Putting the Pieces Back Together...

Our roads are heavily clogged, unemployment and public assistance lines stretch everywhere by the thousands, our supermarkets are running out of meat, so many vehicles out of gas on the sides of roads, our banks and post offices are so packed you'd think the end of the world was coming, every single house that was for sale is now sold for $25,000 above the asking price, all hotel rooms are booked indefinitely, and there are no apartments left anywhere to rent. This is what life is like down here in Baton Rouge. And yet we are slowing assimilating and life will eventually return back to normal in New Orleans.

On the gay scene, those New Orleans boys are packed into the Baton Rouge bars. We have never had as much lively bar action as we do now. Exciting times are now going on in Baton Rouge... now the Gulf Coast's largest city! The funny thing is that they are not used to Baton Rouge's more conservative laws. Bars never close in New Orleans. You can go from bar to bar with a plastic cup and your favorite bubbly with complete freedom from the religious police. The bars up in Baton Rouge are governed by the religious police. Here, all bars have to close at 2:00am. You CANNOT buy a drink in a store or a bar (they close) in Baton Rouge on a Sunday. Sorry boys... welcome to Louisiana's conservative State Capital. It is surreal to see all these New Orleans bad boys hanging out in "boring" Baton Rouge gay bars. We are greeting each other with huge smiles as we realize more and more of our friends have survived Hurricane Katrina. I think this is definitely bringing together our gay community. We are dropping the rivalries, cooling the putting on airs, and we are actually looking out for one another. Props to the local gay communities for showing such resilience after the havoc Katrina wrought!

Speaking of resilience, our sports players have lost homes too and their home stadiums for the time being. LSU football is back after canceling their first home game. The second home game was moved to Tempe, AZ to play the Arizona State Sun Devils because evacuees were getting medical treatment nearby on campus. LSU miraculously came back against ASU and won the game 34-31 after a brilliant 28 point fourth quarter barrage. And the Saints even booted a field goal with three seconds left to beat the Carolina Panthers! (Ha ha Chris!) GEAUX TIGERS!!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!

I was excited to hear today that the Saints will Play Four Home Games in Baton Rouge at Tiger Stadium. Yes, this includes the VERY INTERESTING matchup of LSU's ex-coach Nick Saban, who left a $2 million salary behind to go to $5 million salary at the Miami Dolphins. He has to play this game IN Tiger Stadium that will surely be filled with 93,000 Saints fans. Hmmm.... it is a once in a lifetime event! A former college coach leaving for an NFL team, then having to coach in the very next year in the exact same college stadium against the hometown NFL team. PRICELESS!!!

I sincerely hope that the Saints owner Tom Benson uses this opportunity to reach out to the fans of the New Orleans Saints. He has lost many fans from threatening to move the team to a place that could never love the team the way we did... L.A.! Those California people are fair weather fans. They couldn't sellout a stadium even if you were SuperBowl contenders. Instead of trying to extort more money from our State coffers to keep the team here, this is your one chance to repair your organization's battered image in the state. You can prove your loyalty and announce that the Saints are here to stay. You owe it to the people of Louisiana. This is your one chance at redemption. We'll work on getting a better stadium for the Saints. You do your part FIRST, and we'll take care of you in the end. We promise. No one will love you in L.A. For us, we'll always keep the faith and fill the stands through the good times and the bad times.

As long as there is LSU and Saints football, life is settling back to normal down here in the bayous of S. Louisiana. Our football teams are winning and it has certainly brightened our battered spirits. Thank God for LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints!