Bruce Returns to Jazz Fest Wednesday, Apr 25 2012 

“From Chicago to New Orleans
From the muscle to the bone
From the shotgun shack to the Superdome
We yelled “help” but the cavalry stayed home
There ain’t no-one hearing the bugle blown
We take care of our own…”

–Bruce Springsteen, “We Take Care of Our Own” (2012)–

 

As Vice President Joe Biden might say, the upcoming New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival “is a big f**king deal.” Although I know from talking to friends and musicians in the Crescent City, the two big weekends of music are met with mixed emotions. It has become less about New Orleans’ indigenous music and more prone to corporate sponsorship. And while locals snap up brass passes and brave the heat and/or spring rains to be there, many consider April’s French Quarter Fest to be the real celebration of local music and the City’s musicians. But no one would have complained of such excess in the spring of 2006.

Lakeview, New Orleans, LA, March 2006.

April/May 2006. A few months after Katrina. Mardi Gras limped on, but early on many assumed Jazz Fest would not take place. Yet it did; it was a success. And things have grown to the point where few think back to those painful and uncertain times. Forget Mardi Gras. Forget Jazz Fest. Many were still wondering whether New Orleans itself would make it.

But the musicians came: Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Dave Matthews, Jimmy Buffett, Paul Simon, Lionel Ritchie and scores of local musicians. They all came back to the fairgrounds. Even Fats Domino, the reclusive native son, whom many feared had perished in his home in the Lower Ninth, made an appearance. And then there was Bruce.

Although just six years ago, it seems like a distant memory, but music critic Keith Spera recalls the appearance in a brilliant column in the Times-PicayuneIt was a time of uncertainty, but it seemed made for America’s troubadour for the dispossessed and down-trodden. And the stars seemed aligned because he was touring with his Seeger Sessions Band. Again, a nod to protest in a time of want and social upheaval.

Bruce and the eclectic band of roots/folk/jazz musicians played old tunes that seemed eerily current. They recounted times of war, times of trial, but most spoke of overcoming adversity or, at least, laughing in its face. And Spera recalled:

Springsteen performs at Jazz Fest, May 2006. Dave Grunfeld of the Times-Picayune.

In his most overtly political statement, Springsteen recalled his visit the previous afternoon to the 9th Ward. “I saw some sights I never thought I’d see in an American city, ” he said. “The criminal ineptitude makes you furious.” In response, he adapted Blind Alfred Reed’s “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live” with new lyrics dedicated to “President Bystander”: “My old school pals had some high times there/What happened to you folks is too bad, ” he sang, mocking President Bush’s comments in the early days after Hurricane Katrina.

The set’s watershed moment, literally, was “My City of Ruins.” Originally written for his adopted hometown of Asbury Park, N.J., on Sunday he dedicated it to New Orleans. To a hushed audience, Springsteen closed his eyes and began: “There’s a blood red circle on the cold dark ground, and the rain is falling down/The church door’s blown open, I can hear the organ’s sound, but the congregation’s gone . . . the boarded-up windows, the hustlers and the thieves, while my brother’s down on his knees . . . now tell me how do I began again? My city of ruins. . .” And then the refrain: “Come on, rise up! Rise up!” Thousands lifted their hands to the sky. I wept, my wife wept. And we were not alone.

Bill and Stephen Ross, Madison Square Garden, April 2012.

Bruce returns to Jazz Fest once again this weekend, this time with his E Street Band (albeit without Clarence Clemons). I saw them a few weeks ago in New York and they were magnificent. Probably the best concert I have ever experienced.  They will be returning to the same venue in a City still beset by problems, but it is a long way from those uncertain days of 2006. There will be biting songs from his new and very political album, “Wrecking Ball,” as well as some old favorites. It may even include some of those old protest songs from the concert six years ago. It will be a great three hours of music and Jazz Fest will undoubtedly be well-sponsored and a success.

But I don’t think that it could ever have the impact of that performance in the wake of the flood.

