5 Things We Learned from Katrina

1. Life is precious. The houses affected by the storm were more than houses, they are homes. It’s a simple distinction, but there’s a reason that it’s been made time and time again over the years.

2. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. New Orleans has been busy since 2005, and sometimes it feels like the waves never stop coming. But in crisis, there is also opportunity. Those of us who stayed in the city or came back after evacuating had to rebuild our homes and our lives, and what didn’t defeat us has made us stronger.

3. Laughter is the best medicine. The Katrina Evacuation Plan T-shirts, F.E.M.A. jokes, and water damage memes probably didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but humor is still the best way we know to get through dark times.

4. The law is a tool, not a higher power. Through the indomitable spirits and perseverance of the people, The Road Home Program was not only proposed and implemented, but revised and reformulated to help thousands of residents reap the rewards of being hard working tax-payers - and of a community coming together.

5. After the rain comes the rainbow. Katrina hit in August of 2005, and by the following February, multiple carnival krewes were back to party in purple, green and gold. Now in 2020, Hermes is rolling down Saint Charles.

Happy Mardi Gras, y’all. -Chris Szeto & Staff