Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

A Mardi Gras to Remember; 'Minding Your Business'

Aired February 28, 2006 - 06:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to a Fat Tuesday edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Miles O'Brien, live from St. Charles Avenue in the city of New Orleans. It won't be too long before we'll see quite a scene here. As a matter of fact, the streets are already beginning to fill up.
Let's show you a live picture now in the place that you and I, most Yankees, would call the median of the road, down in that place called the Neutral Ground. I'll tell you a little bit about that.

Look what's happening. They're lighting bonfires and barbecues. The scene getting ready, getting a good place to be in good position to catch a few choice throws, perhaps a golden coconut from the famous Zulu krewe will come their way. They don't toss them anymore for fear of litigation, but those golden coconuts are among the most prized favors or throws.

They call it "Neutral Ground," Soledad, because back in the 17th and 18th century -- of course this is quite a tapestry of culture here -- the line of demarcation between the Creoles, or the people of color, and the Europeans, Canal Street was called the Neutral Ground. They had separate economies, separate everything. If they wanted to talk to each other, they came to Canal Street or Neutral Ground, and that has stuck.

Now, Soledad, you know the expression. Our boss, Kim Bondy, has told us we're really on the inside here. What you say if you are a New Orleanian to each other today is you say, "I know you Mardi Gras."

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And what does that mean?

M. O'BRIEN: Kind of a verb or an adjective, depending on how you look at this.

S. O'BRIEN: "I know you Mardi Gras," what does that mean?

M. O'BRIEN: I don't know. I know you -- so I think it means you got -- you got game. You got game or something.

So, I know you Mardi Gras, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm going -- I'm going -- hey, I know you Mardi Gras. I saw you on that float.

Listen, I bet all these people down here, I know they Mardi Gras because the party goes on. It's funny, you were showing pictures of people getting ready. I've got people behind me who are getting ready to go to bed. They have been up literally all through the night, continuing to party. I think fairly strongly.

Bourbon Street here, of course, and you might think, oh, Bourbon Street, named for the liquor. No, no, no. Bourbon Street is actually the French royal family from many, many, many hundreds of years ago. And they actually produced a line of kings, several kings.

It became a prestigious residential street here. And you can really tell when you look at the architecture on Bourbon Street, a very wealthy and prestigious street.

After then after World War II, things changed a little bit, the reputation changed a little bit, and what you ended up getting was clubs and restaurants and jazz clubs and strip clubs, and it became a little more like this. The Bourbon Street still going strong, even though we're looking at local time -- what is it, 5:30 in the morning here.

The party is not dimming. Today is the big day. It's Fat Tuesday.

We're going to continue our live reports from here. But first, we're going to throw it back to Carol for an update on what's happening around the world.

Carol, good morning again.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

Good morning to all of you.

A series of attacks across Baghdad this morning. At least 13 are dead -- 33 dead, rather. Dozens are wounded. Police say blasts from two car bombs and a suicide bomber ripped through the city just hours ago.

Also, a tense atmosphere inside a Baghdad courtroom. Saddam Hussein's trial resumed just a short time ago. His defense lawyers are attending for the first time in a month, and Aneesh Raman is reporting there is shouting inside the courtroom.

A top official from the Dubai company at the center of the controversial ports deal goes before a Senate subcommittee later today. The deal is under a 45-day review after an outcry from lawmakers citing security concerns.

In the meantime, newly released documents suggest the Coast Guard was worried about intelligence gaps, including questions about foreign influence if the Dubai-based company takes over. But the Coast Guard is now downplaying that report.

A Senate panel is holding a hearing on the domestic spying program. This, as the White House rejects a request for a wiretap inquiry. A group of Democrats wants a special counsel to investigate any possible violation of federal criminal law, but spokesman Scott McClellan says they should focus instead on the lease of the program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And I think that where these Democrats are calling for this, ought to spend their time -- is on what was the source of the unauthorized disclosure of this vital and critical program in the war on terrorism, because what it has done is signal to the enemy some of what we're doing to try to save lives. And I really don't think there's any basis for a special counsel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Today's hearing is set to begin in three hours. Former CIA director James Woolsey among those set to testify.

And the war of words over the bestseller "The Da Vinci Code." The high court in London is hearing arguments in a lawsuit involving mega-selling author Dan Brown. Two other authors claim parts of their 1982 nonfiction work "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail" were used as the basis for Brown's book.

So they're suing the book's publisher. Brown could testify as early as next week.

