I went to New Orleans recently to do some guerrilla vlogging. I asked people what they wanted to say about New Orleans today and their future. I asked people what they wanted me to know about their city. They wanted me to tell you that they're alive. They are alive.
It's not the politics. It's not the water. It's not the death and devastation. It's not the humiliation that Katrina brought to all of our homes through the scenes of government failure and abandonment.
They are not pathetic, doomed, corrupt, racist, lawless or any such nonsense. They are alive and struggling to bring themselves back from the absolute worst thing that any one of us can face in our own lives. They got wiped out.
But they are alive and I've got the tape to prove it. Follow me below the fold to meet Kojak Davis.
Just one quick note up front. Each of these diaries will feature the interview without too much embellishment and will bring in one aspect of life in New Orleans as it relates to this interview. For Kojak, I could have gone with the crime story but I chose not to. Instead I bring in the hospital story at the end, briefly.
Previous vlogs in this series can be viewed here:
- NOLA Speaks - The Teaser
- NOLA Speaks - Meet Ed and Hillery Moise (like lou-ise)
- NOLA Speaks - Meet John Barquet and Tessa too.
Tessa and I were walking down Frenchman St. and saw Kojak at his desk on the phone through the door. Tessa says, "knock and ask him if he wants to talk." And boy was that ever the right inclination. Kojak blew me away with his honesty and the free-wheeling and wide-ranging discussion that we had regarding his experiences in New Orleans since Katrina. Kojak is a small business owner of Laborde Printing Co. located on Frenchman St. in New Orleans, LA. It's in the Marigny (mar-ah-knee) which is just off the quarter. He stayed in New Orleans for nine long days after Katrina came through and then the levees failed. He's been back since January 2006 and he rightly points out to us in this vlog in so many ways that while Katrina may be something that happened to us in the past for people in the region Katrina is everyday, today. I said before in a diary and I'll reprint it here: "Today Katrina is a slow burn leaching the strength and vitality out of an entire region of the nation the approximate size of Great Britain. People are starting over and they are getting some joy back into their lives, but the rebuild is being done by people on their own. That's not right." And it ain't right, not in America, not in the kind of America that I want to live in. That I need to live in. That we all need to live in.
No time? Try the highlight reel, but come back and hear what Kojak has to say, it's vitally important. Video: Kojak Davis - Highlights (9:42)
and now for our regularly scheduled vlog
Video: Kojak Davis - Part 1 (5:20)
What's your name and where are you from? Kojak Davis, originally born in Chicago Illinois. I've been here going on seven years. Small business owner. We're in the Marigny (mar-ah-knee) a half a block from the Quarter. Now you were here during Katrina? Yes, I was here. I did not leave the city until a week and 2 days after. That was probably a long nine days.
See the thing is you were waiting for an absolution that would never come. That was the whole thing. Well, everybody waited and waited and I don't know if it's just because of this city or if it's politics - I don't know. And I don't want to compare Katrina to 9/11... but if something like this happened in Texas? If this storm had happened in Texas do you know how fast Bush would have had people there? We had people dying here and I saw it. And walking in water up to here it was like, there was no way. You would think that stuff like this would happen in third world countries, but in the US?
He talks about the perception of New Orleans outside the region but returns to the central point about waiting and waiting. We caught Kojak at a very frustrating time, he had just been contacted by the SBA the day we walked into his place and asked him for an interview:
My whole thing is - it's ridiculous at how long it took. And here it is a year and a half later people still haven't got money or any kind of assistance. You have small business owners, like me, that pay into the system, the SBA wouldn't exist if it wasn't for us. Now we were talking before I started filming that you were just contacted
By the SBA today! Today Today! Yeah here it's what [we look at the wall calendar] It's eighteen months and two weeks and this is the first opportunity that you've had to discuss your financial future in the city with the SBA. Yup.
So you were evacuated? Yes I went to Phoenix, Arizona for about two weeks and then I ended up renting a car and driving to Wilmington, NC so ... [laughter] Hey, whatever. And I ended up coming back to the city in January of last year. It just really really irks me that we're still dealing with this issue.
There's a lot of different faults that this lies under. Not necessarily saying that it's Bush's fault or Governor Blanco's fault everybody is just kind of you know. And to be frank with you the city is crooked, I mean you can't change history. [laughter] That's just reality, but the process has just taken way too long. Why should my offices still look like this? Yeah because it's people like you that are essential to bring back first so that you have a critical mass of people coming back as residents.