Strength and Rebirth: New Orleans and the Lower Ninth Wednesday, Apr 4 2012 

Bumper stickers at the House of Dance and Feathers, Lower Ninth Ward, March 2012, Taylor Frarie

It was our last night in the city; the air was warm and the city was alive. Despite the fact that it was around one in the morning the city was showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. It was then, as we were heading back to the van, that Shanti asked me what my favorite part of New Orleans had been. I thought about it, and gave her my honest answer: “I don’t know.”  I asked her the same question and she told me it was the spirit of rebirth that the city embodied.

I digested this and realized how perfect of an answer it was. I was even a little embarrassed that it did not come to my mind. When she had asked me I thought of obvious things like the food, the craziness, and the music. I know these are all a major part of the city, but when it comes down to it, none of that would be there if it weren’t for the strong inner spirit that the people of New Orleans have.

Levee along the Industrial Canal, Lower Ninth Ward, March 2012, Taylor Frarie

Thinking about it brought me back to the Lower Ninth Ward where we had visited on Sunday, our first day there. I just remember standing there when we learned about the destruction and how all the houses we were seeing would have been completely submerged in water. I tried to take it in, to fathom the magnitude of the damage and horror, but I just could not. It was surreal, like none of it had happened. But I know it did.  Even when we saw where the levee broke, it still didn’t quite hit me, and I don’t think it ever will. No one can imagine such an event unless it happens to them, the rest of us just have to try to do what we can to help. And people did try to help, just as residents tried to help each other.

Today the Lower Ninth Ward, even though it has a long way to go, is looking infinitely better. I remember long-time resident Ronald Lewis telling us that one of the things that made him happiest was the sight of children playing in the street in front of his house.  This hit me and I thought it was a beautiful way to describe it. It meant that life was truly coming back to his home and neighborhood. At first, I was surprised to learn that not all of the efforts into helping the Lower Ninth were fully appreciated. For instance, the modern and energy-efficient homes built by Brad Pitt’s “Make it Right” Foundation. But now I understand that many residents just wanted help getting back to their old lives, they didn’t want everything to change. They just needed some support to get back on their feet.

Cover of Dan Baum's "Nine Lives"

Although foundation support is mostly a good thing; I can see where the mixed feelings are coming from.  I think these feelings are embodied through a song written by Paul Sanchez for a musical based on the Dan Baum’s book “Nine Lives.” Ronald Lewis’s story is one of the nine. The chorus of that song states: “We were fine in the Lower Nine.” These words are drawn straight from Baum’s interview with Lewis. The song reflects Lewis’s exuberant pride in his neighborhood and helped me to further understand the feelings held by him and his neighbors.

As I walked down the streets of New Orleans for the last time, these were my thoughts. As music played and people laughed and danced and stumbled all around me, I knew that the city was once again a place of high spirits despite the tragedy and devastation that it had faced.  It took me some time, but I finally saw and realized that the spirit of rebirth was alive and well in New Orleans and I watched as it pulsed through the city. And maybe, I thought, this is my favorite thing too.

–Taylor Frarie–

The REAL Spirit of New Orleans Monday, Apr 2 2012 

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn…” –Jack Kerouac

Bead work from Mardi Gras Indian outfit, House of Dance and Feathers, Lower Ninth Ward, March 2012

Looking back to the weeks before my first trip to New Orleans, I remember being nervous and wondering what to expect from a city known for its indescribable culture. After spending one day in the city, I was hooked. Our first day experiencing New Orleans as a class helped me to understand the spirit and culture of the city that Bill had been trying to describe to us for the first half of the semester.


Our first full day in New Orleans, we started off by heading to the Lower Ninth Ward to visit Ronald Lewis at The House of Dance and Feathers, the museum located behind his house. The bright colors from the Mardi Gras Indian costumes filling the room made it difficult to look away. Each costume was created with beautiful beadwork and details. It is one thing to see them in photographs or videos but it is a completely different story to see them in person.

Lower Ninth Ward, March 2006

Once everybody had settled into the museum, Ronald shared some of his experiences with Hurricane Katrina. While I had heard a lot about Katrina before visiting New Orleans, I didn’t truly understand how it affected the city and her people until hearing Ronald talk about his experiences. He helped me to understand the depth at which the people of the city were affected. One thing he said really stuck with me. When asked about the response to Katrina and the progress that has been made over the past few years he said, “It not the hot story, but it’s an ongoing story”. This was a really great thing to hear right before we started our work with Habitat for Humanity. Living in a world filled with daily disasters and news stories, it is hard to remember that the problems that occur from these events persist long after the hype goes down and volunteering is not longer the popular thing to do. This concept resonated with me and was something I carried with me as I volunteered and hope to remember now that I am back home and far away from the damage of Katrina and the people of New Orleans. So often people jump on the bandwagon to support issues but forget about them shortly afterwards. It makes sense, but it is a shame.

