"Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" is a song that strikes a chord with any New Orleanian. It ranks among my favorite songs about my hometown. The Louis Armstrong classic seems especially fitting after 5 days in Miami.
Don't get me wrong...there is a lot to love about Miami. The culture, the beaches, the weather and of course, the night life. What's not to love? Traffic. Driving skills (or lack thereof). Parking prices. ENDLESS tolls. And, at times at least, a city that focuses on looks, fast cars, fame and gossip more than the soul of its people.
It's the "soul" of New Orleans that separates it from most any other city in the world. If you haven't already seen it in my earlier blog, check out this story by Wright Thompson that does an incredible job of summing up the "Soul of New Orleans".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugV6gcXGPwk&feature=player_embedded
As I've made my way around town this week, it's amazing to hear the endless "Who Dat" chants. New Orleans is a city with many problems. Crime. Poverty. A deficient school system. Corrupt politicians. But for all of the difficulties we face day-to-day, New Orleanians take pride in the good things unlike any other group of people I've ever witnessed. Even through tragedy, we celebrate life. Jazz funerals are the perfect example.
So why do I miss New Orleans? Well, you probably won't understand if you've never lived there. But if you have, you know that feeling of 'I'm alive!' and brotherhood that swells through your body when surrounded by your brothers and sisters from the "City That Care Forgot". It can't be replicated. It's a second line that never ends. An anchor that pulls you back even though every sensible part of you tells you to move to a place with better schools, better roads, honest politicians (is that possible?) and no hurricanes or faulty levees.
So on this dawn of the Super Bowl, one of the biggest nights in recent history for the city, I submit to you that New Orleans is the best city around and there's nowhere else that deserves a victory -- both literally and figuratively -- more than my hometown.
WHO DAT!
- Steve Caparotta
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