Rebuilding New Orleans

I'm back from New Orleans and have had some time to digest what we did and what we saw. After trying to come up with a way to understand and to organize my thoughts about what I experienced there, I am left with no concrete summary. I have no overarching understanding of where the city is or what it might look like a year from now, five years from now or how long it will take for New Orleans to be 'rebuilt.' My feeling is that New Orleans remains deeply wounded, and a year from now, much of the city will still be a mess.

Our time there was short and our contribution to the many homes being built as part of the Musicians' Village was relatively small. Our view of the city was limited- all of us were lucky enough to get tours outside of just the French quarter where we stayed and the Upper Ninth Ward where we worked, but in one week you can only do and see so much.

But we saw so much and contributed a great deal- much more than I thought we would.

At first we worked on a row of houses that were near completion and helped prepare an area of the worksite where at least a dozen homes were starting to go up- where it seemed like a new floor was being started every other day.


Later in the week, we worked on two houses: one just springing from the earth, the other perhaps two-thirds done. We each jumped into specific projects: fixing the flooring, soffit and fascia installation, painting the trim, etc. Mostly we jumped into the middle of ongoing projects and left before they were complete. Five days is a short time in terms of home building. Regardless, each day hundreds of volunteers from all over the country and right down the street, showed up in the early morning sun and hooked up with team leaders to pick up where the work left off the day before. We worked hard and each left our mark.

Photo by Jenna Logue

Our work with Habitat was more or less what I thought it would be. I did not know the exact work we would do, but the experience was not surprising except the size of the overall project. The number of homes being built at once and how scale impacted the experience of being onsite was more intense and a little less organized than I thought it would be. What I really did not anticipate at all was how our team of eight would interact, our encounters with Berklee alumni, how raw the wounds sustained during the flood still are and the response to our journey by people we met.

It would have been tough to predict how the eight of us would interact as few of us knew each other well before we left. I was surprised by how quickly everyone opened up. I imagine some of us are generally slower to warm up to new people than any of us were on this journey. All of us are very grateful for this opportunity, and I do not know what factors exactly enabled us to connect, coordinate and keep our energy so high from the first moment to the last. Adrenaline, gratitude, good people, good luck, great organization (Roya rocks!)- there were a lot of elements that came together to make things work so well, and I want to add my voice to the chorus of thanks to each of the seven traveling builders I shared this time with and to Berklee and each of the individual advocates who initiated and funded this opportunity.

Photo by Jenna Logue

Shortly after we were selected for this experience, we were notified of an alumni dinner we were to attend, planned for Wednesday night. Not being a Berklee Alumnus and not working in Alumni Affairs, I was not sure what to expect. What happened was a wonderful group of Berklee students from decades ago to 'coming this fall' showed up. We talked about recent changes at Berklee and they shared their stories: Berklee stories, Katrina stories, New Orleans stories and musician stories all overlapping and interwoven.


The memories of the flood, told by alumni, the police officer who gave us a ride home from the work site, and other people we encountered each day, are so fresh that you almost forget that almost 2 years have passed. Driving around parts of the city and seeing entire neighborhoods standing ruined and vacant, it is hard to believe that almost 2 years have passed.

The local news reported that 60 percent of the pre-flood population has returned. They measure this by the number of addresses receiving mail. By this standard, people living at addresses with homes that are totally uninhabitable but have FEMA trailers hooked up to the property's sewage and electricity are being included in the totals of 'people who have returned.' They may be back in New Orleans, or maybe they never left, but they are not yet home. I saw hundreds of examples of this and only drove around a few streets.


As the week went on and we met new people, a distinct pattern emerged. People wanted to tell their stories. The grief was still front and center in the telling. Us listening and being there, caring and wanting to hear, was deeply appreciated and when folks heard what we were doing, they were genuinely grateful. You imagine that when people hear you are volunteering to build affordable low income housing that they will say something like 'That's great' or 'Thanks for doing that' but the response I heard time and time again was that what people heard us describing was not just building housing for people who need help affording it. They heard that we traveled a long way to help rebuild a city that needs help and is not getting enough. They heard that we worked at a place that understood that this mattered enough to make it happen. Many of the people who thanked us will not benefit personally from what we did. They did not personally know anyone who would benefit directly. Many will probably never even see the Musicians' Village or ever travel through that particular part of the Upper Ninth Ward. But every 'thank you' was conveyed from someone who felt personally grateful. I think this comes in part from the rawness of the memories of the flood and loss each survivor suffered.

