Ali - For Those Concerned

2 weeks ago tonight, my family rolled into New Orleans, 14 hours after setting forth from Kansas City. Saturday, we wandered around the French Quarter, drove down hip and bohemian Magazine Street, visited the spectacular Tulane University campus, and ate the best dinner of my life at a restaurant named HerbSaint. Sunday, we had beignets, dropped Ali off at Tulane, and headed toward Memphis.

Saturday morning, Ali instant messaged us and told us she wanted to come home. We had heard from a friend with connections that an evacuation order would be issued later in the day. We called around, and got her a direct flight to Kansas City, to return on this past Wednesday. Personally, I was happy to have her come home, but a part of me thought it made just as much sense to stay there and either go with the rest of the university or mosey on over to the Superdome to ride it out. I am such a stupid midwesterner, and I'm truly blessed that my daughter is smarter than I am.

So, Ali's home, safe and sound. She's been super, donating water to the relief effort, enrolling at Rockhurst University (which has been unbelievably helpful and kind). I know she's hurting for missing her opportunity to have a freshman first semester at a beautiful campus in a thriving city, but she's also wise enough to realize that the people who surrounded her less than a week ago are living through a hell that only few can imagine (and I hope is lined up for Bush for eternity when he meets his maker).

It's been a wild week. The most important thing to me is that Ali is safe and sound. The saddest thing is that so many are not. And the glorious city I loved less than two weeks ago is changed, changed utterly, and even a terrible beauty is hard to foresee.