Across almost every social strata, almost every level of damage from the flood, all of the citizens of New Orleans had one thing in common after the storm: the loss of their refrigerator. As power was knocked out across most of the city and it was impossible to return to the city to check on houses or apartments weeks after 80% of New Orleans was inundated by water, most fridges sat in their kitchens, baking in the sweltering August heat.

Upon returning, even those that did not...
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Across almost every social strata, almost every level of damage from the flood, all of the citizens of New Orleans had one thing in common after the storm: the loss of their refrigerator. As power was knocked out across most of the city and it was impossible to return to the city to check on houses or apartments weeks after 80% of New Orleans was inundated by water, most fridges sat in their kitchens, baking in the sweltering August heat.

Upon returning, even those that did not need their houses gutted found that one thing in their houses did need to go- the swollen, ripe fridge. Out they went to the curb, where they began another cycle of neglect as the city was overwhelmed with garbage and the fridges needed special pickup as they were toxic in nature.
Months passed now, with some fridges still standing sentry at the front of their yards, muted guard dogs taped or otherwise fastened shut by their former owners.

Then, a peculiar thing happened. Some of the fridges began to be decorated by anonymous artists, anonymous writers, anonymous angry voices. Many messages belied how frustrated much of the citizenry of New Orleans had become, feeling their voices were not being heard by the local or national government. But just as many were humorous, and some were even hopeful, a reflection of a New Orleanian way of taking everything in stride.

More than anything the fridges were a reminder that the city was not a ruin, that people had lived in these places, had lives that they wished to return to. While the graffiti was an overt message, just as powerful were the little things that are normally on fridges, the magnets, the graded tests still in place, pictures of pop stars, local advertisements and coupons. And out on the corner, decorated or no, the fridges signaled, neighbor to neighbor, that they had been there, that they cared this much at least, and that progress was being made, albeit ever so slowly.
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