Reasons to Smile, Part II
On Saturday morning I went by the grand re-opening of the St. Bernard Community Park in Arabie. Operation Blessing, a charity organization which is very involved in the local community, led the rebuilding efforts for the park and a surrounding gym that housed a number of events for the local kids in the past, including boxing and wrestling matches.

Saturday’s event included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, soccer matches on the new fields and free boiled shrimp (boiled shrimp is not taken lightly here in the bowels of Southeast Louisiana). I just went to poke around for a bit, get a sense of what it was all about, the participation, etc., and I came away very impressed. There had to be several hundred people there (I’m sure for more than just the free shrimp, too), and the new fields looked great (see pics). Spirits were up, people were happy, having fun and I definitely could sense the feel of real community.

I realize that in most places, attending this would be just like going to any other normal community-type event, perhaps a food festival or the carnival in the parking lot of the local high school -- certainly a fun time but nothing out of the ordinary. Things aren’t normal here, however, and the residents of St. Bernard don’t have this often. There are plenty of events, large and small, to catch in the city of New Orleans. But not right in their backyard. That’s why this one was special.

The fields and new gym are a five minute walk from the old Dominos Sugar Factory and just 10 minutes from the Mississippi River. Let’s hope the water levels stay down during this Hurricane Season and that the folks of St. Bernard Parish don’t lose these new fields or the rebuilt gym a second time.