We continue our discussion about people coming back. If you've read any of these previous vlogs then you know that I'm a big advocate for those that have returned and wish to in the future but Kojak discusses a very important reality of the Katrina Diaspora and he has a major axe to grind with the way relief/recovery funds have been distributed.
Video: Kojak Davis - Part 2 (5:19)
How about the rents? Are they jacked up in the city? People are gouging everybody everywhere. It's crazy... People that have tried to return here? Rent that used to be like two or three hundred dollars for a little studio in the quarter has gone up to 800 to 900 dollars. Yeah, how can they afford it? And a lot of these people, see they want people to come back.
They want people to come back here to the city, but a lot of people have moved on. I have a lot of friends that are in Houston. They found better schools for their kids, they're getting all kind of assistance and things like that to restart their own businesses and ... Real hospitals There should be no way that we should down here like this. What was it on the news this past weekend that all of our hospitals are full and it takes about 12 to 24 hours to get seen? Yeah, I saw that in the Times-Picayune too. But we have a 200 bed hospital that's just sitting there empty? Charity Hospital. Yeah one of the things they said in the article is that the wait time at the hospital is equal to the drive time to Houston. Yup, yup. I think they said Dallas [on the news] Oh okay, so you can drive to Dallas, get treated and come back in less time than it takes to go to a local hospital. And the main clinic that everyone went to? [Gone.] See you've got to realize that New Orleans is a poor city but it's not a poor city. There's a lot of money that comes in here. Tourists everywhere. But my main concern is that people like me that did pay into the system. We got screwed. Royally. Why am I waiting a year and a half later to get a response from the SBA and you had people that were getting 40,000 dollar loans and going and getting sex changes and every thing else? And then they're telling everyone who actually paid into the SBA - our tax dollars: screw you.
If you want to see my opinion on why federal monies are not forthcoming then take a look at the end of the John Barquet vlog. As far as the local red tape, I'll take Kojak's word on that.
We continue, like I said in the opening graf Kojak really gets into it - no holds barred. Thank you so much Mr. Davis:
And now the crime rate is just ridiculous. It's crazy, but what can you do? I can understand your perspective, but from my perspective this town has a lot of appeal. That's what you fall in love with [points to wall map of the French Quarter.] When people come down here they view from here to here [points to map boundaries], that's all they see. And they don't see anything else because they don't go out. Like going to the projects and going to the Ninth Ward, it's like a war zone through there. It's crazy but one thing I am glad for is that about 90% of the businesses have reopened in the French Quarter. This is what makes the city money.
He talks to me about the "stupid looters, that was just nuts it was miles before you could even plug in [stolen TV]". Can't argue with that.
Video: Kojak Davis - Part 3 (8:16)
Everybody suffered in this storm and now people are really suffering because nobody wants to honor insurance policies. Are you seeing that the insurance companies are separating it out into the hurricane and then the flood where the flood is not covered? Good luck with getting anything from an insurance company. That's the thing. What was it? State Farm that pulled out of Mississippi? That's crazy.
But yet you have people that are paying thousands and thousands for years what was the last storm we had? 30-40 years ago? Something like that and all these people paying all this money and then a storm comes through and you cut them off. The state of Mississippi got more money that us here. Everything here was under water and I don't want to get into politics, but... Trent Lott's rubbles needed to be rebuilt. But when you think about it and see what's happening. They lost casinos over there. People lost homes here, everything that they had over here. And half of these people didn't have anything much to begin with. To begin with, right - it'll take ten times longer to build back what they did have. Right, and too the people that did have something want to return back but they can't afford it. And some of them found better lives in North Carolina, Texas, Seattle WA. The kids are in good schools. Period. I would like for people come back but some of them just can't afford it and this city will continue to suffer. I can understand legitimate people asking for help and that's what those tax dollars are there for. Why are they withholding it?
Kojak is referring to Betsy in 65 and Camille in 69. Betsy causes massive flooding in New Orleans and the surrounding parishes. Camille was a storm that caused more damage east of New Orleans up into the Mississippi coast. His point is exactly right, the insurance companies have had 40 years in between storms to collect premiums and then Katrina hits and they renege. A special circle in hell is waiting for them and their enablers.