New homes, Lower Ninth Ward, March 2012. Gabby Chesney.


After having spent a little time in New Orleans, I know I won’t forget. I am excited to explore ways I can get involved and support the amazing and spirited people affected by Katrina from a distance. Ronald’s words were inspiring and so truthful. His spirit and passion were contagious. I love people like that, those are the ones who stick with you and change your outlook. 
 
I think many of the people I met in New Orleans embody this spirit. A city is nothing without the people who fill it. The people of New Orleans, so filled with the spirit of life and music and resilience, are the heartbeat of the city. Throughout the week we heard stories of people who suffered greatly after Katrina but returned to the city with a strong spirit and sense of hope.

Gabby and Ronald, House of Dance and Feathers, March 2012. Gabby Chesney.

Those are the stories that made the week we spent amazing. Without the people, New Orleans would just be a picturesque city by the water. Once you add these eclectic and passionate people, you have a place that is impossible to forget and sure to change you in one way or another. 

–Gabby Chesney–

New Orleans: A Center for Entrepreneurship? Saturday, Mar 10 2012 

“New Orleans is the opposite of America, and we must hold on to places that are the opposite of us. New Orleans is not fast or energetic or efficient, not a go-get-’em Calvinist, well-ordered city. It’s slow, lazy, sleepy, sweaty, hot, wet, lazy, and exotic.” Mark Childress

I have used the quote above in my syllabus for several years now. It expresses prevailing, widely accepted wisdom. It is the reason much of the Nation looked askance as New Orleans literally drowned. They we lazy, exotic, and enjoyed life far too much. To many, they didn’t deserve to be saved.

However, recent evidence suggests that like a Fox News narrative, it is based more oral myth than evidence. I started seeing some rumblings to overturn this narrative a while back. I reported on it a little over a year ago in a posting entitled: “Dying City,” or “Brain Magnet.” In that post, I reflected on the contradiction of using raw population data, reflecting New Orleans’ population loss after Katrina (well, duh!), with the fact that New Orleans ranks number one in the U.S. in attracting college-educated youth. And, as a recent op-ed column in the Times-Picayune suggests, it is not all due to an influx of volunteers for Teach for America. Not there is anything wrong with that.

Walter Issacson photo, Times-Picayune, March 2012.

On Tuesday, March 6, 2012, journalist and native-son Walter Isaacson wrote a wonderful op-ed on this phenomenon. And for a multiply-challenged city that is approaching its tricentennial, he illuminated the error  of looking only at short-term trends. Nor, as he pointed out, should innovation be measured only by a balance sheet.

And this challenges my assumptions about my favorite city, but new perspectives, even if they ultimately prove you wrong are good. Right?

Isaacson convincingly argues that throughout its history, New Orleans has exemplified an entrepreneurial spirit. I mean, if you go back to the fact that due to its location, it is a city that should never have happened. But that is the crux of his argument. It emerged from an uneven colonial history, at best, to become the most vibrant immigrant community in the South.  It has, in succession, welcomed Haitian, British, Irish, German, Jewish, Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern Christian and Muslim, and most recently, Latin American immigrants, And the addition has made it a stronger and more vibrant community.

New, energy efficient homes in the Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, March 2011.

And then came Katrina, a man-made catastrophe that many feared would be the death knell for a city, nearly half of which (49%) lies below sea level. Ivisited a few months afterwards and it was difficult to imagine that it would come back. And as I write this from Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish, which like outlying areas of New Orleans, is not close to coming back to pre-Katrina norms.

But. As Isaacson points out, New Orleans had fallen into complacency before Katrina. It had watched it economy recede, and was willing to become the party city of beads, breasts and booze. So, who would have bet on a comeback for such a lethargic and tradition-bound contestant.

