Janus 2007

The Long Road Home

Hey, don't go nowhere! The rebirth's on its way. Hey, don't go nowhere! The rebirth's here to stay.

A rebirth of unprecedented proportion has taken hold of our community during the past sixteen months. Families displaced have decided to rebuild. Children long removed have elected to return. Neighborhoods are beginning to re-emerge. The entire community has adopted the attitude: We will come back. We can do better.

But the road home has proven difficult for many. Despite generous government grants, a bungling bureaucracy has dulled the promise of assistance, generating a growing sense of frustration. Still this snail's pace of progress has not dampened our spirit of renewal.

Numerous success stories helped to restore our faith and lift our spirits. In Baton Rouge, the purple and gold regained their national stature with an impressive Sugar Bowl victory. The Superdome, once a refuge for the hopeless, transformed into a temple of celebration when, on a magical Monday night, a team of new Saints arrive to re-energize the city. Their subsequent success became a point of pride in an otherwise difficult time. And, closer to home, we celebrated a group of athletic Lady Diamonds who brought the first ever national championship to the West Bank.

So we face the future with determination and optimism. When will things return to normal? What will the new normal look like? How will we deal with change? Only time will tell.

Ponder the possibilities tonight, as Janus invites you to sit back and enjoy a journey down "The Long Road Home" under the direction of the the lieutenants and The Captain.

Time Picayune article

Pat Garin photographs

Dickey family photo


Chad group photo