Then we get into a sad reality of the possible ramifications of this storm and the way the relief and recovery was handled. Kojak seems to be the kind of guy that full well accepts personal responsibility for his actions, but he told us, not in so many words but it's here on the tape, that he was angry at the "bad name" that some of the residents gave to his city. The looters, people taking advantage of the first FEMA outlays, the opportunists, they all come out of the woodwork when something like a Katrina happens. These comments were echoed in the interviews I did with others down there, Cecil in particular.
Karl Marx wrote that history repeats: "the first time as tragedy, the second as farce." Kojak talks about how one of the lasting effects of this storm may very well be that next time there won't be an open arms policy. By which is meant that the hardships born by cities and towns that took in Katrina evacuees may not be forthcoming next time. I hope he's wrong, but I fear that he might be right.
We continue, remember that Kojak was in the city for 9 days after Katrina came through and then the levees failed:
I think that one of the reasons it might have been so bad in New Orleans is because there was a lot of poverty here before Katrina but also because everyone must have felt so alone and so abandoned. It was very, very difficult. It must have been difficult to accept as a person that there was no cavalry [coming] Yeah and then it was like, huh, what am I going to do? And you see people around you. We were very fortunate to have our own food and stuff like that to get us by but it was literally that people were just dying. And you could see bodies laying on the street. And it's like.. I can't really talk about it... It was totally unnecessary and I would never wish that anybody. [Kojak gets choked up here and Tessa changes the subject] Tessa: So you're still doing business right? Yes. We went from 30 employees down to one. Tessa: Where are all those people? Houston mostly. They just moved on with their lives, we can't afford them.
Tessa also gets a chunk of the ceiling to fall on her head in this clip. It was one of the funniest things that happening during the whole trip.
Video: Kojak Davis - Part 4 (6:04)
Kojak then "invites us" to check out the back and see his trailers and we get a peak at the patina in the LeBorde Printing Company. The original family started the business back in 1872 or so. He has a really cute set-up back there with the trailers, plants, an outside dining table for an al fresco meal and a beautiful old tree that was luckily saved from damage by the storm. Tree hugger? Guilty as charged. Aesthetics are important and if you watch these clips I hope you are reminded that life goes on in New Orleans whether you're living in a trailer or not.
Life. Work. Family. Friends. The necessities of life.
We continue with our discussion, Tessa participates a lot here. That chunk of ceiling upside the head in Part 3 really got her into the "game," and a good thing because she emphasizes the grocery store story and is very attuned to the plight of business owners in the city today.
Tessa: Do you still have as many clients? Our business declined by 65%. It's either we don't have the manpower or people just can't afford it. I don't know how many printing companies have gone out of business. Just the major ones are around like BCT and Wendell. A lot of people are suffering. You have some places, like McDonalds [the fast food chain], I've never heard of McDonald's paying people 13 or 14 dollars an hour. People were just desperate, you go to the McDonald's less than five minutes from here and the only thing that's working is the drive through. They can't even staff the counter inside? No. It's amazing all of our grocery stores are closed. You have people like Donald Trump trying to build expensive places here... but what about the everyday people that used to live here? They can't afford to pay one or two million dollars for a piece of property. The middle-class. I can see the plan with trying to boost the city and try to get more money in, but other than that it's the little people that count. And we're just getting screwed. We make the city go round and round to get the money in because if it wasn't for the little business owners and things like that there ... There would be no flavor. I'll tell you what the nearest supermarket okay? We used to have one that was five blocks from here, Robert's, then you had Winn-Dixie that was on the other side of the French Quarter. Now if you want to go to the grocery store then you have to drive 35-40 minutes. What do people do? Wal-Mart - that's all that's left.
No comment.
Friday Cat Blogging Clip. I realize full well that this clip is not in keeping with the spirit of Friday cat blogging which is a smell the roses, thank God it's Friday, we made it to the end of a long week, kind of a deal but it fits with this project. Putty-tats and a whole lot of sustained human suffering are featured in this clip. It's never Friday for so many of our fellow Americans still dealing with Katrina on a daily basis, but you can see that Kojak has retained his capacity for love and kindness. He still has an appreciation for the little things in life. Sometimes the little things are the biggest things you could ever have. And Don, featured in clip 4, is the one that spoils them - so thanks for spoiling them Don, those putty-tats make this clip a lot more human.
