Continue to Hope

With the Saints winning the Super Bowl and an overwhelming majority of New Orleanians electing their next mayor, most would think there was enough to celebrate, but Mardi Gras was still a big hit, bringing in a record-breaking crowd. On Mardi Gras Day, the streets were filled with laughter and celebration. Several police officers with great big smiles joined spectators in the merriment.

Traditional carnival music could be heard everywhere, but at every block you could also hear the voices of Saints fans carrying through the wind, bellowing, “Who Dat, Who Dat, Who Dat say they gon’ beat them Saints!?” Waving tall in the hands of his proud supporters were signs that read “Mitch Landrieu Mayor,” a slight twist from their previous signs that read “Mitch Landrieu for Mayor.” It was amazing to see a city, once besieged with gloom, turn into a venue of hope, excitement and celebration.

The spirit lives on even 10 days after Bourbon Street was cleared at midnight on Ash Wednesday. WWL-Radio talk show host John “Spud” McConnell is still taking calls about the city’s high state of enthusiasm and the citizens’ optimism about the future of the Big Easy. The pages of local newspapers are booming with blissful stories and pictures capturing the people of the city in one of their greatest times.

But when you really think about it, when times were tough, and the Saints were the Aints, many things to be proud of were hidden deep within our despondency. Stories during the hurricane come to mind; about people of all walks of life coming together to survive such a devastating tragedy. Or on Mardi Gras 2006 — the first Mardi Gras after you-know-what — a 100-piece band marched down Constance Street. It wasn’t St. Aug’s Marching 100’s, well at least some of them weren’t. It was a composite band. Xavier Preparatory School, St. Augustine High School and St. Mary’s Academy joined forces and brought some life back to our recovering city that Mardi Gras.

With every experience comes a lesson. Let’s not let the cloud of gloom cover our city again. Look for the good. It’s not as deep within the mist as we think. Great things are always happening in the Crescent City. It shouldn’t have to take Saints wins and political landslides to make us feel great. But boy I must admit, the Lombardidrieu Gras experience was quite a ride.

Josh Forman is a staff writer. He can be reached for comment at jforman@tulane.edu.