A storm named Katrina had visited Chalmette, Arabi, the Lower 9^th Ward, the Bywater District, much of Gentilly and the lake front. It had left rubble, empty wooden shells and heartbreak in its wake. Many of the expensive houses along Lakeshore Drive were also vacant, as were most of the mansions on Canal Boulevard. Katrina hadn’t discriminated against the rich.

That night, Marilyn and I had dinner on Bourbon Street at Ralph Brennan’s Red Fish Grill, both of us happy for a momentary return to sanity. We sat at the bar, watching Pittsburgh and Seattle play the last football game of the year. After a wonderful dinner and perhaps the best bread pudding either of us had ever tasted, we returned to the Sheraton and found a seat at the bar to watch the finish of the Super Bowl

I had a long conversation about the City with a personable man seated beside me named Bellamy. He was unsure of the City’s future, but had a positive attitude that things would eventually work out for the best. As Marilyn and I took the elevator to our room, I hoped that he was correct.  http://www.ericwilder.com