Video: Kojak Davis - Part 5 (5:57)
But the thing is that they have to start looking after the little people. Start helping some people out and stop all this bureaucratic red tape. Because like I said they're losing a lot of people and a lot of businesses They're losing people they need going forward. Right, they're taking their businesses elsewhere. Everyone either moved to Jefferson Parish or across the river so all those tax dollars that used to be here? It's going over there.
Tessa: There's no tax amnesty either. They've got city and parish tax like a county tax. So if you don't own anything then you're better off then if you do own something and there was no post Katrina amnesty for the business owners. This doesn't make any sense because small businesses are the life blood of any community. Walk up and down the French Quarter, all of those are small business owners that are through there. Even some of the hotels, it's just ... I don't know what they're going to do but they really need to figure out something. Tessa: What are you going to do? I'm still debating. You want to be here? Yes, I love this city. Tessa: If the SBA came in here and gave you your money today, could you rebuild? Forty thousand? That won't even cover my expenses for the damage to my home. You have to fend for yourself, people have gone into debt like I said waiting for an absolution that will never come. Taking loans from banks. Everybody is hurting and the people are trying to stick it out. I think it's the love of the city. But it is a great city and it has it's own charm. You know? We have putty-tats like this one. Things will get better hopefully. The Quarter was packed today. The Quarter has been doing very well and this street here, Frenchman St. It's jazz clubs and it's been doing well too. It's slowly coming around, slowly. He's opening back up [points to neighbor's building] and this one is another blues club. But what I think is the biggest issue is ...
We get interrupted by the postal carrier. We're walking around to the front of the building and Kojak sees her walking away from his store. He says, "Hey sweetheart, I was hiding from you." She replies, "your bills are still there."
And that's how I'd like to end Kojak's portion of this vlog today. He is still there. He loves his city. He is struggling to come back from pretty much getting wiped out. He's willing to drive 40 minutes to get groceries. He's willing to put up with a lot of nonsense. He takes all the personal responsibility that any business owner needs to do in order to succeed and prosper. He's got deep roots in the Marigny, a desire and ability to succeed, but he must be enabled to succeed in the system he must operate in by the system.
He's been waiting for an absolution that has yet come. Waiting for far too long.
He's not waiting for his bills to be delivered. Those come just fine and like clockwork - he's just waiting for the cavalry. He's waiting for the support he was promised with every check he signed to pay his taxes and the support he was promised when he worked hard and paid his dues everyday as a productive and sadly unsung little person and small business owner in his community.
And speaking of waiting and sustained human suffering. I went and dug up the article from the Times-Picayune archives about the hospital story we discussed in Part 2 above.
Hospitals run out of space For more than a week, hospitals in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish have run out of space to admit patients who are piling up in emergency rooms with respiratory ailments and other seasonal illnesses, exposing how fragile the region's health care infrastructure remains a year and a half after Hurricane Katrina... The wait time in the emergency room at Touro Infirmary is four to six hours on a typical night -- about the amount of time it takes to drive to Houston. Since the beginning of the month, waits have mushroomed to seven or eight hours -- the equivalent of a road trip to Dallas or Atlanta.
Impact of losing Charity Guarisco surmised that hospitals are not expanding their capacity as more patients return because the profile of the average patient has changed since the storm. Since Charity Hospital succumbed to flooding, uninsured patients have swamped the surviving emergency rooms. The state has reimbursed the hospitals only a fraction of what it costs to treat these patients, many of whom have serious illness because they do not receive routine care. "In health care right now, the more patients you see, the more likely it is that you are going to lose money," Guarisco said. "Until there is better funding of health care in New Orleans, I don't think the hospitals and physicians are going to expand their capacities. In fact, you will see constriction going on."
No comment again except to point out that Kojak was exactly right about the Dallas reference and putting the story into the context of losing Charity to the water after Katrina. This story is big one and I don't have the time to do it justice, so I'll just throw up this one article and leave the rest of the story for another time. This vlog is Kojak's he's waited for it for almost three weeks.
Kojak - I wish you all the peace, joy, success, happiness and absolution that I could ever muster for you. Tessa and I thank you so much for your honesty and your time.
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