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American Morning

A Mardi Gras To Remember; Forgotten In Biloxi

Aired February 28, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to a very special edition, extended edition of AMERICAN MORNING. As you can see here, that's Bourbon Street where some of the folks who have been out all night continue to go out. And, of course, the floats are rolling too. That means that people are standing by getting ready to see some of the parades. The beads, the balloons, all fun, all part of Mardi Gras New Orleans.
I'm Soledad O'Brien. I'm coming to you live from a balcony of a Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street, right here in the French Quarter.

Good morning to you, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.

Soledad, hope you're having fun over there. She's about a mile away from where I sit on St. Charles Avenue. Welcome to a special fat Tuesday edition of AMERICAN MORNING. And on the east coast going into American afternoon as we follow Mardi Gras. A very special, historic, emotional Mardi Gras.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right. Well, let's take a look where we are right now, Miles, if we can for a moment. As I said, we're on the balcony of our hotel, the Royal Sonesta Hotel. And this is prime real estate when you're talking about Mardi Gras. But if you go down on the street, kind of a scene.

What was interesting, as soon as the light came up, the people, the partiers kind of went away. They sort of dispersed. A fairly drunken crowd I think it's fair to say. They started doing a little bit of cleanup and then all came back again as the folks took back to the streets. The crowds are growing once again to come out and start all over again to celebrate fat Tuesday.

It has been, as you've been talking about, you know, the family scene where you are, completely the opposite where we are. I wouldn't describe this in any way as the family scene. It's a little bit more the adult scene because it's, of course, Bourbon Street full of bars and clubs and restaurants, too, but really it's a place for people to come and party.

It wasn't always this way. This street actually has a very prestigious reputation. But right after World War II, things started changing a little bit and hence Bourbon Street has the reputation that it has today.

I know a lot more families are camped out near where you are, Miles. Let's take a look at the Zulu parade.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, we're going to check in with Chris Lawrence just a sec. They're headed this way, Soledad. And, yes, it is a family scene here. A lot of kids. A lot of people who go to the same spot on this street, have been doing that for 20 and 30 years. A tremendous amount of tradition here. I read once that New Orleans has the highest percentage of native-born citizens of any city in the country. Of course, that was prior to Katrina. It will be interesting to see as time goes on and as money is spent how many of those people do, in fact, return.

The scene here is -- excitement is building. We've had a few of the early, smaller parades come through. They've been a lot of fun to watch. And, you know, lots of evidence of that New Orleans brand sense of humor, which is just the tonic for this city six months after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

I've already, as you can see, picked up a few little items. Some beads. We've got our CNN beads here as well. But I received these. This is going to be something that the Rex Krewe is going to be dispensing. I'll leave that to your imagination. Then this. And then this, the golden coconut. Chris Lawrence is with Zulu where he is hopefully scoring a few of these. That is the prized one, the golden coconut.

Chris Lawrence, where is Zulu? And do you have your prized throw yet?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately I don't, Miles. We are waiting for one of these floats. I'm told will have a golden -- we'll have one of the coconuts with my name on it and hopefully with the names of a few more people we work with who have been waiting, waiting to get their hands on it.

As that makes its way up here, let's let you take a look real quick at what just went by literally about five minutes ago. Just an incredible start to the parade. A lot of energy here. Tons of families out here on the street. Mayor Ray Nagin kicked off the Zulu parade on horseback with some of the other dignitaries. The Zulu warriors coming up behind him. Members of the Zulu krewe starting the parade in fine style.

And here we go as we take a look back here now, you can see the main part of the parade making its way up Jackson Avenue. And this is special because this is, for the first time, the Zulu parade has real Zulu warriors from Africa. The Zulu krewe flew them in from Africa and, for the first time, actual Zulu warriors are participating in the parade.

Let's take a quick listen as they pass by the main parade route.

Yes, this is really historic for this Zulu parade, Miles. You know, in all the years they've never had an actual Zulu warrior. It's been a dream of some of the members for a long time. They finally put it together before Katrina and they did not let the storm stop them.

If you look -- Ken (ph), if you can look just past them, you can see the first of the floats starting to make their way down Jackson Avenue as well. So the Zulu parade is getting off to a fine start. And I can finally tell you that, yes, I have finally procured one of the very treasured coconuts. The golden nuggets here. So I've got one. Maybe two or three more to go.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. I hope you brought a backpack or a duffel bag or something, Chris, because you might as well just keep the haul coming, as they say.

LAWRENCE: Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right, Chris Lawrence, our intrepid Zulu correspondent who has gotten his quarry (ph) very early on and will continue on down with Zulu. Following Zulu, of course, Rex, which is the granddaddy of them all.

Let's cast our eyes away from New Orleans for just a moment. And for more on that, let's go to Soledad who is on Bourbon Street.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, let's do that. In fact, let's cast our eyes a little bit further. Let's go to Biloxi, Mississippi. It's about 90 miles from here. And, you know, when you consider the damage they had, kind of a shock, I think, that they're having a Mardi Gras parade as well today. The city offices are closed. And as many people are getting ready to celebrate but there are plenty of other people there who say we are in absolutely no mood to party. CNN's Kathleen Koch is covering this story for us this morning in Biloxi.

Hey, Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

And, you know, up and down the Gulf Coast, the pace of the recovery really does differ from town to town, from neighborhood to neighborhood, even from house to house. And we certainly found that to be true in the case of two best friends who we met who are working right now to try to rebuild their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH, (voice over): Shelia McIntyre's house in Biloxi, Mississippi, looks far better now than it did August 29th after 10 feet of water surged through.

