Hope You Don’t Mind Avery
But I gotta link this.
Avery (aka bike 100 is a fellow Sharonista, and as I discovered a little too late one hell of a good person.
A Personal Perspective from a Resident of N’awlins
A Personal Reflection of Avery Buras, Ph.D.
Tom’s Place. When I first took this picture I did not notice something that was staring me right in my face. It has always been in front my face, but I have not always seen it. In fact I’ve all too often taken it for granted but will never take it for granted again. That is the resiliency and determination in these people…
I knew this was where Mr. Tom’s restaurant once stood and you can see the lack of fading where the name Tom was once attached to the building. That’s what immediately drew my attention. Tom’s was known for some of the best raw oysters on the planet. People would make the 1 hour trip from New Orleans just to have a couple dozen raw oysters from Tom’s. They were hand picked and perfectly opened by Mr. Tom himself. It was only later that I noticed the table in the front, with oyster shells and a bottle of beer on top of the table that was recovered from the ruins of his restaurant. I don’t know who did this, but they were making a statement. It is a typical means by which these folks choose to express themselves. It will take a while, but these people will be back. You can bet on it.
I believe that I have made it though this storm relatively unscathed when compared to other people. It has been hard. I feel that the dirt has been shaken from my roots but I know things will be o.k. Personally Katrina has had very little impact on my faith in God. My belief in a traditional God, Higher Power, Christ, Yahweh, Muhammad or whatever you name your deity has remained about the same. However, I now have an abounding faith in the people from this region who all seem to have a remarkable faith in their God. If there is a God, he, she or it, most certainly resides in souls of these people. If you want to meet God come and meet these people, talk to them and pray with them.