I am getting ready to use some of bid annual to visit my parents in New Orleans and along the way I will make a side trip to Gulfport , Miss. to meet some other relatives before returning back to Colorado.

It is interesting to grow up in a city with so many nicknames. There is "The Big Easy" which is an old school name for the city being known as one giant speak-easy during the Prohibition days, "The Crescent City" which refers to the way the Mississippi River snakes through town. There is "K-Town" which is short for Katrina town. Keisha, on this site, has "NOLA" under her name - the abbreviation they have on the school buses and police cars in town. And there is "N'Awlins" which is only used by white people up north trying to fit in as tourists during Mardi Gras. But my favorite is "The City That Care Forgot." because it has two meanings now.

Originally, "The City That Care Forgot" was a short story written by Mark Twain about the laid-back carefree attitude of the people in New Orleans. Now, the quote is used about the FEMA blunders and the shenanigans of Mayor Ray Nagin. The city was in disarray before Katrina. And, according to yesterday's New Orleans newspaper it says "that FEMA gave away $85 million in household goods to government agencies, including the Postal Service, after they sat for two years in a FEMA warehouse." Here's the link to that story: http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/UpToTheMinute.cfm?recID=18404. According to the story, the Postal Service was clueless about where these supplies came from but they are now willing to return them. Any sentence begining with the phrase 'the Postal Service was clueless' - says it all.

But enough about gonzo politics, I am looking forward to seeing my parents and a couple of old childhood friends. There is a lot for me to catch up on back home.

I won't miss the ringleader, the crazy animals and the goofy clowns of the U.S. Postal Circus with its amazing antics going on non-stop in all three rings, I will be relaxing with my family and friends in The City That Care Forgot.