Many years ago, I left the place that birthed and nurtured me, and made home in other parts of the world. I’ve been back a while, but this is the year I’ve determined to reconnect with my roots, and as T.S. Eliot observed, “…the end of all our exploring will be to arrive from where we started and know the place for the first time.” So far, it’s been eye-opening and heartwarming, but also at times heartbreaking. Besides happily re-connecting with old friends, I’m learning new

Like flotsam and jetsam we landed in shelters and on doorsteps in places that other people called home – flopping on couches or floors and gratefully accepting the kindness of both strangers and distant friends. Many of us who were St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans area Katrina refugees, had evacuated from homes which were turned into mucky rubble. When we could return home after more than a month, we found that swampy waters had marinated the contents of our homes, wood flo