EDITORIAL: Looking after Gustav

Tag : jogger shoes

Tuesday afternoon, a man wearing running shoes and jogging shortsran the St. Charles streetcar tracks toward Carrollton Avenue. Hisfeet were cushioned by fallen leaves, and he had to run aroundbroken branches.
Even so, amidst a scene of brokenness, the man was a runningharbinger of normalcy. New Orleans will bounce back far morequickly this time than it did after Hurricane Katrina.
More encouraging than the appearance of a jogger a day after thestorm was the sight of so many bored-looking officers from the NewOrleans Police Department. The large show of force will redeem thedepartment in the eyes of residents let down by its defectionsduring Katrina.
That the officers who stayed for Gustav seemed largely unoccupiedmeant that residents had heeded the city's call for evacuation andthat police, and the National Guard members who supported them, hadan easy job keeping order.
Gustav still did damage. Residents returning to town will quicklysee the destructive force of a Category 2 storm landing well westof us. But they won't see the level of destruction that was feared.
Whatever residents see, they should be encouraged. Katrina dealtthe city a near-death blow, but Gustav we can handle.