e had only turned onto the road about a mile back, but we knew we had to stop here. To our right was the Gulf of Mexico, beautiful in its infinite expanse, and unchanged for thousands of years. To our left and across the highway was a 20-foot stairway leading to a single column and nothing else. 
 
The mansion that stood here seven months ago was obliterated. Hurricane Katrina had turned dreams into nightmares. The cleanup was still going on, which alone astounded me, but more incredibly the rebuilding had started, too. Despite the horror of last ...