New Orleans Was Recently Ranked Second in the Nation For Gay Friendliness

Way back in 1947, in a Hollywood film called "New Orleans," Miss Billie Holilday and Mr. Louis Armstrong performed a little ditty called "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" The answer to that lyrical query was given a poignant urgency in 2005 in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, when the nation - indeed, the world - shuddered to imagine a planet without one of the world’s most beloved cities. 

Nearly eight years after the summer of Katrina (and Rita, which followed Katrina in September 2005), and a year after the BP oil spill in the summer of 2010, a visitor to the Big Easy might not be faulted for wondering what tragedy might next befall "The City That Care Forgot."

Ah, but this is a city that gave birth to jazz, a music born of the blues, And this is the city that created the country’s oldest known cocktail, the Sazerac, which is also one of the most potent. And this is the city that gave us Tabasco sauce. In other words, New Orleans is a city made of strong stuff. Even the great fires of 1788 and 1794 couldn’t snuff out the spirit of New Orleans. New Orleans takes the burn - and eats it. 

Perhaps it’s not surprising to find a street named Melpomene in the American Quarter of New Orleans. Initially the Muse of Singing, Melpomene later became the Muse of Tragedy, wearing a crown of cypress. Aficionados of Louisiana will note that the state tree is the bald cypress, while lovers of New Orleans might point out that Terpsichore Street runs parallel to Melpomene. The Muse of Dance alongside the Muse of Singing: it’s the spirit of New Orleans in two blocks. And furthermore, Terpsichore is often said to be the mother of the Sirens, which perhaps helps explain why so many people feel the call to New Orleans.

One of the top ten most-visited cities in the US, New Orleans was recently ranked second in the nation for gay friendliness (after San Francisco in the top spot). Long before Tennessee Williams wrote about Blanche Dubois and her "sensitive" poet husband, gay people were finding their way to the city celebrated for its openness and joie de vivre. As our guide, Miss Jeanie, told us upon our recent return to the Crescent City, "You love New Orleans - and she’ll love you right back." 

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