On my last day in New Orleans, there was a rainstorm that lasted all morning until noon. After it had cleared up, I decided to go out for a final walk around the neighborhood cemetery. Along the way, I spotted a broken tree branch lying across the middle of the street. This branch was enormous, like a tree growing out of another tree. As I stood there staring at it I wondered, how long before somebody does something about it?

For me, this was the perfect picture of New Orleans. It is a symbol and a summary of what I learned about the history of Hurricane Katrina and about the city as it exists today.