We Still Need A Good Song

Riding back from Frenchman's Street last night I had this strange feeling of being in an almost deserted city... but it's the middle of jazzfest and there are things going on all over town! In years past, this would have meant thousands and thousands of people here for the week in between the fest weekends, but this year most people seem to have left town.

The event from Monday, at Tipitinas,(see a video clip here) was a benefit for musical instruments in schools. The urgency of this issue is due to the fact that as kids return, most of the instruments gathered up and given in years past were lost to the storm and the program has to start over. You can help, if you're so inclined, by going to Tipitina's Foundation and making a donation.

Yesterday, Ray Nagin, our soon to be ex-mayor, introduced his hurricane evacuation plan, which pretty much guarantees that one week a month (under good circumstances) the city will be emptied of all its population, playing havoc on every type of business and personal dynamic.

It's festival time all right... and the town is feeling pretty ebullient... here's to hoping that we will not soon be simply effluvia.