And it begins...

When the sun arose this morning, the world had changed for many, myself included. The radio turned on, my brain began to comprehend, and I began the mourning process.

I understand that many lives were lost in this tragedy, and I mourn for them. But on a more personal level, I mourn for the city of my childhood, the land of my ancestors, the home of my family and friends. I mourn for New Orleans. Say what you will about the other places being hit harder, but no other place has as much impact (in my life, at least) as Nouvelle Orleans.

Gone are the majestic oaks that lined St.Charles Avenue. Gone is the antique and rare bookshop I haunted as a teenager. Gone is the home my grandparents have owned since before I was born, the first place I was taken after my birth. The cemetaries I explored as a child are now desecrated swamps, with the remains of tombs and tombstones floating away. The park I used to play in with my sister is now a contaminated lake, unfit for any human life.

Even in the squalor of Bourbon Street, New Orleans has always been a city of magic, mystery, and allure. Maybe it is partially due to its torrid past. Passing through the hands of France, Spain, welcoming the Acadians exiled from Canada, the people combined the influences of everyone, creating their own unmistakeable culture.

The tastes and smells and sights of New Orleans are unmistakeable and irreplaceable. Jackson Square and Cafe du Monde. The St.Charles Cathedral. Bourbon Street and its filthy, yet alluring state. Chicory coffee and beignets at any time of day. The sounds of Creole and Jazz, and the paddleboats on the river. Audubon Zoo. The trolley cars rolling along St.Charles Avenue, decorated by the sunlight filtering through the oak trees that have stood for generations upon generations.

Some of these sights may still be there. But the feel and ambiance of the city will be overshadowed by the sense of loss. Maybe temporarily, maybe forever.

While I rejoice in the fact that so many lives were spared and saved, I mourn the destruction and loss that runs rampant through the city. I mourn the loss of the keystones of my memories.

I mourn for the city of New Orleans.