Back in the 1990s, when the murder rate was about one a day and the economy was in the tank, there was a bumper sticker campaign to boost pride in New Orleans. I have no idea who started the campaign or where people got the bumper stickers, but they proclaimed in black and purple letters on a white background:
New Orleans:
Proud to call it home.
You still see the bumper stickers around. Over the years, some variations have cropped up. There's a French version:
La Nouvelle Orleans:
C'est chez moi.
A Spanish version, the words of which escape me.
A Yiddish version:
New Orleans:
Oy! Such a home!
And my personal favorite,
New Orleans:
Proud to crawl home.
(Note to Fatlanta readers: this has nothing to do with driving on I-285.)
This past week I saw a new one:
New Orleans:
Proud to swim home.
I am still proud to call it home, dammit, in spite of everything. I don't know if the city is going to make it or not, economically, at this point. I have too many friends who have decided not to come back, or who have come back and packed up and left. But I do think the city is worth saving, President Bush and Congress please note. We are Americans too, in case you have forgotten.
The lights are on in City Park for Celebration in the Oaks, a Christmas display of lights in the grand old live oaks that survived the storm. I haven't been there yet for the walking tour, but I plan to go. It's not as big as in years past, but the simple fact that a section of the park has been cleared of debris so the celebration can be held is a tribute to the can-do spirit that is present here in the city in these days. If only we could get the lights on in those darkened neighborhoods. It will happen...but it needs to happen very soon or we will lose too many people.
Mark your calendars. February 28 is Mardi Gras. It's going to be very special this year. Hope you can come. As for me, I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Pastor Kathy
3 comments:
I still love Atlanta and I still love New Orleans. But when you have lived away from Atlanta for five years, the hugeness of it and the speed of development really hit you. It's a little overwhelming.
I am so touched to have so many friends still in Atlanta who care about me, who moved heaven and earth to locate me after the storm. It means so much to me.
You said you don't know who started the stickers. It was the Young Leadership Council of New Orleans that made them. I know this because just days after the US Army Corps of Engineers flooded New Orleans, I made a sticker that read:
"New Orleans
Still Proud to Call it Home"
In less than 5 days, I had raised over $305 by selling these online. All that money, of course, went to the Red Cross.
Then the YLC emailed me with contact info for their lawyer. They said they have the copyright for the phrase "Proud to Call it Home." They told me to talk to their lawyer about it and when I said I'm 15, they said that I should just stop selling the stickers.
I listened to them because they said they would work with me to make this something really big. That never happened of course, despite my many emails to them.
Now, Metro Three on Magazine sells the shirts. I asked, and they said that none of the proceeds go to charity. They said they talked to the guy who had the idea about it, and I told them that I'm that guy and they never talked to me. The YLC doesn't seem to care about people selling the shirts for personal gain.
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