Having A "Blue Roof" Christmas
For those of us who lost most of our worldly goods and financial security
courtesy of a certain harpy named Katrina, times are tough on one's morale
to say the least. With the onset of the "holidays," AKA Christmas, a time
of year that can be magical for most though suicidal for quite a few, having
a healthy psyche is critical.
For plenty of families, this will be their first Christmas not spent at home
but in the tight confines of a FEMA trailer or a government financed room at
the Motel 6. An effective way for many people to deal with tragedy is
attaining mirth through a sense of humor.
Westbank landscaper Frank Evans thought he could provide some of this
medicine with his Christmas village display, which he has assembled for 13
years at Lakeside Mall in the relatively unscathed suburb of Metairie.
Evans attempt to incorporate a slice of the shared misfortune in his
elaborate and meticulously detailed holiday display briefly landed him in
hot water when a handful of mall patrons vented their spleens at the
Lakeside management for "mocking" victims of Katrina through his model
village replete with miniature blue tarps over the little homes and tiny
refrigerators bearing common post-hurricane proclamations such as "You loot,
I shoot."
Perhaps its most impressive aspect was an army helicopter that whirled in a
circle above with a rescuee dangling from a rope.
Sensitive to the angst of people who may or may not have lost a single
shingle from Katrina, Evans was asked to modify his display, christened
"Katrina Ridge."
Amazingly, nobody complained over the cross on the village church or the
words "Christmas" that brazenly appears on the diorama, which is the only
place in the entire mall you'll find the "C-word."
Unlike the celebrated cause of "campaign finance reform," there was a
spontaneous public outcry over the censuring of Evans's work.
Lakeside Mall wasn't the only entity to catch an earful. Some pro-Katrina
Village people suspected that politics might have played a part in the
display's yanking due to a small complex labeled "(Aaron) Broussard Pumping
Station No. 1 Only Works When It's Not Raining."
The embattled Jefferson Parish President, who has been shown as of late to
be a person of thin skin, immediately offered to host Evans's on parish
property, memorialized pumping station and all.
Over one thousand protests flooded the mall's management office demanding
that the trees and model cars be restored to their previous uprooted and
flipped positions. Once again the "blue roofs" were unfurled on the tiny
houses, with the only concession being that the house search "X's" be
covered, something Evans added to honor the many state National Guard units
who assisted in the house-to-house survivor checks.
In the one departure from reality, "Katrina Ridge" suffered no casualties
and all of the "X's" had zeroes below them.
Evans, who only receives reimbursement for the materials used to build the
display, has previously worked other contemporary and controversial news
items into his Christmas village, including references to Edwin Edwards
imprisonment, the hunt for Bin Laden, a chemical spill in Bogalusa, and the
2000 presidential election (one train running around the tracks had Bush's
name on it while a derailed locomotive bore Gore's name).
Not long after "Katrina Village" was established at Lakeside, the Audubon
Zoo did something similar in their Louisiana Swamp exhibit, throwing a blue
tarp over a faux cabin situated in the alligator pit, though word must have
not gotten back to those folks who wear their emotional synapses on their
sleeves.
And so art has magnanimously been grated permission to once again imitate
life and throngs have hit the New Orleans area mecca of commerce not just to
take advantage of the Gap's special on sequenced women's jeans but to also
elbow their way through the several rows thick of gawkers to catch a glimpse
of a benign presentation of what is America's most unique Christmas village.
So for those of you out there having to make do with a "Blue Roof
Christmas," try to look at the bright side and remember, Mary and Joseph
spent their Christmas Eve in more humble accommodations than a gutted house
in Lexington Place.
courtesy of a certain harpy named Katrina, times are tough on one's morale
to say the least. With the onset of the "holidays," AKA Christmas, a time
of year that can be magical for most though suicidal for quite a few, having
a healthy psyche is critical.
