Letters: Dec. 19, 2005

Blues in the Big Easy

Our report on what remains to be accomplished in New Orleans, three months after Hurricane Katrina, moved readers to share their concern about conditions there. Some were outraged by the slow pace of the government's recovery efforts, while others argued against rebuilding in a flood zone

"New Orleans Today: It's Worse Than You Think" [Nov. 28] served as a much-needed wake-up call to Washington officials and the American people. The hurricane disasters on the Gulf Coast had a huge impact on the collective conscience of the nation when they occurred, but as we have become involved once again in our day-to-day tasks, the cleanup and sheer loss faced in Louisiana and elsewhere are old news. This busy holiday season, let's try to keep in our hearts all those who lost everything. LINDSEY FAHEY Frankfort, Ill.

It is with a heavy heart that I say I am against rebuilding New Orleans. Having lived in southern Louisiana for eight years, I love the people, the culture, the traditions, the kookiness, the spirituality. I love it all. But I have come to believe, as cruel as it sounds, that the people of New Orleans and southern Louisiana need to take steps to get out of harm's way and head to higher land. To them, I say, Spread your culture and traditions around the rest of Louisiana and the U.S. Please think of your great-grandchildren's well-being. Please, above all, be safe. Bad as it was, Katrina may not have been the Big One. LESLIE OLSEN SULLIVAN Huntington, N.Y.

I lost my home, all my belongings and my teaching job in New Orleans after Katrina. While I am extremely grateful to those who have welcomed me to a new life in the Southwest, I mourn the loss of my old life. When I returned briefly a few weekends ago, I walked by the Little Red Schoolhouse in the French Quarter; I looked in the window of my classroom and could see my students' unfinished work inside. That is how I feel about our lives in New Orleans: so much is left unfinished. Let us all hope that America steps up to help the Gulf Coast area in its days, months and years of need. DIANE M. BLACK Tucson, Ariz.

In another great American tragedy, the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s, people didn't wait for government help to rebuild in an untenable environment. Instead, they moved to places better suited to habitation. How much would it cost to build a reliable levee around New Orleans--$25 billion? $50 billion? For $25 billion, we could build a new $90,000 home for 275,000 households displaced by Katrina. Simple economics says New Orleans should not be rebuilt. CHARLIE SMITH Pittsburgh, Pa.

I was feeling sorry for New Orleans--until I read the very first paragraph of your story, which told of booze flowing, men ogling strippers, and all the lewdness and debauchery of the city's carnival atmosphere. Shame on the people of New Orleans for their way of showing their thankfulness for being spared. DAVID SCHIMPF Saginaw, Mich.