Jazz musician Henry Butler calls himself an ambassador of New Orleans music. He loves the city where he was born and lived for decades. But like tens of thousands of others displaced by Hurricane Katrina, he has yet to return to live.Read the rest here.
These days, he stays in hotels or with friends when he visits the Big Easy. It pains him, but that's the reality for many of those exiled by Katrina.
"I love New Orleans. I love the music. I love the food. I love the people here. And we would all love to see New Orleans function better," Butler says. "[But] do I relocate and reinvest, or do I reconsider?"
His reasons for not returning are many. His home in the Gentilly neighborhood was wiped out and has yet to be rebuilt. But he says the city's spiraling crime rate plays a major factor in his decision on whether to return.
"You got to understand: I'm a blind person who if I was in the wrong area and somebody wanted to get me, it would be pretty easy for them to do it," he says.
For more on Henry Butler:
www.HenryButler.com
No comments:
Post a Comment