Symbol of New Orleans

Seen in City Park, across the lagoon from the old casino building, on the City Park Avenue side:

The remains of a giant old oak tree, probably more than a hundred and fifty years old, destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. All that's left is the stump, about 3 feet high, with a chunk of worn-looking cement sticking out of a section of it -- as if, before the Storm, the tree had had a large hollow spot that had been filled in by pouring cement into it. You could see from the chunks of the original trunk that were on the ground that the tree had had a lot of rot, and despite the attempted "save" with the cement, it wouldn't have been long for this world, Katrina or no.

Apparently, the tree had broken off unevenly, since on the side opposite where the stump was nearly horizontal, there was a tall splintered piece of inner core and outer bark sticking up in the air, shaped like a shard of broken glass.

At the very top of that ragged, jagged piece, waving with shreds of Spanish moss, was a spindly little branch, still somehow clinging to its source. And on that little branch were green, healthy-looking, living leaves.

In spite of everything, it still lived! With all it had been through, this old tree was clinging to Life, sending out a shoot, putting forth leaves.

Incredible, inspiring. A metaphor for the City That Care Forgot. Still clinging to Life, still somehow finding a way to live.

Yeah you right!