Harboring doubts

These days Norman Bordes wears a day-glo nylon vest to work, where he blends in with other inspectors overseeing the removal of storm debris from New Orleans. But something about the uniform is wrong -- strident -- as if he has put on the other team's jersey.

Before Hurricane Katrina, Bordes never expected to make a living anywhere but on Lake Pontchartrain. Like his brother, Peter, and their father before them, he harvested shrimp, crabs and black drum, unloading his catch at the Bucktown piers at the mouth of the 17th Street Canal.

Today he wears that nylon vest because he made the mistake of sheltering his boat behind the locks at Bayou Bienvenue as Katrina gathered strength at sea. When he returned, he found his boat wedged like a caterpillar tent in the trees.

from the Times Picayune