Bittersweet Chocolate (part deux)

Now that I've had my serious say about NOLA & Katrina (that bitch!), I thought I'd share a few lighter observations.

Most of the refrigerator graffiti has been picked up, and most of the plywood with graffiti that was boarding up windows has now been taken down. Folks have taken to putting up "displays" in their yards.

The "tourist traps" in the Quarter had some great new "Tee" shirts. My favorites include:

NOPD

Not Our Problem, Dude

I stayed thru Katrina and

all I got was this lousy T Shirt

a new Cadillac

and a plasma TV

Krewe of Disaster

featuring

Ray Nagin, Kathleen Blanco & Aaron Broussard

Daughter had just returned from a panel discussion on restoring the City when we arrived and she said that one of the panelists offered up a new slogan for bringing back tourists:

"Visit New Orleans, where the weird turn pro"

Friday night we went to listen to friend Phil Melancon in the Bayou Bar at the Pontchartrain Hotel. The "King" was there that evening and did a new number about FEMA. He started the parody with a question. "Do you know what the initials F.E.M.A. stand for? Fix everything, my ass!"

And finally, while having beignets at Cafe du Monde, I was struck by the thought that even the pigeons looked a little skinnier than usual.

Never the less, it sure felt good to kick back in the Big Easy.