It's been about 15 years since the first time I visited New Orleans. The second time I went was a year after Katrina. It was obviously a completely different city. And, now, I got to visit too many days into the oil spill. Again, it's different, but it's still kicking with all it's random might. I say random because I've come to the conclusion that New Orleans is the most random city on the planet. One minute you're sipping a hurricane in the oldest bar in the nation (and a former blacksmith shop) the next you're talking to a man who claims to be a University of Virginia graduate who is now homeless, openly gay (which he wasn't in Virginia) and completely, utterly happy. The thing is you like this man and find him fascinating, so ... read more