After flying to Chicago Friday, August 26 for a photo shoot on the 27th, I noticed that something unusual happened - the largest musical extravaganza New Orleans has ever witnessed. Katrina and the Waves, the 80's one-hit wonder band, finally resurfaced in New Orleans, performing a swimming-room only 24 hour marathon concert. Led Zeppelin closed the show with a pounding rendition of "When the Levee Breaks", but not before several other brilliant performances by such stellar acts as the Scorpions performing "Rock you like Hurricane" and "the Winds of Change"...The Clash even showed up briefly and belted out "Should I Stay or Should I go Now?". After Aretha sang "Rescue Me", thousands flocked to the Superdome to hear a one-off performance of "Gimme Shelter" by the Stones. On the coattails of their 80's one-hit wonder compadres, Milli Vanilli lip-synced "Blame it on the Rain". This assault on New Orleanians ears caused many to run to see Stevie Wonder perform "Higher Ground" in the Garden District. The performance was also broadcast throughout the French Quarter and CBD. Soon thereafter Eric Clapton did a rousing version of "I Shot the Sherriff" in the parking lot of the Convention Center.
So, now we're all singing "Do you Know what it Means to Miss New Orleans"...we're missing friends (some of us just missing...some others literally MISSING). We're dealing with the knowledge that our own government is woefully unprepared for disasters such as this concert (or maybe just doesn't care about its poor) and none of us know what the future holds. Read on to discover in photos and text what one refugee's life has been like....

After reality set in and I realized I'd be here for a while, JC Steinbrunner set me up in his basement. I checked the news on my laptop since JC has no TV. In a way, it's been a blessing, because I've missed so much of the bullshit media spin and was able to only see the images I wanted to see - NY Times.com had really good photos. It's a bit weird not seeing any video footage...no moving pictures. I made no effort to seek them out and I think it was a way of insulating myself from feeling the pain.
I made a big effort to find work here and was really moved by the number of photographers who responded to my email and who offered to keep an eye out for work for me.


On the way to return my car to the rental place, I heard Aaron Freeman's commentary on Katrina on NPR's "All Things Considered". He was discussing gravity. He talked about gravity's relationship to New Orleans. The simple fact that things are pulled via gravity to the lowest spot possible - in a bowl, that means the lowest areas get the most liquid covering. In New Orleans that means the 9th Ward gets flooded. I thought about the relationship he was describing and then thought about my relationship to Aaron Freeman. I photographed him for Metromix.com a while back. He often is a commentator on NPR and he's a fascinating individual. I know him - he knows me - he's talking about New Orleans - I live in New Orleans. He was talking about me, someone he's met and interacted with, without even knowing it.

After returning my rental car on Wednesday, I walked through O'Hare airport very cognizant of the fact that I should be getting on a plane to go home and yet there were no flights even listed for New Orleans. I thought about the fact that most of these people walking through the airport were on their way somewhere - either for business or pleasure or just going home. I felt like a different person...I felt like everyone else around me had no idea how lucky they were just to be able to go to a home. I was one of them until Katrina came - oblivious to my good fortune. On the train back to the city, I saw a woman slowly reading the headlines and seeing the images of a torn and battered South. As tears welled in her eyes, she reached a hand up and wiped them away self-consciously glancing to her right and then left to see if anyone had noticed her emotional response.

I went into a pizza place to get a slice for lunch. When I got it I took a photo of the lonely slice sitting next to the newspaper whose cover read "Sorrow". The owner came over and asked why I was taking a photo of his pizza - was I a food critic? "No", I said "I'm from New Orleans and I'm just documenting everything I can about this experience - helps me cope", the stranger put his hand on my shoulder and said in a thick Italian accent, "You come here every day for next week - you get free slice. I take care of you" I went to XS Salon to get a much needed haircut and my longtime stylist Scott would not take my money.

Everywhere I went during that first week, I was constantly reminded of the tragedy. some were pleasant reminders like people buying me drinks, giving me discounts, offering their spare bedrooms, etc. Other were more depressing and ominous. Seeing CNN for the first time in a restaurant...watching people read the newspapers...

I drove up and down Lake Shore Drive the night before the hurricane hit. Wind blowing through the windows and mooroof...the gorgeous, sturdy skyline acting comforting me and reminding me that I'm safe. Trying to ignore the impending doom while appreciating my good fortune of having friends and family. Trying to forget what is about to happen. Pulling up in front of the Tribune Towers, a scrolling news flasher above a radio station booth on Michigan Ave. read in bold red letters "Gulf Coast prepares for the worst". I couldn't get away from it. Sitting at JC's table crying every day as I read about the devastation became a regular occurance. Ansel the dog was with a friend in Houston, so he was safe.

Driving down Irving Park Rd. in Chicago, I noticed a fire engine and a bit of a traffic jam - even the CFD was getting into helping us all out.

Chicago was concerned for its Southern neighbors...the Sears Tower lit its antennae up in Mardi Gras Colors of purple, yellow and green.

So, now it's been 3 weeks since Katrina changed so many lives, including mine. I've seen the best of people - I've seen some anger, too. It has centered me in a way that I haven't been able to be before. Every night, I've spent time with friends, old and new.

They are always concerned...always interested, always very generous. I've gotten new work, made new professional contacts here in Chicago...hell, I've even sold 4 photographs in Mill Valley, CA at a benefit for Katrina that was hosted by Robin Williams, Dana Carvey and Lars, the drummer from Metallica. These celebs and others were apparently hob-nobbing around my photos in the lobby of the theater. It was good to know that a few thousand dollars were going to my fellow New Orleans residents due to my photos.

With all of the good things come the not-so-good. Besides the obvious carnage and destruction Katrina wreaked, she also scattered people, including my friends, throughout the US. I may never see some of them again and didn't even get a chance to say good-bye. I got my first piece of mail here at JC's house and it was too much to take. I don't want to have a new mailing address - I like the old one just fine.

I may have a physical home to go back to, but not a center...not a place I can really call home. Will there be any work for me there in the next year?...will my favorite places be there?...will my friends come back?....where will I go if the answer is no?