Instead, this week, New Orleans is hosting New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. And to Isaacson, every native who stood up and said “we are going to stay and rebuild” was a nascent entrepreneur.  It was an inspiration and it has attracted an unprecedented level of innovation and new ventures, many spawned by college-educated migrants to the Crescent City.

Look to the award-winning, albeit slow development of the Lower Ninth Ward. New Orleans is now a model for for our Nation’s reinventing itself economically and sustainably.

So it is not just the stubborn residents, but young MBAs from elsewhere who are driving an economic resurgence in New Orleans. So no longer is New Orleans, the semi-Caribbean step-child of America, it is the personification and bell-weather of American innovation. Its example may indeed lead us forward.

And I’ll be among the first to admit it: I was wrong. The emerging facts prove that I was wrong. And I believe in facts.

Humor Among the Ruins: March 2006 Friday, Feb 17 2012 

Artist George Rodrigue's Blue Dog Store, Royal Street, French Quarter, March 2006. The first Carnival after Katrina. In honor of Mardi Gras.

Storm damaged home near the Orleans Marina on Lake Pontchartrain, March 2006. Note the daylight coming through the damage to the first floor.

Hurricane Katrina Plus Six Friday, Aug 26 2011 

On August 20, 2005, after attending a conference in New Orleans, I took off from Louis Armstrong International Airport to return home. As we flew across Lake Pontchartrain I remember looking back to the strange, little city that I had ever-so-slowly grown to love. At that point, Katrina was a small tropical storm forming in the Atlantic. Little did I know that nine days later, it would change the city that I left behind forever.

Six years after Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent failure of the levee system, much of the east coast is waiting and watching Hurricane Irene as it inches northward up the coast.  As a North Carolina native, I know that there will be stubborn folks on the Outer Banks who’ll stay behind, because that’s what they do.  And I suspect that my alma mater, East Carolina University in Greenville, will be unofficial host to more than a few hurricane parties. However, during the intervening years, governments and emergency management agencies have studied and learned from the myriad of failed responses to Katrina. And hopefully, what they have learned will help reduce damage and loss of life from this impending storm.

And on this anniversary, we still need to  remember the people of the Gulf Coast. Six years, millions of volunteer hours, and billions of dollars in aid later, there are still communities and neighborhoods that will never be the same.  From New Orleans eastward to Alabama nearly 2,000 people lost their live in the flood and thousands more evacuated and never returned. And weeks later, along the bayous to the west, Hurricane Rita, prolonged the regional agony. Six years hence, much has been done, but there is so much more that needs to be done.


In the Upper Ninth Ward, this week’s opening of the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music punctuates the end of construction at Musicians’ Village; however, hundreds of houses in the neighborhood have been torn down, while other blighted structures remain unclaimed and/or unoccupied. And this is true in varying degrees in neighborhoods throughout the City.

To this day, many of the streets in the Lower Ninth Ward are dirt, gravel, or broken pavement. Sidewalks, if they existed at all, are cracked and overgrown. On the sixth anniversary of the storm, New Orleans has secured $45 million to repair streets in the Lower Ninth and to assess repair needs in other parts of the City. So progress, albeit excruciating slow, continues.

And this is a victory for the past, current, and future residents of the Lower Ninth. As some proposed that the area be bulldozed and returned to wetlands, residents fought for their generations-old community; it was something that belonged to them and they fought to let others know that is was something worth saving. In August 2005 and afterwards, they were betrayed, not by nature, but by their own government. Nevertheless, they will gather this weekend to remember and celebrate, as neighborhood pleasure and social clubs, Mardi Gras Indian gangs, and brass bands come out, not just to recall the death and destruction, but to celebrate their determined survival as a community.

So, from Biloxi, MS, to Shell Beach in St. Bernard Parish, from New Orleans East to Lakeview in New Orleans, and from Metairie, LA to the Texas border; residents will be thinking of and praying for those along the east coast. But in addition, they’ll be remembering what happened to them in 2005, all the while taking stock of their own survival, stubbornness, and resilience.

Watching “Treme” in New Orleans Tuesday, Jun 21 2011 

It should be little surprise that I am a big fan of the HBO series “Treme.”  Well into its second season, the show focuses on the people who give New Orleans it character: the musicians, the chefs, the neighborhood folk and, well, the characters. The second season mirrors the second year after Katrina; it is ominous, dark, and violent, but in the midst of it all it is doing a masterful job of exploring the essence of creativity, whether it’s music or gastronomic delights or rapacious business dealings.

