Day 4 of Project Homecoming in NOLA was yet another mixture of awesome culture, strong feelings, and delicious food. Over the past few days we’ve been working on the same house, whose owner is the lively and knowledgeable New Orleans native Mrs. Connie. Today, we were honored with the opportunity to finally meet Mrs. Connie and have a great conversation with her. Mrs. Connie began by simply telling us her story. She talked about how she had moved most of her things uptown just before the storm hit. How during evacuation of the city she was taken to Birmingham, AB. Then, after the floods had hit, going back to her home and seeing the damages that had occurred, “It was like I was in a black and white movie and I couldn’t get out.” The damages to her home were so bad that the only option was to knock it down and start over. Due to a forced mortgage, she didn’t have insurance money to build a new house, so she was forced to stay in Birmingham, and ended up staying for a year. Now, ten years later, she is finally getting her house back. Of the construction, she said, “No professionals could have built my house like this, they’re only in it for the money. Only heroes could make this a reality.” Mrs. Connie’s faith in humanity was so refreshing. She truly believes in good people in the world and reinforced MY desire to help people. The day rounded out with another trip to the French Quarter where we dined at the famous Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and dined on some of Forrest’s favorite meals.
