This morning I read Chris Rose’s account of the game to my Precious Daughter as we ate breakfast at the game-board sized table in our FEMA travel trailer. We both laughed and complimented the Bard of Big Easy for his insight and talent.
But for me, the true value of the game in the form of hope and entertainment was best illustrated in an email from a former/future neighbor. Julie and Steve work for a federal agency in New Orleans that has set up trailers in the parking lot of their facilty to house employees while rebuilding proceeds. They demolished their house down the street from us and are currently navigating the permit process to start construction on a new home. Here’s what Julie had to say about “the big game”:
“I have never been much of a football fan. Guess because I went to MS State and the Bulldogs did not ever have a really great team. I was in the band and marched at all the games, but never got interested in the actual scrimmage. I must tell everyone that my husband and I watched the Saints' Game last night with headphones on (because the kids were in bed) in our FEMA trailer. We had a BLAST performing our 'silent cheers' as taught to us by our 4 yr old. The reception on the tv was bad (COX cannot come to Federal property yet) but we still enjoyed every second of that game. You gotta have Faith!”
Faith, I would add, in city government, in state government, even in the federal government, has not been easy to maintain over the last 13 months. But faith in the human spirit, in the generosity of strangers, in ourselves even, has never wavered in the people of New Orleans.
2 comments:
Amen.
It's funny; "Faith" was the slogan of last year's Saints team, but I think most of the yard signs were lost or thrown away.
Not the bumper stickers, though.
They are inspirational aside from the football team.
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