So, lots of people have brought up the subject before–including moi–and I know there are many others wondering the same thing: who in their right mind is gonna live in New Orleans when all this is over?
Well, I don’t know about the “right mind” part, but I can be pretty sure that the people who go back home to stay–including yours truly–are the ones who want to be there.
Clearly, we’re going to lose folks, especially refugees who’ve found work and homes and communities elsewhere. We’ll probably lose some business people, too. And I don’t blame ’em a bit–many of ’em lost everything they had, and even those who didn’t are gonna have a long row to hoe to get things back on track. Apart from second-rate, carpetbagging contractors, no one’s gonna have an easy time of it. Only those truly dedicated to the city are likely to stick it out.
That excites me.
This could be a great opportunity–an opportunity to do some cleaning, some straightening, some reorganizing of New Orleans, a chance to fix some of its less-than-endearing flaws. Yeah, we’ll probably screw up somewhere along the way, but at least the possibility of improvement is there. That’s enough to keep me going.
Hell, if we’re lucky, we might even finally get rid of Tom freaking Benson. Ya hear me, Tommy? Your cavalier ambivalence toward New Orleans and your stupid, pandering, post-game second-lines have pissed me off long enough. Now might be a great time to pack your bags and get the hell out of Dodge. Good luck finding a sazerac in San Antonio.
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