Ooh, it should be interesting, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Have you read any other of Dan Brown's books?

COSTELLO: Yes, on your suggestion I read that other one.

MYERS: Yes. Actually, I think "The Da Vinci Code" is the worst of all of them. I think the other books are so amazing. If you can pick up a used copy somewhere, just go ahead and do it, because some of the other books are awesome.

COSTELLO: A used copy? You are so cheap.

MYERS: I love -- you can get them on eBay. They are old. You don't have to go out and buy 22 bucks for a hard cover. I am cheap. I admit it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thanks.

Well, you know, Mardi Gras may be a party worth throwing, but clearly it is still bittersweet for many people. AMERICAN MORNING'S Dan Lothian talked with two sisters who were forced to leave the French Quarter after Hurricane Katrina. It turned out that it was storm that shattered their Mardi Gras fantasy.

Here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In New Orleans, it's anyone's guess who or what will march down the street in the middle of the day. Mardi Gras season or not.

ANN GUCCIONE, CO-OWNER, LITTLE SHOP OF FANTASY: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you just never know.

LOTHIAN: It's what sisters Ann and Laura Guccione have always loved about the city they were born and raised in.

GUCCIONE: I just can't see myself living anywhere else.

LOTHIAN: But ever since Katrina, the Gucciones, who own a mask- making shop, say everything feels off key.

GUCCIONE: Passing by the school you went to groiing up and it's just not there anymore. The churches being closed, the grocery stores.

LOTHIAN: Even their Little Shop of Fantasy has been displaced from its old French Quarter home.

(on camera): When Katrina came, foot traffic dried up. It became impossible to afford the rent. So after 15 years in the French Quarter, the sisters closed up shop and moved everything into their home across town.

LAURA GUCCIONE, CO-OWNER, LITTLE SHOP OF FANTASY: These need to cook a little bit longer.

LOTHIAN: Laura says she cries just about every day.

L. GUCCIONE: It's like, you get up and you just do what you have to do. And you start thinking about it. Just, you know, it's all around you. It's just the destruction. You know, people aren't able to come home.

LOTHIAN: A fragile state for two sisters who indulge in fanasies using glue, feathers...

A. GUCCIONE: Everybody likes feathers.

LOTHIAN: ... and other sparkling materials to make masks for Mardi Gras revelers.

L. GUCCIONE: This is kind of escape. I'll sit in here and I'll put on some music, and I don't think about what's going on around me.

LOTHIAN: In a way, they are also helping others mask their own feelings or their true identities.

L. GUCCIONE I know a lot of people will pick a mask that maybe is another side of their personality that you don't know existed or they didn't know existed before.

LOTHIAN: The sisters also worry about the next hurricane season just around the corner.

L. GUCCIONE: I mean, we don't know what's going to happen. I mean, are we going to have to leave every time there's even a -- you know, the wind blows? And that's a big fear.

LOTHIAN: For now, they will celebrate with the crowds on St. Charles Avenue, like they have since they were kids. Only this year, Ann's costume will reflect very grownup concerns.

A. GUCCIONE: I'm going to be Humpty Dumpty.

LOTHIAN (on camera): Why is that?

A. GUCCIONE: Because we're all broken sitting on a wall or waiting for a wall to be rebuilt. I thought it was appropriate.

LOTHIAN (voice over): Dan Lothian, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: She may be Humpty Dumpty this year, but I've got to tell you, these are some of the most beautiful masks you can see. And I'll give you a little sample there. Look at this. Fabulous. And we have seen them around everywhere.

If you are interested in seeing more of these masks made by Ann and Laura Guccione, you can go to their Web site. It's NewOrleansMasks.com.

Ahead this morning, we're going to be talking to the mayor of New Orleans. Mayor Ray Nagin is our guest coming up this morning -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Soledad.

Also coming up on the program, the legendary Zulu parade kicks off the Fat Tuesday celebration. I think I scored me a coconut just a few moments ago. The man who is going to provide it, I'm putting him on the air now to get the commitment -- right?

He's sitting right beside me. He's in full Zulu regalia. And we'll ask him about that, we'll ask him about the losses post-Katrina and Rita, and what he thinks about today's Mardi Gras. A very special one indeed.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Zulu, the name gets people excited here in the city of New Orleans on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, because, well, the Zulu parade is always, always front and center the main event. One of the main events of this celebration.

