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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN SINGING "MY CITY OF RUINS" WITH PICTURES OF HURRICANE KATRINA AND AFTERMATH:
Another film, by Steve Kovalesky, is rougher, but has footage of Bruce Springsteen performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2006, and has more film of the devastation. Worth a look:
FEMA trailer park, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Temporary housing for the homeless.
The above picture shows a group of volunteers from around the country who are living at Camp Hope, a Habitat project that houses volunteers who have come here to help gut houses, build houses, do whatever needs to be done to get our region back together again. This was taken 2/11/07 by Rhonda after a parade. (During Carnival in New Orleans, which culminated on Mardi Gras). One of them said they love the people so much they plan on making their home here. Camp Hope houses individuals, student groups, church groups, political groups, anyone who is willing to help with the immense job of rebuilding. This is just another example of what the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity is doing down here.
Music
SNUG HARBOR ~ a jazz club in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans
Musician Dr. John in front of Fats Domino's office behind his home in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, one of the hardest hit areas. The buildings held up better than most, but most of Fats' Rock'N'Roll awards and memorabilia were lost to the floodwaters.
Words without actions are the assassins of idealism. ~
Herbert Hoover
How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live. ~ Henry David Thoreau
Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. ~ George Santayana
America's greatest strength, and its greatest weakness, is our belief in second chances, our belief that we can always start over, that things can be made better. ~ Anthony Walton
The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced. ~ Frank Zappa
About me:
**JEFF NOLAND left his home in Palatine, Illiois on May 31, 2007, to walk to New Orleans. His goals were threefold: First, to raise awareness nationwide of the great need that still exists in New Orleans and the surrounding areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2007. Second, to raise donations for the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, an organization that has been helping to rebuild the Greater New Orleans area and the Mississippi Gulf Coast one house at a time. And third, to do service work for Habitat while he was in the New Orleans area. Jeff walked down to Springfield, IL, where his ground support fell through. Undaunted, he hopped a Greyhound to New Orleans. Staying in a FEMA trailer, he worked with Habitat and The St. Bernard Project, both of which were in need of skilled laborers. He did a great job, but was pretty overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, and of the work yet to be done.
Because 100% of the homes and businesses in St. Bernard Parish were damaged by floodwaters, Habitat for Humanity shares volunteer resources with The St. Bernard Project and other organizations to get more homes built, and at a faster rate.
With hurricane season 2008 looming over our coastal states, the people on the Gulf Coast are still, coming on three years later, trying to recover from the record-breaking 2005 season. You might not feel inclined to walk to New Orleans, as Jeff was, but you can fly down and lend a hand, or donate to one of the organizations linked on this page. The links I've provided are of organizations that directly help the people of the region; no unwasted dollars -- I've seen them at work. I thank you for visiting this page, and I hope that you won't forget us down here. ~ Rhonda
WALK THE WALK is a collaborative, not-for-profit effort to raise awareness and get help to the areas of Southeastern Louisiana that are still recovering from the 1-2 punch of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Jeff Noland started this drive when he decided to stop talking and start walking in 2007. The drive continues because there is much yet to be done. Some of your countrymen still live in substandard conditions in Louisiana, nearly three years after the hurricanes left. Don't just talk about it! WALK THE WALK!
We invite all of you in the MySpace community to join in the effort. Put us on your friends list; send out bulletins; leave comments to show your support. Donate time or money to the projects on this page. Go to the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity site or the St. Bernard Project site to donate online or apply for volunteer work.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY NEW ORLEANS continues to help people rebuild their lives after losing everything. People from all over the country have come to the area to help build homes, as have the locals, who, in the midst of their own tragedy, can still stop to help a neighbor.
THE ST. BERNARD PROJECT(click on banner OR MySpace link below)is a grass roots organization of professional, skilled and unskilled volunteers adding manpower and sharing Habitat's goal of putting people into their homes in St. Bernard Parish, east of Orleans Parish. If you would like to volunteer, click on the Habitat link above or the St. Bernard Project link below for information on how you can do that.
DONATIONS:
You may send donations directly to where they are needed at the following addresses:
New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity
Atten: Bob Marye
P.O. Box 15052
New Orleans, LA 70175
ST. BERNARD PROJECT/IH CENTER
8324 Parc Place
Chalmette, LA 70043
Let them know you were referred to them by our Walk The Walk page!
YOU HAVE A UNIQUE CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE'S LIFE BY CONTRIBUTING IN SOME WAY TO THIS EFFORT.
Another opportunity to contribute or volunteer:
Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, rebuilding the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans at this very moment!
CONTACT ONE OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS ABOVE FOR MORE INFORMATION. YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL RHONDA AT WALKTONOLA@AOL.COM IF YOU'D LIKE FIRST HAND INFORMATION ON WHAT LIFE HAS BEEN LIKE SINCE AUGUST 29, 2005, AND HOW THE AREA IS STILL STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE.
forever grateful for people like you...and the crew you work with...if there is to be a NEW New Orleans...it is by the Grace of God who blessed them with YOU. I wish I had the means to join you...but I can offer prayers for your health and safety...I came from a town that was surrounded by 3 rivers, and we were flooded many many times. xox Ami
It's that time of year again...thinking about recruiting people to come down here to rebuild. I've been really busy, really stressed, but this has to be done, so...I need to revamp this page! I'll email you. ~ Rhonda
When was the last time someone left a comment on your profile? Respect and admiration goes your way. Love the birds eye view shot of the floods, brings the reality of it home. England was recently hit by major flooding but nothing as violent as Catrina.
Heres a bit of my art to be leaving you with. Hope you enjoy...
Hey Jeff, how are you doing? Is everything okay at home now? I didn't know you were leaving -- I didn't even get 2 meet you! I was gonna tell RHonda to bring you to my house for the July 4th party but then I read that you had left!
Hope all is well, I'll make a point to meet you if you return in Oct.
Well, dude, tomorrow will be DAY 30 and I'll be dropping you off at the bus station for the long trip home. Thank you for committing yourself to carrying this burden with us. Thank you for leaving the safety of your home to live and work among the ruins on the edge of America. Thank you for being a witness for us. We need more witnesses to make our case. By the time you read this, you'll be home. Hug Cathy and Taryn for me: I owe 'em. Love and friendship always ~ Rhonda
It's nice to have my 'baby' back for a day or two! Wish I had an extra so we wouldn't have to share her. Anyway, going to do a link to the STB Project's MySpace profile. They need some friends over there! ~ me
Catch a show at Tipitina's while your in NOLA, check out the calendar at www.tipitinas.com theres even some free shows! God Bless you for what you are doing! Crystal
Did it flood in "tha parish" today when it rained? It's worse than Pre-K as the drainage systems have not yet been cleaned and fixed yet. Just like the sewer system, they still have pupm trucks that go to the old treatment plant, they pupm the sewer into their trucks and bring it for treatment. Hope you enjoy your first day w/Habitat for Humanity -- I'm sure you will meet some very nice people. Tracy
welcome to NOLA Jeff! I'm sure you were amazed at the condition of New Orleans & St. Bernard Parishes on your way to Rhonda's, don't panic -- you are still in the USA! I will hopefully meet you in the next few days. Tracy
Jeff will be arriving in NOLA about 6:00 p.m.; I'm throwing him in the shower, giving him some of Eddie's good cookin', and then taking him to his FEMA cave.
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