I've read a lot about the state of Nawlins, but this article is the best description of what it must be like there right now.

God damn.

The more I keep thinking about the city, the more I recall how much it helped me. I wrote about my 9/11 experience here. I recall one night, walking down some back street, being horribly depressed, and running into this guy who was a street entertainer. Not one of those idiots that paint themselves silver and stand still. This guy could sing. He was a slight black man. Maybe 120 pounds. Tiny. But the man had a voice. I walked by him, and he asked if I wanted to hear a song. I said I'd like to hear something about America. I was feeling drunk, alone and patriotic. He sang a song, and right now I am upset that I don't recall what song it was.

But I suppose that doesn't matter, because I remember it making me want to cry. I wanted nothing more than to be home, yet here was this guy singing about America, which at the time was New York, and I didn't care what the song was. It was just me and this random guy singing about America on a back street of New Orleans. It seemed perfectly normal at the time. I hope he is still alive. He was a bright spot of my trip.