Friday night before the storm

I've gotten a bunch of really nice emails from people that I know.  Some people I know well and some people I had lost touch with.  Here is an excerpt from the email I got from my across-the-street neighbor Kristen Remeza.  She and her husband Rimas and I had been out on Friday night having a drink with some friends at the Columns hotel on St. Charles St.  Her account of that night says a lot about the mindset of New Orleans in the days before the devastating storm:

You know, I can't help thinking about Friday night. There we were on the porch at the Columns. I have pictures of it. I asked the table about what everyone thought of the encroaching hurricane, but no one responded. Had it been a big threat in our minds, it would have been a topic of conversation. But it wasn't. We were all so happy and content there on that porch with our Long Island Iced Teas and Sea Breezes. And here we are now, completely scattered but alive ... and thankful for that.

It's strange not to be able to go to your home, your neighborhood, or even your city.  But it's also strange to have your 'localized friends' dispersed throughout the country.  How will we reconnect?  When will we reconnect?  For now, it will be through the Internet.  Yes, we can be thankful for that.