Mardi Quotes

(As federal troops and rescue workers poured into still-flooded New Orleans, the Smiths pondered the future of their city.   Geof worried about the lack of tourism revenue without Mardi Gras or the Saints football games. But both brothers hope the city will be rebuilt better than before.  ) Driving out, I was pretty beat down, ... I was sad and embarrassed and I was like a lot of people that you might have seen on the news saying, `I`m not coming back.` But all these places—¯like Florida after their hurricanes,   or Los Angeles after the riots—¯they`ve recovered.   I`m going to do what I can to make it better. And I think there`s so much that`s not destroyed.

I think they`re crazy. There are people that need places to stay and all they`re talking about is Mardi Gras.

Tell him it`s his only friend in the whole wide world from Mardi Gras Town, U.S.A.

Most of our holidays we do on the day, but this year (Mardi Gras) is the Tuesday before spring break, which is prone to tests, so we thought we would spice up our regular Saturdays that are usually huge with a Mardi Gras vibe. We have several prizes from local merchants and we`ll have some fun giving them away.

I just hope that our beloved city will come alive again, which I know it will, because I`ve never missed a Mardi Gras parade in my life, and I`m not about to start in 2006.

This Mardi Gras is about more than greed. It`s a shout-out to everybody, and we`re coming back strong.