The Zulu parade will be making its way down St. Charles Avenue here right beside us in just a little while. And among the things that they offer up to the public, they call them throws here, are the famous golden coconuts, probably the most prized throw of any parade by any krewe.

And I think I just scored a golden coconut here, folks.

My friend Jay Banks, my fast friend over the past five minutes, is joining us now. He's here in his full Zulu regalia. We're going to talk about that right now and talk about my coconut.

First of all, you're on the hook now. You're going to give me a coconut?

JAY BANKS, ZULU PARADE MEMBER: You will get a coconut. I promise you.

M. O'BRIEN: I will be down on the ground waiting for you.

He's in the last float. We're going to get that coconut.

Jay, give us a little bit of the history first. This is an organization that goes back to the early 20th century. And then we'll talk about the garb.

BANKS: The organization was originally formed back in 1906 and incorporated in 1916. So this is actually our 90th anniversary this year.

M. O'BRIEN: Ninetieth anniversary, and this year in particular such a hard year. You have lost over the course of this year, since Katrina, either directly or because of the stress afterwards, 10 members of your krewe. What's that been like?

BANKS: This has just been unbelievable. The stress from Katrina is -- is, I think -- the death toll is still rising. We lost 10 members post-Katrina, and we have lost 10 members in the last two years. So I have no way to prove that it was the stress from Katrina, but coincidence would lead us to believe that Katrina had something to do with the large number of the members that we lost.

M. O'BRIEN: I don't think you have to be a rocket scientist to put two and two together on that one.

BANKS: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: That's a tough thing. I'm sure there was lot of talk -- I mean, you're without a house, more than half the krewe is without a house. You're in a FEMA trailer.

A lot of talk about just -- saying, you know what, this year it doesn't feel right. What happened when that discussion came up?

BANKS: It may not feel right to folks in other parts of the country, but to New Orleanians, this is a part of us. This celebration is a family celebration.

This is like going to your grandmother's house for Christmas or to your aunt's house for Easter or to your Uncle Mike's house for 4th of July. Mardi Gras is ingrained in New Orleanians.

The people you're going to see out here are probably in the same spots they have been in for the last 20 years. This for us is a healing process. And there were some folks that felt like they didn't want to participate. And I have no ill will to those people.

Katrina did something that has never been done. Everybody has to deal with this healing in their own way. And for us, this is part of our healing. Now, for those that did not want to participate, best wishes to them, too.

M. O'BRIEN: God bless them. That's good. I think that's the way you've got to approach it.

BANKS: That's the way we're approaching it.

M. O'BRIEN: Everybody has their own way of doing it.

BANKS: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: But here is the show if you want to participate.

BANKS: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about the garb. It's very interesting to me.

This is the first African-American krewe that paraded.

BANKS: Correct.

M. O'BRIEN: And yet, you do a black face. Why is that?

BANKS: The original -- we didn't have masks back in the early 1900s. So this is the best we could do for a mask. That's how it originated, and this is what we carried on from the beginning.

M. O'BRIEN: And then the wig and then the grass skirt, how did that all -- how did the Zulu connection come there?

BANKS: This was all a parody going back our first king. When he rode, he had a large can as a crown and a banana stalk as a scepter. And it was pretty much so a parody of some of the other organizations.

M. O'BRIEN: So you had -- there was a little bit of a tweak to the all-white organizations.

BANKS: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: And that remains. There is a sense of humor that goes along with this.

BANKS: There's a sense of humor that goes along with it, but the reality of it is, we have always been every man's club. The Zulu has never, ever been segregated. We've always had members of other races, and today we are. So we are every man's club. We've got members in Zulu from laborers to lawyers, from porters to politicians, doctors and dentists, and everybody else in between. We have got every socioeconomic strata represented in New Orleans in this club.

M. O'BRIEN: Jay Banks, you have a great parade. And I'll be seeing you in just a little bit to get that coconut. Good see you.

BANKS: I will guarantee you get a coconut.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

BANKS: Happy Mardi Gras.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Same to you. Same to you. Thanks for dropping by.

You've got to get that -- I know you're busy. You've got to get that parade together.

Coming up, we're going to go live to Texas. The celebrations there have a little bit of a Louisiana flavor to them this year. We're going to explain that. Obviously we're talking about the New Orleans Diaspora and what they are doing elsewhere today.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, Bourbon Street live. I tell you, it's hard to believe, but those crowds are actually thinning out a little bit as time passes.

Welcome back, everybody.

