Published: March 25, 2008 12:40 pm      

New Orleans could emerge into world-class city

EDMOND — After the Great Fire of London in 1666 reduced much of that city to rubble and ash, architect Christopher Wren was instructed by King Charles II to rebuild St. Paul’s Cathedral. The architect began to make plans for the cathedral to rise from its charred ashes, and soon was supervising a group of workers who were clearing out rubble from the knave of that burnt structure. One day, Wren asked one of the laborers to bring him a stone so he could mark a point on the cathedral floor. The stone that was brought to him had a Latin inscription on it. Wren was a classical scholar, and realized the words written on it translated to “I will arise.” That occurrence soon was disseminated throughout the British capital as an omen that the Cathedral and London itself would arise from the ashes. It gave hope and encouragement to London’s residents.

A somewhat similar omen of the city of New Orleans’ survival and rebirth after Hurricane Katrina may be found in the number of visitors who are returning to it to participate in its public festivals and parades that are part of its civic culture. The Mardi Gras celebration earlier this year was well attended as were the recently concluded St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

New Orleans has had a sizable Irish population since the early 1800s and has a historic neighborhood that is known as the “Irish Channel” where a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held several weeks ago. The marchers included members of a variety of local groups as well as a delegation of police officers from New York City. One of those officers from the Big Apple said she was struck by the friendliness and enthusiasm of the people along the parade route and the fact she was allowed to drink when the parade stopped in front of bars. Many of the local marchers wore kilts and held flowers that they dispensed to women in the crowd whom they kissed. The parade also included floats from which participants threw green beads and occasionally heads of cabbages and carrots and potatoes to the crowd.

The suburb of Metairie had a St. Patrick’s Day parade on the following day, and District Attorney Paul Connick hosted a party on the grounds of his law office that is located on the parade route. The warmth and generosity of the people of the New Orleans area was evident at that gathering as well. A member of a prominent political family, Penny Lentini, asked a visitor from Oklahoma to whom she was introduced to call her “Aunt Penny.” She invited him to her home to sample the Italian food that she prepares there to feed her frequent guests.

While the majority of people at both events where white, the blacks who were there enjoyed the same festive spirit that gripped the white participants. At one point Connick had a lengthy conversation with an influential black state legislator, Cedric Richmond, which involved a discussion of public policy issues. At the end of the conversation the two leaders agreed to meet again in the future, and Redmond told the district attorney that his younger brother Patrick Connick, who recently was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, was proving to be a good legislator.

Such events may lend credence to Barrak Obama’s recent assertion that some political leaders have transcended racial differences and are working for the common good. Just as London arose from the ashes of the Great Fire as a dynamic city that would become a world capital, it is possible that the New Orleans that will in time emerge out of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina will be a world-class city.



WILLIAM F. O’BRIEN is an Oklahoma City attorney.