Brocato's

The reinsurance industry has just calculated Hurricane Katrina to be an 800-year storm (think about that, 800 years ago it was the 1206 AD, 11 years before Magna Carta!). Under the circumstances, it's remarkable that New Orleans has recovered as well as she has. We have learned to savor (sometimes literally) small victories: a new roof here, a reopened business there.

The re-opening of the Superdome was of huge symbolic value to the City of New Orleans - and the fact that the Saints won big at the premier event on a Monday Night game that was as festive as the Super Bowl was like getting the Baby Jesus in the king cake, or a coconut from the Zulu float (let the New Orleanian reader understand).

If you want to get a flavor (pun intended) for just how local people rally around their neighborhoods, traditions, and communities in New Orleans, have a look at this very fun article about the re-opening of Brocato's ice cream parlor, a New Orleans icon for over a hundred years. Everybody loves a comeback story, and this one even has to do with ice cream!

While I'm not a native New Orleanian, it's hard not to be converted, to appreciate the utter cultural uniqueness of the people here, and the sense of "home" that has been lost in many areas of the country. Surviving Katrina (by the grace and mercy of God) and working through all the hassles of rebuilding has made us a tougher and more resilient people than before.

Grace and I are looking forward to a visit to Brocato's. I'll post pictures.

This is one more small but joyful step toward our recovery, our renaissance! One more example of the esprit and the joie de vivre of the habitants de la Lousiane.

Laissez les bons temps rouler encore!