries to sort out how to get sorted out.

"Man, I have sunk pretty low from where I was," he says. And I want to argue with him, because he could be doing nothing while he's unemployed, and instead he's down here working hard helping the people who are trying to help the city. I could say goofy shit like "doing the Lord's work." To me, he seems good and righteous. But I keep my mouth shut, because I know when I get finished for the day, I get to drive back to my nice comfortable Uptown apartment. Catchy sayings like "doing well by doing good" are a luxury that only the financially fortunate can afford. I honestly can't say that I understand shit. I have no advice. I haven't walked even a yard in his shoes, and I don't know that I'm even capable of doing it.

I told him he needs to let me know when he's back in at Brennan's and we'd go down for the five-course breakfast. And he said he'd show me the stuff that is better than Bananas Foster. I hope I see him again soon under better circumstances. He deserves a break.

Posted by ray at December 10, 2006 9:04 PM | Permalink
Categories: [food | katrina | new orleans ]
Tags: worthy

Comments

Posted by: Maitri at December 11, 2006 9:58 AM

Posted by: Schroeder at December 11, 2006 12:30 PM

Posted by: Editor B at December 11, 2006 2:22 PM

Posted by: Sophmom at December 11, 2006 2:23 PM

Posted by: Marco at December 12, 2006 7:28 PM

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