Day 3: Tobacco-Free Living 1 - Today was the first day of our official project for the PHAST trip, but I feel like I've already had a full week after only just two days. Luckily, it was also our first day with a decent sit-down breakfast: pancakes, bacon, and eggs at Victoria Inn. Afterwards, the 9-person tobacco group and JoLynn went over the procedure of the day and prepared the questionnaires for the next few days' use. We also had our first formal debriefing session, and labored mentally over how New Orleans will ever be able to rebuild after the storm when the health care infrastructure was inadequate even before the storm. I lamented over the institutional racism that pervades the system and (un-) consciousness of the people, and whether the power of democracy is enough or capable to transcend it. Right now, I don't think so.

We all got very sad, but JoLynn emphasized that we must seek out the positive and the small steps of improvement. For example, Taylor's friend is a FEMA worker and is getting very frustrated with the job because people generalize the failings of FEMA to the individual workers when they came from above. We have to remember that although vast failures span all levels of organization, there are people who are doing their jobs and doing a good job. We just need more of them.

Tour of the Lower Ninth Ward - We didn't start the day on an energetic note with our subsequent tour of the Lower Ninth Ward. We took N. Claiborne off of I-10 East through Arabi and towards Chalmette. The destruction and inactivity was palpable, especially when we crossed the bridge over the Navigation Channel. Up to that point, the neighborhoods looked devastated, with trash, broken homes, spray-painted indecipherable codes -- of when they'd been checked and who was found. But across that channel was a completely different story. A ghost town. Eerily silent streets of inactivity, no signs of life or reconstruction. The destruction of upper Ninth Ward (before the channel) could not compare to this. Of course, no one's back. No trash pickup, no streetlights, no traffic lights. Stores destroyed, churches destroyed. When will these residents return? When, or will they be able to?

Whatever resources available are make-shift. The disaster relief center was set up in the Walmart parking lot, along with a yellow and white big top tent as the temporary chapel. We passed by churches with blown-in windows and fallen steeples that have not been touched. The chapel is an important place for returned residents and workers alike to gain solace. Addendum: The big tent is not a chapel. See Day 5 for a visit to this site.

Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living - After the expectedly sobering tour, we met with Adam Becker of the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) downtown to talk about the next three days' project. We are interviewing restauranteurs along Magazine Street, and possible Carrollton Ave and St. Charles Ave if we have time, about their smoking policies and opinions towards possible local ordinances. We had wanted to insert some additional questions regarding the impact of Katrina, but although they weren't discouraged, the idea was certainly that the tobacco-related questions took priority. Some of us have had issue with the entire project in general because the change of circumstances makes this kind of survey, without modification, seem strange. But we'll go with it. We've come down to help with existing projects and to build alliances between UMSPH and local public health efforts. In a way, this is an exploratory trip.

We split up into two teams, each starting at an opposite point of Magazine and working towards the middle. I was tired and was glad that our car got to start Uptown, where I foresaw slightly more pleasant settings. Rohan and Taylor took one side of the street, while Shawn, Rachel, and I took the other. We each made it to about six establishments, but returned with very different responses. We had pretty good luck, with only one refusal because of the absence of the owner or any manager. Otherwise, we had encouraging participation with a few noticeable trends in responses, including an emphasis on 100% smoke-free environs inside, with outdoor seating to allow smoking, and the possible of support for local ordinances against smoking in establishments that serve only food, but not in places that serve alcohol only or with food. And in general, for businesses that have been able to reopen, business has been on the up and up since so few restaurants have reopened. Those that are open get a lot of business.

However, Rohan and Taylor got only 2 responses (versus our 5) out of 6 attempts, and came back to the car dejected. Either the managers were too busy or they were distrustful of the survey or purpose of the visit. Adam had warned us to not say that we were from LPHI because the words "public health" may imply some surprise inspection, but after some group reflection, we found our methods to be quite similar. They noted that the cafes were particularly rude, and we didn't have any cafes...interestingly, Starbucks still has not been cleared to reopen. It was the only establishment on our side so far that hasn't made steps towards reopening. I can't explain the differences in reaction we received. Frustrated, tired? Possibly reflected in this picture of a house next to the poboy shop we ate at for lunch?