Yep — that worked.

We parked the BBQ trailer on the corner and basically invited the entire ‘hood and most of them were there at one time or another. Thank you fellow Metrobloggers Mark, Chris and Jack for lending your humor, laughter and stories. It’s great to see the faces behind the names.

At one point, roughly ten of us had circled up in chairs in front of the house, drinking, talking way too loud and waving to the passing Utah National Guard guys in Humvees. The party, as most do here in New Orleans, sometimes extended out into the street and into nearby houses as well. It was cathartic for all of us, and definitely bolstered the unity of our little part of the Irish Channel.

The happy was balanced by the sad earlier in the day, with the arrival of across-the-street neighbors who had evacuated to the Houston area. They returned with a U-Haul to take much of their furniture out of their damaged home, as they’ve now happily established themselves in Texas. We were thrilled to see them but we’re sorry to see them go. They were kinda the neighborhood institution, with generation after generation in the same house. But, in their evacuation, they found much better schools for their kids and many more job opportunities. Maybe one day they’ll return, but it’s going to be a while.

That’s the way things are these days in this town. There’s a constant head count of who’s back, who’s back temporarily and who’s simply not coming back. The texture of the city is changing and it’s not yet clear how. But for at least one night, it was good to put all that on the shelf and just laugh a while.

Thank you.

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5. Fresh Blood Needed