After a day or so, staying at my adorable bed and breakfast, I felt at home. People would stop and chat, and everyone had a tale to tell, each more harrowing than the next. I discovered that many police officers were being housed on Carnival Cruise line boats Ecstasy and Sensation, docked on the Mississippi near Jackson Square, as most of them lost their homes. Nevertheless, a feeling of energy and hopefulness was in the air. "We'll get it done" was the motto on the lips of the displaced.
On Sunday, I downed a remarkable breakfast at Stanley's on Decatur, which had been the first restaurant to open. Twelve tables and a great bar with a glass frontage that gave it a bright and cheery feeling. The whole family was running the place and our breakfast included enormous blueberry pancakes with globs of vanilla ice cream and raspberry syrup. The chatter never abated, as new people wandered in, they too added opinions. Some were guards, some FEMA, many were locals who had just returned. All had stories and all were optimistic about New Orleans' chances for survival.
I had the chance to meet Mayor Ray Nagin and he's very upbeat and wants visitors to return soon.
Hotels and restaurants are reopening each day.
Dickie Brennan had just reopened Bourbon House restaurant and as I ate a succulent soft-shell crab Po Boy sandwich and a traditional New Orleans bread pudding, the wait staff came over one by one to tell me their sagas. Most had lost homes and many were living upstairs in the restaurant's banquet rooms, but all were eager to rebuild their beloved city.
