News at Eleven: "And that's the thing that America stands yet

to gain, that's what New Orleans has to offer. We had to cross this space of the storm, but we can be a facilitator of that cultural exchange. Because once people hear the sounds and smell the smells of New Orleans, there's no question what the agenda is--the agenda is that we get together and we really have a blast--and all the joy and sadness that come with that."

But sadness is always there, underneath the joy. [Dave] Brinks remembers coming back into the city with his uncle, in hip waders.

from The Times-Picayune: Poet Dave Brinks finds his bliss in 'the encyclopedic living nature' of New Orleans' people

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