today was really amazing. i think lauren did a great job of putting it into words, so aside from reiterating just how wonderful rose is and urging you to check out the website of her production company, Shine, i'll talk a little bit about a more general issue i've been thinking about - leaving, or coming back, after the storm.

before i get too philosophical, i think it's important to remember that not everyone who hasn't come back is staying away on purpose - a huge amount of people are still unable to come back to their neighbourhooods because they have no home to go to. that's kind of why we're doing what we're doing - gutting houses - helping people on their way to getting their homes rebuilt by dealing with the first step for them.

the second disclaimer is one that i put on a lot of topics: it is impossible for me (and, i believe, for anyone else who hasn't experienced this) to truly imagine the magnitude of the impact of this hurricane. i have a much much more acute sense of it now, but I'm very wary of the sense of empathy that I do have - I feel barely entitled to it. I mean, I have no idea what it's like to lose all of your belongings. To lose members of your family. To suddenly be scattered thousands of miles from your neighbours.

having said those two things: i've been thinking about the people who have chosen to relocate out of new orleans (or other katrina-affected areas). i can think of a whole variety of reasons why... this is the place where they experienced the nightmare, it will never feel the same again... on an economic basis, it will take a long time for the business in the region to be as profitable commercially as they were... right now life here is very difficult in a lot of ways, services like health and education are struggling to recover. there do seem to be a lot of employment opportunities, but not necessarily very good ones.

but i still don't quite get it. i mean, my head gets it. on an emotional level though... even i, who have called 14 different places "home" so far (i just had to work that out, actually!), don't like the idea of having to start over. and it's not that the people here haven't had to start over - but starting over somewhere else just seems like it would be so much harder.

i guess, to the locals, the new orleans that i'm seeing probably does feel like somewhere else now.