Pictures of our neighborhood… and a few thoughts

Unfortunately, the direct link may have problems. But you can also go here, look under the column for “Your Photos” and click on NOLA.com: Magazine Street.

The first 10 or so pictures are of our neighborhood. The Reginelli’s is one of our local pizza places; it’s where we found one of our favorite babysitters. St. Joe’s Bar is not two blocks from our house and is across the street from Whole Foods — both of which are featured in the photos (we live on Joseph Street). Little Laughter is around the corner from us. The stretch of Magazine between Octavia and Joseph is part of my morning walk to one of our neighborhood coffee shops, CC’s (also featured in the photos) where I study each morning. Not in these sets of photos but confirmed in others is that one of our neighbors perished as a result of the aftermath in the storm.

In short, these are photos that show the ravaged remains of our beloved lives. We will eventually (a distance of time we think best described in months) go back to our house, our home, our neighborhood. We are so happy to have a home to return to, but look warily toward that return. What we face is unknown and scary. Every day is full of uncertainy, waking and remembering, working to piece together what we have and what we can remember to try to make a temporary life while we plan for getting back to the one we miss. What is happening here goes much deeper than “stuff”, property, and replacement. No amount of FEMA money can cover that type of loss (let alone our deductibles). I’ve been feeling that the losses on the Gulf Coast keep getting tied back to finances and feel that it is important to remember that loss is so much more than numbers.