BACK FROM NEW ORLEANS

I'm baaaaaaack! Had a great time in New Orleans. Pardi Gras was HUGE fun, ya'll should go next year! Having said that, my trip to New Orleans was very different from my usual jaunts to The Big Easy. The Big Easy has become The Small Hard. Here we are, 4 mos after Katrina (that bitch!), and The Crescent City is still hurting......badly. The media does not do it justice.
Even the French Quarter, which we all hear is doing wonderfully......absolutely is not. On Bourbon Street, itself, about 75% of the businesses are open and those are only open on limited schedules mostly due to lack of 'crew'. Step to the other French Quarter streets and the percentage goes down....way down. About half the hotels in the Quarter are up and running but are filled with either workers (construction crews, insurance adjusters, FEMA employees, etc.) or displaced families. Not much room for tourists yet. They have all brought their cars and pick-up trucks so traffic and parking in the Quarter is horrendous. Frustration and Depression levels are rising. Tempers are barely being held at bay. One bartender I chatted with does not look forward to Mardi Gras at all. He told me in the 6 years he had been working in the Quarter, he had broken up only 5 or 6 fights. Since Katrina, he breaks up that many every week. He says it has alot to do with the influx of construction workers, the military, and everyone in the Quarter, residents and workers alike, are living under extreme daily stress. Same bartender says Mardi Gras will be ugly. The laid back, just enjoy life, attitude of New Orleans is very hard to find on the best day post-Katrina.

And there is a whole new storm brewing in New Orleans. Racism. Racism has always been alive and well in New Orleans but it has been held to a quiet background noise. As of late, with the arguments ongoing regarding whether the 9th Ward should be rebuilt, the comments of the not-so-savvy Mayor Nagin, the federal governments anti-help, a dangerous bubbling hot racism is very close to exploding, in my opinion.

But, again, I have to end by saying, that we really did have a wonderful time. We were treated like royalty by all the wonderful people of the Quarter. Many could not believe that we were actually there just for vacation. Just to give back a little. Most newcomers to New Orleans right now are not on vacation. They are there to work in one form or another. Actually, in the entire week I was there, I did not meet anyone who was there simply to relax and have a good time (with the exception of the 3 days of Pardi Gras). So, please, consider New Orleans in your vacation plans. I guarantee you will have a good time. New Orleans needs you, your laughter and your money, just as much as we need New Orleans and her warmth and charms.