An Essay on Katrina, the Hurricane that Made History

Sheherzad Preisler in Sheher’s Weblog:

I am eleven years old, and I live in Massachusetts with my mother. I am writing this essay about the Hurricane Katrina because I feel the need to stand up and say something about this catastrophe that may help us do better in future emergencies such as this one. I have been deeply affected by the amount of destruction the hurricane has done. I remember about two years ago, my mom and I went to New Orleans for a visit. It was such a beautiful city, and we wanted to visit much more often. I remember my mom and I walked into a beautiful boutique not too far from the Canal Street shops, and we made sort of friends with the shopkeeper from that boutique. She was very nice to us, and I remember buying a little glass frog from there. I was looking at my somewhat large collection of marble and glass figurines a couple of days ago, and I came across that small glass frog. The moment I saw it, I became overcome with emotion. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that that nice woman might be dead right now.

More, including recommendations on what to do from young Sheher, and pictures, here.