The first time I went to New Orleans was 6 months after Katrina to try and do a story about the conditions of the city after the catastrophe that was the flooding of one of our national treasures as Mardi Gras approached. I was amazed by what I saw, a city still in ruins, but with an energy that would not be broken.
I also managed to get into the huge FEMA park outside Baton Rouge, where I met Elmer Westbrook of East New Orleans who just wanted to go fishing. They are not many places to fish around the Baton Rouge area so he practiced in the dusty parking lot of the Baker, LA trailer park.
This is the type of person I found the most, hurt, displaced, but unwilling to let their lives be completely rearranged by terrible events outside of their control.
As the disaster in the Gulf continues, I hope that all Louisiana and Gulf coast residents get back what they have lost, and get to fish wherever they damn well please.
I sent Elmer the photo, but never heard back. I like to think he got back to his favorite fishing hole outside New Orleans.