Normally, the phrase “what is it like to” is a way of kick starting a blocked mind. I use it to begin photographing when I think I have a photographic block… like a writer’s block. Since I work so steadily, I’ve found that in the past couple of years I don’t have to use it so much. Now, I just say that if your mind is blocked just take your camera, a lens, and walk out of your front door.
But, there are those events when the phrase, “what is it like to…” comes into play for entirely different reasons.
It happened yesterday. As I was driving to Uncle Lionel’s funeral and second line parade, the sky grew exceptionally dark. Day became night. The heavens erupted into one of the heaviest rains that I’ve seen in a long time. Trust me. We get very heavy rains in New Orleans. But, this one took the cake. It rained so hard and so quickly that the streets around Treme, where the funeral was held, flooded with about a foot of water. And, that happened in about 15 minutes. Depending on where in Orleans Parish you were, rain fall was measured from 6.5 to 9.5 inches. It rained so hard that Uncle Lionel’s burial was postponed until Monday because the cemetery had a foot of water and the funeral home staff couldn’t get to the barn to retrieve the horses and the carriage that is traditional in jazz funerals. As I wrote in a couple of emails, “Uncle isn’t leaving until he’s ready to go.”
As I was driving to what amounted to the ceremonial phase of the funeral, I started hitting deep water. My car’s windshield wiper blades couldn’t keep up with the rainfall. I was growing wary of not being able to see what was hidden in the deep water. Aside from my fear of hitting floating stuff, potholes and cars don’t really mix. I actually had to back up for about half a block because the road in front of me was impassable. To my credit, I kept going. But, I decided to stop for a few moments and document what I saw. This is the picture.
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