I think this also comes from the clear disconnect between the promises made after the disaster- promises that New Orleans would not be abandoned to what remained of her own devices- and the reality, which is that streets still lack street signs. Buses still rest on their sides. Intersections do not have traffic lights. Flotsam and jetsam is still washed up in piles, in alleys, in yards. Housing plots still hold carcasses of houses or stand void of anything save a concrete slab and tall weeds. Law enforcement is exhausted and the residents are exhausted. Spray painted warnings on shells of former homes warn that looters will be killed. A bartender we met one night described how her boyfriend was walking home the night before and had been shot at. Several musicians described how the more time passes without residents being able to recover and return in a timely manner, the more non-natives are moving into the city and booking the gigs that locals used to claim. Then, when former residents are able to return, they can't find work.

Photo by Jenna Logue

It is my hope that more people will find or create opportunities like the one Berklee created and that fresh political energy will either see the need and act out of obligation or, at the very least, recognize that fulfilling the promise to not abandon New Orleans is work that will more than pay for itself once started in earnest.

Photo by Jenna Logue

Our hammering, painting, pouring concrete and our listening was fulfilling work that gave us as much as it gave the soon-to-be homeowners who worked in the hot sun beside us and the survivors we met as we walked awhile in the cracked but not abandoned streets of New Orleans and the Parishes.

-Christopher Jones
June 2007

Last day in New Orleans

Last Friday was our last day on the work site. At the end of our trip, Carol from Denver gave us a tour of the Lower 9th Ward. We saw a bus, still on its side. Whole streets were completely cleared out. Only overgrown weeds remained. Other parts were coming back, but many, many residents are still living in trailers next to their homes.


We also took a quick tour of the Alfred Lawless Senior High School. Back in the day, this school was bustling with activity. Today, it remains uninhabitable.

So here is the house I was working on for the second half of the week. Just under the roof you can see the f channel- the thin white strip that the soffit fits into.


Here is out group on the last day!

Day 3 with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans

Today (tonight) is day 3 of our 5 day effort. Yesterday, we were greeted in the morning by one of the residents, Riccardo Crespo of the Musicians' Village we are working on.


He also played for us on his front porch during our lunch break!

Yesterday we continued to rearrange the work site but most of us also found some building related work. I helped set fence posts and will try and track down a photo of that later.

Today we showed up and managed to hook up with a crew working on two houses with a lot of remaining work.

I paired up with a couple of Memphians and we worked on installing fascia and soffit all day.


First we nailed in a strip, the length of the house. Then we started measuring out how wide to cut the pieces that go under the overhang (photo by R. Hochschild).



Kris, Roya, and Matt were hammering away at the foundation of the house next door. Roya is in the front with the black hat. Kris and Matt are wearing the yellow hard hats. Kris is in a blue shirt, Matt to her left in a white shirt, leaning over.


This evening we met up with a group of Berklee alumni and a few soon to be first year students for some food and conversation, which was a blast! Then we headed over to Frenchman street with a couple of Alumni and heard some excellent music...

Day one with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans

We got up early in the morning and took a cab over to the Musicians' Village site. The project managers gave a safety talk and then tried to figure out which way to send us. There were several hundred volunteers and it was turning into the hottest day of the year so far (they told us) and they had an event planned for later in the day so I'm not sure they were as coordinated as usual. money


Truth is, there was plenty of work to do in both directions! money

Some sites are just getting foundations: money


Other houses are almost done: money


We spent most of the day moving supplies from around the homes near completion to the site just breaking ground. money

In the afternoon, the first wall was raised on the 41st home in the project! money

We Made it!

We took off from Boston the morning and made it to New Orleans early afternoon. We walked around the city a bit after we checked in to our hotel. More than one building, even in the French Quarter is in rough shape, but signs of construction are evident as well. Here is the view up a debris chute: money


Buskers were doing their thing: money



And sometimes, the passers by joined in!


