Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?

I know the images that we are witnessing on local and national news are horrific and unfathomable. Each minute passes with reports of a city crumbling that is very near and dear to me. I cannot express the grief that I am feeling as I watch CNN with my hands covering my eyes. I didn't live there very long, but since 1991 it's been part of my soul. The culture, music, food and people are fascinating, decadent, poor, happy and now very sad. The hardest part for me to deal with, is that the city will never be the same. Never. All I have are the wonderful memories of the people I met and the places that I've been. To Kristi, Scott, Melanie, Chris, Lori and the other people of New Orleans that I worked alongside and were invited into their homes, I hope you are safe. Unfortunately, I was in Manhattan one week after 9-11. It was chaos. A warzone. People were scared. The city was quiet. I cannot imagine New Orleans being the same way. Just a few weeks ago, some of my close friends and I already had our flights booked to visit the city in October. I miss it already....