Though I don’t fully get all of it (I just got up and all the wheels aren’t turning yet), a line in today’s Jarvis DeBerry column really hit home to me this morning. The one toward the end, about those of us who choose to stay in New Orleans being an “all-volunteer army.” Man — ain’t DAT de truth.

Another of our neighbors has decided she’s had enough. She’s got two offers on her small townhouse and will sell it. She’ll stay with a friend for a little while until she finds the right job offer and then she’ll hit the road for good. She ranted for a while last night as we stood under a streetlight, waving her arms and talking in a whisper much of the time about how she’s got no more patience with a variety of things — from an ex-boyfriend to rude people to the daily hassles of life in this city these days. She’s a woman with a lot to offer, being an experienced RN, and she was one of the very first back in the neighborhood after the storm. She has rebuilt her townhouse, which lost its roof and had to be gutted back to the studs. But everything has simply piled up and she’s had enough. She says she cried for one day and then she was over it.

Our Irish Channel neighborhood has been luckier than most, in terms of residents who have decided to stay this long. Of the dozen or so houses we can see from our front stoop, three of the owners have decided to leave or simply never came back after Katrina. This particular neighbor will make four– and there is another house for sale up the street (we’re not sure if that owner is just moving elsewhere in the city or plans to get out). We’ve read the ruminations in here from Jack and from Chris about getting out and, well, it’s something we hear nearly daily from one person or another.

This isn’t a rip on those who decide to go. Each of us has different needs and wants and, frankly, anyone who has seen fit to live in the city for the past 18 months has certainly proven enough testicular fortitude in my book. Whether driven by practicality, profession, wanderlust or whatever, a lot of these folks (nearly all of whom are single and with highly mobile skills) might be moving on even in the most normal of times. We’ll miss them dearly and always welcome them back.

I can’t put a finger on exactly what it is, but I guess the bottom line for this 53-year-old soul is that I’m simply having too much damn fun. The frustrations are momentary, the disillusionment is fleeting and, when I consider the alternatives, none are more attractive than simply staying put. I LIKE being a volunteer in this army, as dysfunctional as it can be.

We’re all crazy in our own way and, for most of us at least, it’s what keeps us from going truly insane. Staying here is part of that, at least for me. Others feel it’s better to take their craziness on the road. Good for them. Godspeed and please come back to see us when you can. Or we’ll go see you when we need a break from time to time. But in the meantime, we’ll be here in our House Of Altered Reality. With the music turned up really loud.

Related posts:

1. The Paper Chase Part Deux
2. People Count
3. Do Something
4. Cruising the coast
5. Babies in the Quarter