August 29 will mark the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall. Last year, celebrations and remembrances were well publicized. This year, not so much. Maybe in realization of the fact that recovery is still a long, long road.
Last year, amateur New Orleans photographer Justin Lundgren proposed an annual ritual dinner in remembrance. It was moving and spiritual. But his http://www.katrinadinner2006.com has disappeared from the web. And it has not been replaced by a katrinadinner2007.com site.
Partial bits of his idea can be found on various blogs and websites. I am risking copying parts of them here, since the idea, I think, is too beautiful to lose:
Welcome All New Orleanians, no matter where you are!!
I always used to tell friends that "New Orleans is a state of mind". That sentiment is truer now than ever. The wind and water of Katrina fractured our beloved town. It tore our community apart. And despite our varying individual circumstances, I believe that most of us yearn for wholeness. For reunion.
A few months ago, the idea of a ritual came to me. How powerful would it be if every New Orleanian currently living in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and every other town across the country, sat down at the same time to recognize the losses of the last year and to reaffirm their connection to the city? And how great would it be if this ritual centered around the favorite activity of every homegrown New Orleanian, eating? The entire New Orleans diaspora could sit down simultaneously, fork in hand, to tell the world that this was a special place, a special community, one worth fighting to restore.
And so, with that in mind, I humbly offer a basic outline of the first ever "Katrina Dinner" to be held on the one year anniversary of this momentous event. The outline does not have to be acted out literally, although you're certainly welcome to follow it word for word. My hope is that it will be fun and delicious with only a smidgen of hokiness. Like everything in New Orleans, feel free to improvise. Make up your own blessings, your own questions, your own ritual food plate. Invent your own way of celebrating the city that connects us all.
This August 29th, 2006, only a portion of the city will be where it's supposed to be: HOME. But we can still eat together.
Everything you need to know can be found at http://www.katrinadinner2006.com/ : the candle blessing, an ingredients list, the five questions, the readings, the ritual food plate, the Katrina Gris-Gris, and much more.
Justin Lundgren
~~~~~
The Katrina dinner that Lundgren details on his Web site consists of 20 to 25 minutes of ritual before a group meal. He has tried to get his idea out to as many people as possible, and overall the reaction has been positive. Lundgren's suggested recipes are from Emeril's Web site, but you can use your own, or make it a pot luck.
The ritual starts with a candle blessing, then proceeds to five questions (at right), asked by the youngest person and answered by the oldest.
Adults then take turns with the readings, a selection from Lafcadio Hearn, John Kennedy Toole, Louis Armstrong, Charles Dudley Warner, Andrei Codrescu, Jed Horne and Martin Luther King Jr.
Next up is ritual tasting of very small bites of symbolic foods, and Lundgren suggests that the person who has attended the most Mardi Gras parades should read the text for it. Sips of wine clear the palate between bites, and "if this ritual is performed correctly, everyone should be a tad drunk by the end," Lundgren writes.
Cane syrup reminds attendees of the sweetness of life, and dill pickle symbolizes its bitterness. Oysters symbolically link us to the sea and wetlands. A chocolate reminds us "that in New Orleans it's sometimes OK to eat dessert first," and grits symbolize the grit and determination of the people as they rebuild their lives along the Gulf Coast.
Lastly, Lundgren said, "borrow your neighbor's spoon and feed him or her a few kernels of corn: This is to remind us of one of Katrina's greatest lessons, that we depend on each other."
Everyone who attends is asked to bring a small object of personal value that symbolizes Katrina or the year following. In a quasi-voodoo ritual, the meaning of each item is revealed as it is put into a bag; after a poem is recited over it, the bag is put under the table while dinner is eaten.
Then there is a moment of silence for those who died in the storm. Finally, there is the feast, and Lundgren also gives an extensive list of suggested New Orleans music to play as it unfolds.
~~~~~
(To be recited in unison as the candles are lit)
Let these candles bring the light of peace to this struggling world and to the people of New Orleans, many of whom have spent the last year in exile Let these candles light a fire inside ourselves so that we might act with heart and perseverence in rebuilding our beloved city
Let the light of these candles renew our spirit and give us the strength and imagination to improve both ourselves and our city
Let the light inspire us to honor Katrina's dead by refusing to allow this to ever happen again.
~~~~~
You can create your own questions and answers, or use Katrina dinner organizer Justin Lundgren's suggestions before the meal. The youngest at the table reads the questions, the oldest gives the answers.
Why are we gathered here tonight?
We're here tonight because we're New Orleanians. Some of us are living in the city, and a great number of us are spread out around the country. But we all have a link to a small piece of land at the southernmost point of the Mississippi River. It's a fragile and extraordinary patch of land that has served as the cradle of American architecture, food and music. The winds of Katrina and the Corps of Engineers conspired to break us apart, but no matter where we are now as individuals, we're all still part of a very special club.
Why did this happen to us?
One could ask: Why does anything bad happen to anyone? Some say that we deserved the devastation of Katrina, that God is full of wrath and vengeance and that we're being punished. We must reject this line of thought. . . . The truth is that for the last 50 years we did not insist on the type of leadership and resources needed to create a safe city. For too long, we settled for too little. The good news is that we get another chance to make it right.
Should we live somewhere else?
It takes a special kind of person to choose New Orleans over most of America. You have to be the kind of person who favors a crawfish boil over the Denny's buffet line. The kind of person who can dance at a funeral and spend thousands of dollars on plastic trinkets just for the privilege of throwing them off a tractor-driven float to complete strangers. The kind of person who can spend a lifetime rooting for a football team that has never been a winner. The list goes on and on. There are many who aren't cut out for the New Orleans life, and we wish them the best of luck.
Will the city ever be the same?
The city will never be exactly the same, but this is not the time to get overly nostalgic. One year out from Katrina, we can still unite in making the city better than it was before the storm. That means pushing for higher standards of both our leaders and ourselves. It's not as if we have to make a trade. We can have parades and good schools at the same time. We can have Mardi Gras Indians and jazz and gumbo and still expect a solid police force and accessible health care.
What can I do?
For those who aren't back home, keep trying. Don't give up yet on a city that needs you desperately. For those who are home, get involved in your neighborhood. Go visit your City Council member. Write letters to the editor. Help a neighbor rebuild their house. Make an effort to keep your street clean. Each day when you walk out your front door, there are a thousand opportunities to do a good deed. Don't become so jaded and self-focused that you fail to recognize those opportunities.
