Samuel Rumsey points to the yard next to his house and remembers when cows used to roam here. Rumsey is 87 years old, and his house was the first one on this block of the Lower Ninth Ward back in the 1940s. 
 
 His family grew and built around him. The Rumseys pretty much owned the block. Then Katrina struck and they scattered; all of them except for Samuel. He's back and slowly rebuilding, living in a FEMA trailer in the front yard of his house. There's still spray paint on the house where first responders checked for dead bodies.
 
 We've seen many faces of the Lower Ninth Ward: First it was just underwater, next it was soggy and collapsed, then it was brittle and rotting, and now it just feels like a wasteland -- houses are razed and there's simply no one around. 
 
 The city says residents can move back in down here, but there remains confusion about FEMA flood codes and rumors still persist the city will eventually knock everything down and make it into a park. Even to the people who are trying to rebuild down here, it's not an outrageous idea -- the Industrial Canal levee certainly looks strong, but it looked the same way 17 months ago, and it's collapse is a vivid nightmare.
 
 Nonetheless, Samuel Rumsey is determined to rebuild, and start over. He says he remembers being the first one here in 1942, and he smiles as he says it feels like those early days all over again.