August 17, 2006

Farewell, My New Friend

By Stan Dyer

Sometimes in life, we can be so naive and not even realize it. People, especially my girlfriend, told me for years what a special place New Orleans is. Still, I had this image of a sleepy, southern port town with a weak NFL franchise. I thought the town only came to life for a short period each winter to celebrate Mardi Gras, and then hibernated while waiting for the rest of the year to pass. I was wrong. Now, I know the truth, I know I made a new friend this year, and I know how sad it was to say "farewell".

Once I overcame my ungrounded stereotype, I discovered New Orleans is indeed a celebration. It is a celebration of life, food, drink, music, history, heritage, and, maybe most of all, diversity. Everyone is welcome, (even I), in the Crescent City, and you are likely to see many of us there. In much the same way a port city attracts a variety goods from all over the world, a port city also attracts a variety people. Those who visit this port city take a small piece of that variety with them when they leave, and leave some of their own variety behind. That's diversity. In this fashion, the city is continuously being seasoned with the spice of life. I'm not saying New Orleans is anywhere near perfect, or that they intend to perfect the process. I am saying that never before in my life, and in no other place, did I feel so comfortable and so much a part of the World Community.

Now your impression of the city may differ from mine, but I hope you read all my articles in this series and that those articles inspired you to venture south to formulate or reformulate your own opinion. Two hurricanes and their devastation are keeping people away. This is a tourist economy and they specialize in hospitality. They need people to start coming back. Floods in the Ninth Ward were devastating, and homeowner's insurance does not cover water damage. Those people lost almost everything they own with little hope of recovering much, if anything. As sad as that is for them, it is just as sad for all of us to lose any part of that great city.

In that respect, I want to say "Bravo" to Harrah's. Despite the loss of business and with no legal obligation to do so, Harrah's paid its New Orleans employees their full wages and all of their benefits for four full months. That's the way America is supposed to work, and one of the reasons this is the greatest country in the world. Harrah's lesson in goodwill, community, and sharing puts them at the top of my list of favorite casinos.

When I went to New Orleans, I didn't know what Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, the flooding, and the looting left, or what I could expect. Yet, after arriving, the city's smile and the city's personality made it so I barely noticed the defects. More than the "little city that could", New Orleans is proving to be the "Big city that can do anything". I believe in New Orleans and its power to overcome the impossible. That's why I'm rooting for the Saints to win the Super Bowl, even if they have to beat the Broncos to do it. I just want something good to happen for the city again.

All fun things must end, and the time to go came too soon. On the day we left New Orleans, we had to stop at Cafe Du Monde one last time. Sipping tall French roast coffee, I saw tears well in the eyes of my girlfriend, Joan-Marie. I knew exactly what she felt, and I now understood exactly what she meant all these years talking about her "favorite city". I also realized New Orleans was my new friend, and sister city. It was indeed sad to say "farewell".