Fix it - and they will come (back)

I've waited several days to write this article because I wanted to see if my opinion changed. It hasn't.

The topic is New Orleans, and the fact that they managed to re-open the Super Dome. I ask myself many times this week which is more important - to bring commerce back to support the city or rebuild the homes destroyed by hurricane Katrina? I suppose it would be easy to say commerce is more important if you can afford a $100.00 ticket to the game and then drive or fly home to your own comfy bed. But ask someone who is still living in temporary housing, their families separated and spread across the USA, some without a home at all, and I bet the answer would be different.

Millions - possibly billions - were spent to repair the Super Dome. No doubt the sold out crowd generated millions of dollars as well - but how much of that went to help restore the community? Did the players donate part of their multi-million dollar salaries to the cause? Imagine what could be accomplished if the thousands of people who attend the game worked just a couple of hours before the game to help rebuild.

In my opinion, the poor people of New Orleans have been let down yet again. I understand the importance of fixing the Super Dome so it could possibly be used as a shelter again. But lets get our priorities straight. First get people back in their homes. Then have a big grand event to celebrate - and invite those people!