09/26/11

Taking the Smoke Clouds Out of the Outdoors

At intermission during an excellent production of The Addams Family I headed to the outside area that overlooks the Mahalia Jackson Theater's fountains. A little fresh air and a stretch, I thought, would be nice. That section of the building is quite picturesque. In the foreground are shimmering pools under splashing fountains; beyond that is the French Quarter.

Something was wrong though. I inhaled the night air and suddenly wished I hadn't. My eyes were reddened; my nose was feeling irritated. Instead of the fresh air I sought the area was filled with puffs of smoke. This was where the smokers had congregated. I hurried back inside where the mechanically circulated air was purer.

As a nation we have taken a huge step by outlawing smoking in...

Posted at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments: 21

09/19/11

Errol Laborde: How Communications has Changed since the Katrina Days

Six years ago this week many of us were still in our Katrina exile. Our world was changing in many ways, including communication. On the Sunday that we evacuated I did not even own a laptop. By the time we returned in October we couldn't get along without one. Laptops existed before Katrina but those early months of survival were the global birth of the laptop's relevance. The machines were transformed from another step in computer evolution to the best ever personal communications device.

Information technology has changed so much since the Katrina days that it seems like a century ago: Blackberries existed, but not iPhones. Texting was in its infancy. There was no easily available Facebook; no tweeting.

For many, cell phone were useless during the...

Posted at 09:22 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

09/12/11

Terror on the Roof: When New Orleans Stood Still (By Errol Laborde)

For the first time in his life a relative heard live machine gun fire. The sound echoed through the buildings of the New Orleans skyline. From his position on the deck of a French Quarter attic apartment he could see the white lights of a police helicopter floating through the night sky. The noise of the helicopter engine was the only harmony, on this otherwise hushed evening, to the clatter of the bullets. New Orleans seemed violated that night as he heard the ricochets of men shooting at each other.


No single criminal event in this nation’s history compares in horror to what happened ten years ago this week, on Sept. 11, 2001, but the numbing memories bring to mind that terrible January day in 1973 when New Orleans plunged into its own terrorist crisis. For two days...

Posted at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1