New Orleans is a great city.

[Rex_Goodheart]

Why? Because it represents how living should be. We were not placed on this world to run a constant rat race. New Orleans eats and drinks and dances and smiles, and if it has more than its share of poverty it's because those things don't require a whole lot of money, and at least poor people can feel in New Orleans that they're part of a celebration of life.

Yes, I'm a native of the New Orleans area (Jefferson Parish, to be exact) and embarrassed about some of the things in the city: the murder rate, the poor schools). But heaven knows I've been homesick for years, and although I'm exhausted from two weeks of crying I have made a vow to be there on that first new Mardi Gras.

Laissez les bon temps rouler.

[txaslftist]

1. Laissez les bon temps rouler, mon ami!