Peter and Isa - my heart

I interviewed a man today about the Katrina Relief Center that he ran in Oxford. He showed me some pictures of an old Walmart that was used as the base, and there were many pictures of kids. It reminded me of a story I'd forgotten of Peter and Isabella and made me cry. I hope the guy didn't notice. The story follows.

The Audubon Zoo was not open when I first returned to New Orleans. While not part of my daily life any more, there was a point when I worked at the zoo and then later when I took Peter and Isabella frequently. Now, because I couldn't, I wanted to take Peter and Isabella more than ever.

The zoo finally reopened around Thanksgiving, and I took Peter and Isa one Saturday at the beginning of December. Just past the ticket counter was a table with Americorps volunteers. On the tables were backpacks with toys, books, pens, etc. for all of the children at the zoo that day. School children from Wisconsin (or some state in that area) had collected things for the children of New Orleans. Peter and Isabella were each given a bag. When I handed Peter his bag, he said, "What's this for?"

"Some kids in Wisconsin collected toys for the children of New Orleans because of the hurricane," I replied.

"But I didn't get any damage. There were just some broken windows. Nothing happened to me," he said.

"Well, they wanted all the kids affected by Hurricane Katrina to have something," I tried to explain.

"We need to give this to the kids that lost their houses, the ones that got damage. I should give it to them."

It broke my heart to hear Peter, six years old at the time, tell me this. I finally told him that I would hold onto the bag, so he could have it later if he wanted.

In November 2005, Isabella and I were on the swings at the park. On the side of the street there were some tree limbs and other debris that had been cleared from someone's yard. "That's damage," she told me. Isabella had turned four the week before.
Isabella and Peter - my heart.