I expected that it would be excessively hot on the late August day that I’d be working on a home in New Orleans. I’d already imagined it in my mind: alternating time between standing on a ladder and collapsing under a tent to balance my body temperature. Instead, it rained steadily on the day before...

On August 29th 2005, almost 5 years ago, hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of North America. It’s hard to believe that so much time has gone by, as the people of the area are still recovering from the disaster. In 2007 I took a sprawling North American road trip that landed me in New...