Mardi Gras Indian moccasins.

I usually sit in my living room on Sunday nights waiting for my latest injection of New Orleans to take effect, but this Sunday was a problem: I was in New Orleans. Well, on the West Bank in housing provided by the agency I’m working for. The price is right (free), but there is no television, cable, wireless, and the electricity is a little spotty. There are reputedly ghosts, but their entertainment value is nil.

I got in on Sunday, met my student who is working here during the summer. We had a shrimp po-boy and visited a home-grown Mardi Indian museum over in the Ninth Ward. It was the consummate start to a visit to the Crescent City. Even though my student and her friend are about forty years too young, I took them over to the Spotted Cat for a Sunday afternoon of jazz standards. It is standard operating procedure for me and maybe they were they were lying, but they claimed to enjoy it.

During the intermission, I talked to Yvette Voelker, the lead singer for the ensemble and member of the Pfister Sisters. The conversation turned to “Treme”   She told me about a “Treme” watching party at Buffa’s on Esplanade. Not only do the residents come to watch the show, they usually have musicians perform beforehand who have appeared on the show. And this week it was Holley Bendtsen, one of Yvette’s fellow “sisters.” Who could resist that?

So I said goodbye to my student and her friend, drove across the river, and moved myself into the “Haunted Mansion.” I went back and walked around the quiet, residential corner of the French Quarter before settling in at Buffa’s. I had some red beans and rice and yes a couple of local beers, and then the show began.

Holley Bendtsen and Harry Marrone, Jr.

Oh yeah, Holley’s set was wonderful and her accompanist, Harry Marrone, Jr., was great; but the real entertainment began when they dimmed the lights for the show. The crowd starting shushing each other like a third grade class trying to reclaim rights to an outdoor recess. Once the episode began, they watched intently, with occasional outbursts of laughter, applause, gentle cheering, and heavy sighs. It was an emotionally tough episode and unease permeated the room as the lights went up.

Someone from the bar got up then to say a few words and announce future entertainment. It was clear that he had been brought to tears, as was true for a sizeable minority of the crowd. Many sat quietly or offered hugs before paying their bills and heading off into the neighborhood. I quietly paid my tab and headed back across the river. The drive back gave me some time to reflect.

Crowd at Buffa's before "Treme."

I appreciate the show because of my occasional visits to the city and to what I feel is an accurate portrayal of the people. These folks lived it. They were displaced by the flood. They struggled with their local governments and FEMA. They watched the violence return. They are witness to the economically and politically induced gentrification in parts of their city. And they all know neighbors and musicians who act or play extras in the show.

So, David Simon and his colleagues, among other things, should be praised for the verisimilitude of their endeavor. And this isn’t just coming from critics in far-flung cities or pretenders like me; it’s coming from the people who love and embrace a flawed city so much that they came back from ruin and sadness. They live here and make merry once again, but the pictures and memories remain.

New Orleans on the Small Screen Saturday, Apr 23 2011 

It was about two years ago that I found out that David Simon was producing an HBO series on New Orleans. I had become a fan of his way back when he helped create the landmark “Homicide: Life on the Streets” back in 1993. And we were at the University of Maryland at the same time which has to count for something. So, I had over a year to wait for the finished product and even spent a few hours in between watching a couple of scenes being filmed during one of my visits to New Orleans.

I was not disappointed by the result, but I realize that I am a small slice of an already modest audience. And admittedly, Simon and co-creator Eric Overmyer were asking a lot of those early viewers. They took people to parts of the city where few would willingly visit. At the same time, main characters were musicians, chefs, working class people, again, a part of the city they might encounter in passing. The show took on the rhythm and sensibilities of the city, both of which are foreign to most Americans. Likewise, characters on the show used phrases and words and even actions that required a glossary or subtitles.

The show eschewed narrative and focused on “getting New Orleans right.” Most natives I’ve talked to appreciated both the effort and the show, but many viewers turned away. And when they did, they missed a beautifully drawn, if glacially-paced story that all came together in the last episode. It all crescendoed in one of the best eighty minutes of television in 2010.

