For many, New Orleans was just a memory before it ever got washed away. It was a place you visited and drank too much and could piss on the sidewalk and get away with anything you wanted. For people who chose to move there permanently, knowing you could do a lot without being judged was part of the allure. But knowing prevents you from performing stupid shenanigans like pissing on the street or drinking large neon alcoholic beverages in public.

The freedom of self-expression I’m talking about is wonderful to experience. It can be loud, like the parades and second-lines that take place with or without a permit. It might be high school band practice before Mardi Gras season, the school band filling the neighborhood with sound. Or it might be a lone boy, waiting at the bus stop and blowing his horn. Self-expression might be bright, silky or satin, like a Mardi Gras costume, cross-dressing, or dressing-up for any old occasion.

Maybe you express yourself verbally, telling a stranger your life story while sitting at the bar or waiting in line for groceries. It’s so nice to know people. Walking down the block might take a half hour if you want to talk to your neighbors as you go. I’d rather say hello than constantly keep up my guard and pretend I don’t know or care what’s going on around me.

Donald, a security guard at Charity hospital who used to be in the military, told me he’s traveled all over the world and there “ain’t no place” like New Orleans. I am trying to write a positive, upbeat entry, because I think I’m usually such a downer. But it’s hard to stay happy here because Donald also told me his entire family used to live in New Orleans. Now it’s just him and his girlfriend. His family is scattered across the southern United States. He especially misses his grandmother and his son.

Now that I think about it, I am not the only one who is often negative. I certainly don’t see anyone writing about what a favor our city has done by sharing its occupants with the rest of the world. You only ever hear about the crime rate increasing. What about the fact that some of the funniest, best dancing, most knowing how to celebrate life people in the world have now been dispersed throughout the U.S. Talk about a valuable commodity. I want them all back. We’re underappreciated elsewhere. Everybody come home.