For plenty of families, this will be their first Christmas not spent at home
but in the tight confines of a FEMA trailer or a government financed room at
the Motel 6. An effective way for many people to deal with tragedy is
attaining mirth through a sense of humor.
Westbank landscaper Frank Evans thought he could provide some of this
medicine with his Christmas village display, which he has assembled for 13
years at Lakeside Mall in the relatively unscathed suburb of Metairie.
Evans attempt to incorporate a slice of the shared misfortune in his
elaborate and meticulously detailed holiday display briefly landed him in
hot water when a handful of mall patrons vented their spleens at the
Lakeside management for "mocking" victims of Katrina through his model
village replete with miniature blue tarps over the little homes and tiny
refrigerators bearing common post-hurricane proclamations such as "You loot,
I shoot."
Perhaps its most impressive aspect was an army helicopter that whirled in a
circle above with a rescuee dangling from a rope.
Sensitive to the angst of people who may or may not have lost a single
shingle from Katrina, Evans was asked to modify his display, christened
"Katrina Ridge."
Amazingly, nobody complained over the cross on the village church or the
words "Christmas" that brazenly appears on the diorama, which is the only
place in the entire mall you'll find the "C-word."
Unlike the celebrated cause of "campaign finance reform," there was a
spontaneous public outcry over the censuring of Evans's work.
Lakeside Mall wasn't the only entity to catch an earful. Some pro-Katrina
Village people suspected that politics might have played a part in the
display's yanking due to a small complex labeled "(Aaron) Broussard Pumping
Station No. 1 Only Works When It's Not Raining."
The embattled Jefferson Parish President, who has been shown as of late to
be a person of thin skin, immediately offered to host Evans's on parish
property, memorialized pumping station and all.
Over one thousand protests flooded the mall's management office demanding
that the trees and model cars be restored to their previous uprooted and
flipped positions. Once again the "blue roofs" were unfurled on the tiny
houses, with the only concession being that the house search "X's" be
covered, something Evans added to honor the many state National Guard units
who assisted in the house-to-house survivor checks.
In the one departure from reality, "Katrina Ridge" suffered no casualties
and all of the "X's" had zeroes below them.
Evans, who only receives reimbursement for the materials used to build the
display, has previously worked other contemporary and controversial news
items into his Christmas village, including references to Edwin Edwards
imprisonment, the hunt for Bin Laden, a chemical spill in Bogalusa, and the
2000 presidential election (one train running around the tracks had Bush's
name on it while a derailed locomotive bore Gore's name).
Not long after "Katrina Village" was established at Lakeside, the Audubon
Zoo did something similar in their Louisiana Swamp exhibit, throwing a blue
tarp over a faux cabin situated in the alligator pit, though word must have
not gotten back to those folks who wear their emotional synapses on their
sleeves.
And so art has magnanimously been grated permission to once again imitate
life and throngs have hit the New Orleans area mecca of commerce not just to
take advantage of the Gap's special on sequenced women's jeans but to also
elbow their way through the several rows thick of gawkers to catch a glimpse
of a benign presentation of what is America's most unique Christmas village.
So for those of you out there having to make do with a "Blue Roof
Christmas," try to look at the bright side and remember, Mary and Joseph
spent their Christmas Eve in more humble accommodations than a gutted house
in Lexington Place.
posted by BourbonConservative at 7:00 PM
2 Comments:
Hope things are going better for you. It's been a long time since I've checked this blog (although I've been reading quite a lot about the recovery efforts and have blogged on them several times-- we can't let this whole situation just slip into America's attic.)
I read that they are beginning demolition today in St. Bernard. That must be an amazingly tough decision for people who have never really gotten to go through everything and hope to find something.
Best of luck and best wishes to you and yours (don't know if you are still coming here).
Still have the same sentiments as before (today is 8/16). God Bless. And know that there are a lot of people in other places who haven't forgotten about you and would still like to help if we knew how (the major media has moved on though I'm sure we'll see a lot of one year anniversary stories coming up soon).
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