You say it's your birthday...

By New Orleans standards it is a cold day here but, by Cleveland standards, it is spring. This is the first birthday I have spent in my hometown in three years. In many ways things are the same as they were when I left on that Friday before the storm hit, foolishly thinking I was only going away for a weekend vacation trip. Sadly, though, much of what had been is gone and will probably never return. So what has been the upshot of the last three years? Well, for one, it has forced me to deal with my literary muse. I started writing much more after the Federal Flood of 2005, as some locals prefer to call it. My writing led to my working at the Cleveland Jewish News for over a year and a half, which, in turn, led to my present work at the Deep South Jewish Voice. And now, this penchant for writing has led me to pour myself into this vehicle...the Kosher Computing blog. Three years ago I enjoyed my last birthday in New Orleans at historic Antoine's Restaurant, the oldest dining establishment in the city. I was overjoyed at the fact that President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn had dropped by and that I had taken pictures of them alone and then with my mother. I was displeased, though, that the picture of the four of us taken by the Secret Service agent was blurry. Now, three years later, after Carter's recent book on Israel and Palestine titled "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid," showed him to be much less a friend of Israel than I had hoped, I am somewhat relieved that the image is blurred. For those of you who are interested, here's the link: http://groups.msn.com/musiclovers/alansbirthday.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=964
So, a lot has happened in three years, but I'm back now. For the most part my friends and family are both intact and there has been a lot of good that has come out of a very bad situation. It is always easy to see the bad following a disaster of the likes no city in our nation has endured. But items like greater cooperation between factions, a renewed sense of spirit, and less fractiousness are also evident. By the time my next birthday rolls around, I think there will be even more reasons to smile. New Orleans is definitely coming back and the people who love it will continue to make it "America's Most Interesting City."