Ahead this morning, we're talking to Mayor Ray Nagin. He truly is the public face of New Orleans. And he's drawn a lot of criticism for some of his more outrageous comments, like the "chocolate city" declaration. He apologized for that. Dished out some criticism, too, for slow-going here in the city.

Coming up in our next hour, I'm going to talk with the mayor about Mardi Gras, what comes after all the parades are parked and the tourists are gone, and also the mayoral race as well. That's ahead -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: I don't know about you, but those beignets and that cafe au lait, that makes me kind of hungry here, Soledad.

But anyway, onward we go.

Also coming up in our next hour, we're going to check in with a frequent visitor on our program post-Katrina, Louisiana representative -- representative to Congress, Bobby Jindal, who will join us here right on the parade route. And we'll talk about the issues that are in play right now post-Katrina, how the city is doing, what lies ahead.

And we should tell you, of course, that Soledad and I and the rest of the team will be with you all the way to 1:00 p.m. Eastern to give you every step of this very special, this historic Mardi Gras six months after Katrina.

Let's get to Carol now in New York with more and a little bit of business news.

Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: We've got your business news, Miles, because Apple has some sort of secret big announcement, Andy, and nobody knows what it is. But maybe you do.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": They do. Well, I have got some clues, Carol.

Before we get to that, though, we're wondering if Miles is going to bring us any beads back -- Miles.

COSTELLO: I was trying to ask him about that before.

M. O'BRIEN: I got -- yes.

SERWER: Good. OK. You got us covered?

M. O'BRIEN: I got you covered.

SERWER: OK, great.

M. O'BRIEN: I got you covered.

SERWER: We're just -- we're curious.

M. O'BRIEN: Now, as far as the coconut, I only have one coconut committed.

SERWER: No, I know. We don't expect that. We understand.

COSTELLO: Committed.

SERWER: We understand that. The beads will be great.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

SERWER: All right. Thanks, Miles.

The media has been summoned. Yesterday, Carol, we were talking about Microsoft rolling out some secret new product, but, of course, Apple Computer is the master at this game.

Journos have been summoned to its Cupertino, California, headquarters.

COSTELLO: Journos? SERWER: Journos. That's who we are, journalists.

COSTELLO: Oh, OK.

SERWER: And there's real rumor mill stuff going on about what they're going to be rolling out. It's probably going to be something to do with movies. There's speculation involving a video iPod which would be a big screen like the Play Station portable...

COSTELLO: Really?

SERWER: Yes. The kids hold out -- with maybe a touch screen. Also maybe a wide screen iBook or also an iTunes movie store. You know, really selling movies. And, of course, with Steve Jobs over at Disney now, and the largest shareholder there, that might be easy to pull off.

COSTELLO: That would be cool.

SERWER: Wouldn't that be cool?

You know, the iPod has spawned a whole industry of accessories. And we wanted to show you some of the wildest, wackiest, weirdest ones out there. Take a look at some of these.

This is the Wurlitzer iPod Jukebox by Wurlitzer. You plug your iPod in and it almost does the dishes and sends a rocket to the moon. I mean, this baby, it's expensive. Thousands of dollars.

COSTELLO: So it's a huge Jukebox.

SERWER: It's a big Jukebox.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: And you just put your little, tiny...

SERWER: You put your tiny, little thing in there. Yes, it also plays CDs.

Now, here, look at this. This is the iPod deejay docking station by Aving (ph), where put your iPod in and the deejay starts scratching.

COSTELLO: Well, that is a ball (ph).

SERWER: There you go.

And then how about the wallet? Do we have time for that? There's a nano wallet.

And then finally, the coup de grace is the iLounge toilet paper dispenser.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on.

SERWER: Yes. There you go. Yes. That's it.

COSTELLO: I have no comment about that.

SERWER: At this particular point in time.

COSTELLO: I've got nothing. At this particular -- yes. Afterwards we're going to talk.

SERWER: Yes, we will.

COSTELLO: Let's head back to New Orleans and Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: I kind of like that.

SERWER: Yes. There you go.

S. O'BRIEN: I kind of like that, Andy.

SERWER: Thank you, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We've got much more of our coverage, our special coverage from Mardi Gras coming to you in just a few moments.

We're going to take to you Texas this morning, which, of course, is now home to thousands of Katrina evacuees. And we'll take a look at how they are bringing a little taste of home, New Orleans, the celebrations that are going on in Texas. A look at that's ahead.

Stay with us, everybody. A quick break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com