In the so-called "City of Yes" sometimes it would be more desirable to say No. The Jewel of the Mississippi, New Orleans stood as the Empress of the South - her valuable, strategic position on the Mississippi Delta being her raison d'etre of it all. In better times, the Mississippi Queen's neon-white lights and elaborate technicolor Mardi Gras costumes would have provided the beacon of civilization over the steamy Louisiana swamps and decaying plantation houses.

New Orleans' best days are behind her now. While the Empress walks and talks like a goddess, her courtesans make their final bows. Educated African-Americans are migrating from the South to the sun-baked sands of California and rain-battered Manhattan, while the shining megalopolises of Houston and Miami both enviously eye the throne. The colossal port - that once was its source of power - has been supplanted by other ports, near and far; with the banking industry retreating out of the state to more prosperous shores. Regardless, New Orleans stands tall, her back straight and her eyes to the horizon. While the daggers to her back may be sharp, its inhabitants - whether they be the designer suits in the Downtown Area or the haggard aldermen of the French Quarter - will serve their sovereign dutifully.