We walked down Bourbon street on our way to get groceries for lunch tomorrow: money


I'm off to sleep as we are getting up early to head to the Musicians' Village and see what our work for the week will be! money

The entire team is contributing to a blog and some of these posts will appear there as well. money

Heading to New Orleans!

I mentioned before that I am am going to New Orleans for a week with a group of my colleagues from Berklee College of Music to work with Habitat for Humanity on the Brandford Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. inspired project to build a Musician's Village in the Upper 9th Ward. money

Well I'm packing today and off tomorrow morning. money

It has been a busy week as I have been preparing so I have mostly ignored the rollercoaster ride the portfolios I have been tracking on this site have taken over the last few days. I intend to continue to ignore the markets for a while longer and focus on this amazing opportunity. Part of the reason, my investing strategy is to (hypothetically) invest in a diverse group of mutual funds and setup a system of for continuous investing, is so I can ignore it when I need or want to and this is one of those times! Following the progress of individual stocks or companies requires much more continuous attention to news about those holdings as things can change pretty fast. If I had the time, inclination, or hypothetical finances I think I would need to follow such a strategy, I might give it a try. But I don't. money

I was interviewed about my upcoming trip to New Orleans by my local paper this week and will link to the story when they run it. money

Also, the eight of us going will be contributing to a blog about our experience and I will add the link to that here when we are ready to roll it out. money

More about the trip soon!

Managed Mutual Funds, Index funds and ETFs...

...are going every which way these days. Since I first invested, the WylieMoney portfolio wins. Year to date, the Vanguard portfolio is ahead. And today, ETFs did the best. I will invest in fund #2 sometime this month when the time is right. money


I am still waiting on a response from Etrade and will try and follow up tomorrow at lunch.

I'm also switching my employer sponsored retirement plan from one of our two options to the other. I'll explain why soon. money

Finally, I leave for New Orleans this weekend and plan to write about the trip here! money

Habitat for Humanity Project to Build a Musician's Village in New Orleans!

Berklee College of Music is sponsoring a group of employees to go to New Orleans and work with Habitat for Humanity on a project to build a Musician's Village in the Upper 9th Ward!

How cool is that?

Harry Connick, Jr., Branford and Ellis Marsalis came up with the idea to build 70 homes and a Music Center.

Many of my colleagues applied for this sponsorship I was fortunate enough to be one of the ones chosen! Yesterday, I met the other 7 people who are going and I am excited! We head down in June and will be there for a week.

Walk for Hunger photos!

Yesterday, my wife and I did the Walk for Hunger. Click on any of the images for a larger version.

We got up at the crack of dawn and took the pike into town.

We parked the car and registered at the Boston Common. When you get up this early, the crowd is pretty small. 43,000 people did the walk yesterday.

We walked down Comm Ave and saw some dogs.
We saw metal dogs. See the ball?

We saw big French dogs!

Then we walked under Mass Ave.

Some chipper volunteers guided us through Kenmore square...

...past Fenway Park.

We ran into a friend from Berklee!

Near Boston College, we saw some geese.

All along the 20 mile walk there were signs teaching us about hunger...

...about ouch...

...and about Soylent Green.

I never did figure out what "sunscree" was.

But I always knew how far we had traveled.

This sign was at about mile 10, the halfway point. If the "It" he was referring to was "walked half way", then he spoke the truth! Hard to argue with a pointer like this, regardless.

Soon after, the trail leads to the Charles river, where Harvard and MIT teams practiced rowing.

The views of downtown Boston were amazing, even in cloudy, windy weather.

Along the Charles River, there is a place where water fowl rule!

It never rained, despite the dark clouds.

We approached the Mass Ave bridge and prepared to cross it.

Once across the bridge, we were in the home stretch.

Back down Comm Ave, we passed statue after statue.
I was jealous of this guy, and ready to sit down!

Near the end, the sun started to break through.

We could see the finish line. Where did all these people come from? (cheaters!)

At each checkpoint, we got a mark or stamp.


And in the end, we made it. There were 43,000 walkers
and together we raised over $3.3 million!

Until next year...