If there was no New Orleans, America would just be a bunch of free people dying of boredom. -Judy Deck in an e-mail sent to Chris Rose

It is impossible to capture the essence, tolerance, and spirit of south Louisiana in words.

The longer you live in New Orleans, the more unfit you become to live anywhere else.

Time is running out for the climate

...as bad as it is here, it's better than being somewhere else. -Chris Rose, regarding life in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Even at the End of Days, there will be lap dancing.

To be engaged in some small way in the revival of one of the great cities of the world is to live a meaningful existence by default.

Everybody here has a story. New Orleans was always a place where people talked too much even if they had nothing to say. Now everyone's got something to say.

A New Orleans credo: When life gives you lemons--make daiquiris.

Do what you do. This Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year's Eve, Twelfth Night, Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, St. Paddy's Day, and every day henceforth. Just do what you do. Live out your life and your traditions on your own terms. If it offends others, so be it. That's their problem.