Celebration Revelations

The night before Christmas Eve I took Jane and a friend to this years "scaled down" version of the annual Christmas at the Oaks celebration. In former times this was a bright and lively celebration of rides, food, performances, decorations lights etc. But this year the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina made it far less garish.
Some observations follow that may reflect on the effect the storm had on my city, as seen by this microcosm event- Christmas at the Oaks.
1) We drove to it after dark. What an experience! I had not been to that section of New Orleans, and I was surprised that it also is nearly deserted. House after house we passed along the way was damaged severely. I remarked that with the total darkness around us (There is not electricity in the area) that it seemed we were driving to an eerie spooky Halloween event, not a Christmas celebration. But most of my city looks like a Halloween haunted house now anyway! 2) We arrived after a brief search for an entrance to Christmas At The Oaks. There is no electricity in the park except where the event is held. The rest is still un-electrified. I could see many trees that were dead but still standing, waiting to be removed. The park lost about 1/2 of all it's trees, including some of the 200 year old oaks that majestically swayed there. We saw debris still on the park grounds, as the city is broke and has no funds to clean it completely (Bush and Congress still have not sent us the help we need). If a city is defined by it's zoos and parks, New Orleans is a patient in critical condition.
3) On entering we noticed the much smaller scale of the celebration. For instance, instead of the permanent rides at the park (most of which were completely destroyed) a carnival company had ben hired to temporarily set up rides on the site grounds. About 1/4 of the usual area for the event was in use. City officials say they will have the Celebration of The oaks "back to normal" next Christmas. I have my doubts it will ever be the same (as I doubt my city will be as a whole).
4) Oh, my! Where was our great New Orleans food! For a city that prides itself on it's food, this time the Celebration could hide in shame. The menu from the few food stalls was unappetizing hot dogs, nachos, popcorn etc. Now where was there to be found gumbo, jambalaya, ettoufee' etc. I wondered if our food will ever be what it once was.
5) The crowd seemed much better heeled than before. It was reflective of the fact that New Orleans poor have largely migrated out now. I wondered if the hurricane would make us not only a small city, but a more affluent one.
6) The park grounds opened for the Celebration looked beautiful. The lights and decorations were gorgeous and the atmosphere comforting and joyous. I thought to myself as well if this might instead be the future of New Orleans. Would our people "work" at bringing back the city as the park employees worked so hard to make a pleasant event out of nothingness.
7) Jane and her friends spent much of the night riding rides. I walked the grounds saw the sites and finally gravitated to a big tent where food and entertainment were available. What did I find in the entertainment card? Well, it was nice, particularly the performances of several very talented teens and a 12 year old. The 12 year old looked 20 and sang as lovely as her appearance. then there was a14 year old girl who sand country western songs, yodel and all, and two teen dancers...
But the point is that when the MC introduced all at the end of their performances, it was revealed that all had lost their homes- covered and ruined by flood water. yet those talented kids returned to restart their lives. I thought to myself that we perhaps we have many more of those, and that the floods can't wash away our determination to be renewed. We shall see in the years ahead. I now wonder if that event more reflected the future of New Orleans than the present. If so, the city will do well.
I have another bizarre cell phone story for you. The stupidity of many cell phone addicts is only matched by their rudeness. At least they amuse me. In this case, an unidentified 24 year old woman loves her cell so much she would rather...uh...rather swallow it than let her lover borrow it. And swallow it is what she did! You could say that when she downed the cell phone she "ended the conversation". Hehe It all started because her boyfriend wanted the phone. "He wanted the phone and she wouldn't give it to him, so she attempted to swallow it," said the detective in charge of the investigation. "She just put the entire phone in her mouth so he couldn't get it." Police got a call (I wonder what phone he used to make that call?) from the boyfriend who told them the lady (is a cell phone swallowing woman really a "lady"? What bad manners!) had trouble breathing, and sure enough.....when they arrived at the home the woman had the phone lodged in her throat. An ambulance was dispatched and the cell nut was rushed to a local hospital for treatment (Let's hope she is also treated for cell phone addiction). Contrary to rumors, there isn't a ringing coming from the woman's stomach, but if there is how will she answer?
I think all kids remember learning some kind of music in school. For us it was flute that was compuls