Only the Hopeful Remain

I drive uptown, passing Soul Food to Go stands and banners reading "Hold the Core Accountable." There's an explosion of now hiring and for sale signs, but in between all that the city is still very much alive. It seems like the mansions and the projects are for sale. The poor people can't afford to live here anymore and the rich don't want to. New Orleans may just become the perfect middle class city.

I can't remember ever seeing so many shiny new cars in a city where polluting jalopies once ruled the streets. Over 100,000 cars were destroyed in the storms and I can't tell whether these new cars are a result of gentrification or just replacing what was lost.

I park my white Magnum on Octavia street and realize that all the houses have a fresh coat of paint. The neighborhood looks great.

A couple sees me taking pictures and comes out to talk about rebuilding the city. "It's a day by day process, but it will get there. It's hard to explain to people who aren't from here what it was like to be away. It was unbearable." They have so much pride in this place and encourage me to come back and help rebuild the city. I want to, I really want to. The good people who stayed are the ones who know New Orleans in their heart and soul, not the pretenders who came for a good time and left when the going got tough.

I feel like a mother checking in on her children--making sure all my favorite places are intact. PJ's Coffeshop, check. The iced mocha still tastes the same after all these years... The Maple Leaf Bookshop, check. And earlier today, Cafe Brasil, Mona's, The Dragon's Den, Molly's, Faulkner House, check.

And, of course, WWOZ, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station. I can't help but smile listening to the raspy old blues men on the radio.

DJ: How you doing T. Model Ford?
T. Model: I'm hanging like an apple on a tree, waiting for the ladies to come out tonight.
DJ: Yeah you right. Keep your daughters locked up, cause T. Model's on the prowl.

You wouldn't believe the dirty conversation that followed...Clearly the FCC hasn't made it to New Orleans, but I have.