After the storm has passed

All that is New Orleans is not just in New Orleans.

The people and the spirit of New Orleans exists not in the land or the buildings but in the hearts of the people who carry her energy forward. We might try to think that it is the ground where men and women settled more than 5 centuries ago, but the truth is that every person who was displaced from New Orleans but the storm and ravage carry in their hearts the energy and the signature soul of the Old Town.

To be a real citizen of the French Quarter meant that one had several important qualities:

1. A sense of individuality. Uniqueness applies to the citizens not just to the architecture.
2. An awareness of magic. One could not walk through the city and live there without feeling the magic that embues the vitality of the place. From voodoo to passion for fine dining... the magic continues.
3. A sense of history. When one walks through the town, history touches one around every corner.
4. A sense of play. Even when folks are suffering from day-to-day living there is always a sense of celebrating life. No where is the inner child more free to play than in the energy of this city

The important thing is to recognize that all of us have this energy of New Orleans in our soul. As a collective we all have the magic that was, is, and will be New Orleans.