No man is an island

...but we live on one.

Or, as Tim would call it, the sliver by the river.

I'm not going to tell you that right now, NOLA is basically that strip from a few blocks riverside of Claiborne to Jefferson, and then from a couple blocks lakeside of St. Chuck to da quatah. You know that. You live here. If you read this, you must have some kind of connection with New Orleans.

So guess what? That's the point.

I don't even really care about reading CNN or the BBC or basically anything national or global any more. I used to subscribe to The Economist for crying out loud. Now, the only print I subscribe to is the Times-Picayune.

Why?

Well, because right now, New Orleans is all that matters.

Look at all the blogs listed in the linkeroos on the left. They're all about New Orleans. They're the only things that matter.

After I caught that BA flight to Europe on August 28, I stayed in front of my computer for hours. Looking, assimilating, reading, searching for anything, anything at all related to Katrina. When I saw it turn, I couldn't believe it.

The old joke was always that if a hurricane hit the levees, we'd be able to sit on top of the superdome and fish. Who would have thought that the dome wouldn't make it.

In the days that followed, I went to WWL-TV and NOLA.com. They were the only media outlets covering anything. Then I started looking at the Interdictor and Chuck's blog, and became aware that the people connected with NOLA are better equipped to write about it. Jeez, I wanna punch Geraldo in his teeth... I digress.

So nowadays, when I apple-click one of the links on my bookmarks bar in Safari, I get basically that whole list of blogs on linkeroos. I can't remember the last time I went to the Economist website, or many of the things I cared about pre-K. Now, the only thing that matters is New Orleans, and keeping it alive.

Now, I'm militant about shopping NOLA first. I look at labels. If there are competing brands, I buy the NOLA brand (coffee, rum, beer...); if there is no NOLA brand, I buy Louisiana if I can.

I bought a minivan on Monday (hey, I have 3 kids now...it's the law), and I made it a point to buy from a dealer in Orleans parish. I don't mind paying that little bit more tax; the tax is going to my home, to help out my city. St. Tammany and Jeff are doing quite well now, tax-wise.

So, welcome to the microcosm of NOLA. We're going to rebuild, despite everyone. And we'll have fun doing it, too. Yeah, you rite.

Comments

[polimom]

Yup! Parents and minivans. A match made in heaven (or someplace like that, but with a trade agreement...).

Been meaning to say CONGRATS, btw, on your recent family addition. Life and renewal in the face of all the despair and chaos - can't think of a more hopeful sign.