Yes. Faded. Mardi Gras Beads. Rusted. Fleur de Lis.

These are great symbols. Icons. Of a city who calls itself, “The city that care forgot.” Well. Maybe once. New Orleans is in the middle of some pretty intense gentrification. A building boom. Never ending road construction. Since FEMA agreed that the state of our streets was the fault of the storm and the subsequent flood, they are footing the bill for a total street reconstruction.

That’s good. Right?

Maybe.

You’ve heard me complain about the potholes and the terrible condition of our streets for a long time. Consider this. The streets in our neighborhood have been under some kind of construction since we moved to this house. Three years ago. If anything changed, our streets — we live on a corner — have deteriorated further. All manner of vehicles pass through. Drivers are looking for a bypass around the major construction. When I say all manner, I mean that. Semi tractors and trailers. Dump trucks. Road graders. School buses. Tour buses. Our streets need fixing. So repairing them is good. Right?

Well.

It’s an 18 year plan that we are talking about. Our neighborhood is scheduled to have the work begin almost at the end of that. So, we are looking at 2034. That assumes that road construction goes as planned. You know that never happens. There are always delays. Overruns. Added costs. Besides, this is FEMA funded. Hahahahahahahaha.  I reckon by that time, our street will be a dirt road. In an urban setting.

The picture. Simple. The faded Mardi Gras beads drew me to the scene. That’s what they look like after the sun and rain and humidity have stripped them of all their color. Black. White. Gray. Cheap plastic beads. Luckily they were hung on an iron fence that is topped with fleur di lis. Our symbol. The state’s. The city’s. The NFL football team’s.

I think the combination is symbolic. Iconic.

The rest is all manipulation in post production. For the cinematic effect.

That may be symbolic too.