I’d invite new viewers and old to give it another run. The first year was probably hampered by some political correctness on the part of the production team, but it also mirrored the uncertainly and aimlessness of those first few months after the storm. No one knew what to do or where things were going. They were just glad to be back. To cook that first pot of beans in their kitchen. Dance to their first second line. Catch their first strand of beads.

And if the second year mirrors the second year after Katrina, it will be a lot different. The news stories went from “happy to be back” to the grim realities of life in New Orleans. Most of these challenges were there before Katrina and the struggle to recover exacerbated them. So, this year the story line will continue to deal with the preservation of a great city and its culture, but it will also deal with rising crime, drugs, corruption, and forced gentrification. And I suspect that as characters face senseless murders, unmet mental health needs, and the fact that America has lost interest in their struggle, viewers will be drawn to their plight.

The second season of Treme premiers at 10pm, Sunday night on HBO. Here is the teaser for the new season.

New Orleans: “Dying City” or “Brain Magnet”? Saturday, Feb 19 2011 

A couple of weeks ago (“The Incredible Shrinking City”), I reported on the fact that according to the 2010 Census the population of New Orleans dropped 29% during the decade. And while the city’s population has been in decline since the 1960s, clearly Hurricane Katrina was the primary ingredient in such a drop.

Of course, this reality did not stop Newsweek from putting New Orleans atop of the list of “America’s Dying Cities.” They used census data to document significant drops in both overall population and the population of those under the age of 18. New Orleans finds itself in the not-so-good company of Vallejo, CA, Detroit, MI, Rochester, NY, and Cleveland, OH. And the folks in New Orleans are not happy.

At the same time, a lesser known online magazine, newgeography, has used census data to show that New Orleans is first in attracting college-educated migrants, although many might just be former residents finding their way back. And while that is good news, it shows, as civic leaders have pointed out, the danger of using census data out of context . And it’s pretty obvious that the bad news from Newsweek will carry further than anything from newgeography (although it’s possible that newgeography is in better financial shape than its more august rival).

For one, Mayor Mitch Landrieu has come out swinging. Citing low unemployment, a high rate of investment in infrastructure, and steady population growth, the Mayor is fighting the claim that New Orleans is a “dying city.” He points out in today’s Times-Picayune that New Orleans is coming back from the point of nearly being emptied of its population in September 2005; and as the century enters its second decade, the population is steadily rising.

And while Mitch has vociferously made his case, the Newsweek column clearly stuck in his craw.  I don’t think we’ve heard the last word on this one.

The Incredible Shrinking City Friday, Feb 4 2011 

The Census Bureau has confirmed what everyone already knew: New Orleans is a smaller city that it was in 2000. An article in today’s New York Times points out that while the city was losing residents prior to Katrina, the 2005 storm contributed to the greatest loss of population.

And while somewhat understandable, the numbers are pretty staggering. From 2000 to 2010, New Orleans lost 29% of its population, down from 484,674 to 343,829. It was the 31st largest city in 2000 (down from 24th in 1990) and has now dropped out of the top 50. Over the past decade, New Orleans shed some 24,000 white residents and 118,000 black residents, which means the percentage of white residents has risen to 30%. The black population has dropped from 66% to under 60%. By contrast, the Hispanic population in the city and surrounding parishes has grown significantly.

So where did everyone go and why? St. Tammany Parish to the north and Jefferson Parish to the west have experienced gains in population, while flood-prone St. Bernard Parish, to the east, has lost half of its pre-Katrina population. And clearly, the city’s population loss can be tied to the loss of low cost housing. And while areas near the river, which are higher, have experienced growth, the population of many neighborhoods has shrunk. This is particularly true in poorer neighborhoods, such as the Lower Ninth Ward and parts of New Orleans east. And many fear that until affordable housing is available, many who wish to return will be kept in exile.

And in a budget-conscious climate, the numbers will have an impact. Lower numbers will mean lower Federal dollars for education, housing, transportation projects, etc. And fewer residents will mean legislative redistricting and reduced New Orleans influence in both Baton Rouge and Washington.

So stay tuned. While much of New Orleans appears back to normal, the impact of Hurricane Katrina will be felt for years to come.

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