Perfect metaphor for the contrast between Houston and New Orleans. In tough times, Houston rolls up her sleeves and gets to work...while New Orleans sits and waits for help.
My sister lives in Houston. I don't remember the name of the hurricane, but I think it was the year after Katrina.
When the power went out and was expected to be out for several days, there was no looting in her neighborhood. The homeowners got the food of of their freezer, pulled out their grills and hosted one giant neighborhood block party. It was actually sort of fun and made use of a resource which otherwise would have gone to waste.
As a bonus, all the people in the streets for the big block party kept any looters from outside the neighborhood out.
She also told me that when some of the NOLA residents camped at the Astrodome had worn out their welcome, Houston set up a limited time offer to get most of them one way airline tickets out of town.
We had a good hearted family friend in rural Montana who offered to host one of these families and couldn't believe how jaw-droppingly shiftless they were.
After about a week, they told them to either start helping with the family chores (nothing difficult, just routine stuff any rural family does from the time the kiddies are able to walk) or find another place to live. They took the one way bus ride out of town instead.