Laissez le bon temps rouler?

Looking at all the news footage of hurricane katrina has had me thinking of my own trifles in new orleans in the past. I can't imagine that city ever losing the spirit and fun that i always felt when i went to visit there. Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve, or a random weekend in July, the big easy always felt like there was a party about to break out, and nothing was going to get into the way. I'm sure that katrina will take a long time to clean up, but i hope that new orleans returns to it's happy-go-lucky ways. In the meantime, i encourage donations to the american red cross. Lousiana and Mississippi are basically in the bottom 10% of the US in terms of poverty, quality of education, and services. Having spent some time in both states, it's obvious that this is an america that we don't get to see too often, and is easy to forget. Let's not.