Happy Carne Vale!

After the amount of barbeque I have eaten over the past several days I am ready to take a break from meat for a little while. Possibly all the way to easter, but we'll have to see.

What a great Mardi Gras. Every year it seems that we get better and enjoy it more richly. Just when I think it can not get any better, the next year evolves into something better. This year is was the kids appreciation of it all. This morning, Phin woke up, and did he ask about the parades? about the bands? no...he asked if I was ready to fire up the grill because "my friends coming over". I couldn't be prouder.

I took him to see Zulu, but he was about done with parades, so he danced in some kind man's truck bed then rolled back uptown for his nap (thank you dude at Clio and St. C).

Meanwhile, Mom and Dad ran down to the Bridge Lounge to celebrate their annual membership in the tribe to march in Julu. Gotta love it, Zulu is a parody of the old mardi gras. Julu is the parody of the parody. Someday there will be a parody of Julu, then we will have truly arrived.

Tomorrow is back to work. We have a long way to go, congress it still trying to forget about us. Our mayor???? might have a plan, but who would know? More jobs, more homes, more hard working people. We're getting there.

Cat 5 Levees

Any discussion of providing Category 5 levee protection is pure theatre. This level of protection is owed to the people of this city by the federal government. This is the same federal government that took control of the levees in 1928. This is the same federal government who took all the tax revenue from the oil that was pumped onto our shores. This is the same federal government that cut budgets and cost us decent levee protection in the first place, and damnit! this is the federal government that is going to step up pronto! and guarantee Category 5 storm surge protection so this community and the international business community can get down to rebuilding.

Every delay costing this city more jobs and more of her future.

Call your congressman and demand New Orleans gets adequate protection now.

Points of LIght

As I drive around New Orleans, I can only see the thousand points of light of the city's rebirth. I guess you'd say I'm in denial about the destruction. I just went through Lakeview where the waterlines are up near my chin if I stand on the front step of the house. Instead of seeing the sadness of a persons entire filthy life being dumped on the sidewalk for a FEMA contractor to haul away for $16/yd, I see that joy in the fact that they returned to clean up the mess. I'm thrilled to see that they do have the committment to rebuild here.

Oh, I drove along the Lakefront, in the past 10 years hundreds of palms have been planted along the Lakefront. All those palms survived, and it looks like that from the lighthouse to UNO should look really good in a year or two. And while we are at UNO, they look really good. Those dormatories overlooking the lake did fine, and the whole campus looks ready for school.