SHELIA MCINTYRE, BILOXI RESIDENT: A lot of mud. A lot of stuff turned over. It was just a mess. It was a mess.

That looks nice. KOCH: McIntyre gives credit for the improvements, not to government aid, but to volunteers using supplies she bought with her flood insurance money.

MCINTYRE: What really made my house get back together is the volunteers that have been coming in from all over the world. If it wasn't for them coming in, with our government, waiting on our government, it's a lost cause. They have not did anything.

KOCH: Her neighbor, Lucy Williams, had no flood insurance, so she can't afford to buy the drywall, nails, other materials volunteers need to do the work.

LUCY WILLIAMS, BILOXI RESIDENT: They helping but they want me to get the material and then they'll come in . . .

KOCH: And that's expensive.

Williams lived here with her husband and one of her 13 grandchildren.

WILLIAMS: That was my dining room, kitchen, and another room that I had back in there. I've been praying. I've been praying that somebody will come in and see it and want to help me. I don't have any money.

KOCH: Williams has been out of a job since the hurricane destroyed the elementary school where she was a janitor.

WILLIAMS: We worked hard to pay for this house. We finally got it paid. We finally got our car paid for and our furniture were paid for.

KOCH: Now all that's left is a dining room chair.

WILLIAMS: I have one chair. This is all. This one chair here.

KOCH: That's the only furniture you have left?

WILLIAMS: Yes. I'm going to keep it to remind me.

KOCH: Of what you used to have?

McIntyre and Williams' shattered working class neighborhood called The Point is tucked between casinos that are quickly being repaired and reopened. Limousines pass through but never stop.

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, we see it a lot.

KOCH: VIPs.

WILLIAMS: They'll be going to the boats.

KOCH: They say the neighborhood feels forgotten.

WILLIAMS: They still don't care. KOCH: The government doesn't care?

WILLIAMS: The government don't care. The mayor don't care. The president don't care. No, nobody care.

MCINTYRE: They making sure the casino is secure. But what about our future?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: And after this story aired on AMERICAN MORNING a couple of hours ago, the ward two (ph) city councilman came by. He said they've evaluated Lucy Williams' home. It will most likely have to be torn down. And because she doesn't qualify for most government programs, he says she will be completely reliant on donations to be able to rebuild.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, that's just terrible. You know and it's terrible and I guess what makes it more terrible, of course, is that her story is not the only story like that. I mean for people there, you can understand why they don't want a party.

KOCH: And over and over and over again. Quite so.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, just brutal. Kathleen, thank you for the update and bringing some attention to the plight of the folk there.

KOCH: You bet.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Some New Orleans residents, of course, have been displaced to places like Texas and some of them are looking at Mardi Gras as a little bit of a chance to start over. They got a new life. They moved to a new state. And now they're doing Mardi Gras in some cases Texas style. What exactly does that mean? Let's get right to Ed Lavandera. He's in Houston this morning.

Hey, Ed. Good morning.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

You know, with tens of thousands of evacuees here in the Houston area, we decided to use the rodeo as a backdrop for telling the story of their Mardi Gras. You know, they've noticed that this last day of Mardi Gras happens to fall on the first day that the Houston rodeo is starting. It's a fact not lost on many of the evacuees who see this as a blending of cultures.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE SMITH, KATRINA EVACUEE: You're kidding. Where did you get this? Oh, Betsy, thank you. How does it look?

LAVANDERA, (voice over): Christine Smith is trading in Mardi Gras beads and parades for a cowboy hat and a rodeo. It's a symbol of how much her life has changed since Hurricane Katrina destroyed her Lake View home, driving her out of New Orleans.

SMITH: Every single day is a new adventure here. It's a new life, a new beginning. It's exciting.

LAVANDERA: Smith is one of the 150,000 evacuees living in Houston. She doesn't plan to return to New Orleans, so for her a new beginning means embracing a little Texas culture.

SMITH: I want to see the cowboys. I want to see the real cowboys. I want to, you know, see the animals. I want to see when they lose it, when they lasu the cows or the bulls. Whatever they do to pull them down.

LAVANDERA: What she meant to say lasso the bulls, but she's still learning the ropes. We'll give her a little more time.

What many evacuees did not know when they arrived in the Houston area is that the second largest Mardi Gras party in the country takes place on nearby Galveston Island. That's helping 61-year-old Frederick Bell start over. For the first time in his life, he's not celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but he's starting a new tradition, joining the Krewe of Babalu and riding in this float.

FREDERICK BELL, KATRINA EVACUEE: We had just as much fun on this float as we do in New Orleans, you know.

LAVANDERA: So you're feeling at home?

BELL: Yes, I did. I really felt at home.

SMITH: Do you have a mirror.

LAVANDERA: Christine Smith is already feeling at home in Houston, but even this cowgirl in the making can't completely let go of her New Orleans sense of style.

SMITH: With my high heels. I'm going to the rodeo in my high heels.

LAVANDERA: Going to put some Mardi Gras beads on top of that?

SMITH: I think I might. I'll have to decorate. Maybe a purple, green and gold feather.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: You know, Christine and Frederick, who really represent some of the different opinions evacuees here in the Houston area have. Christine has struggled with seeing this Mardi Gras as something that she said she didn't want to see in person because she doesn't want to see the scaled down version of it.

And Frederick didn't even know when he arrived in Galveston that they even celebrated Mardi Gras. So when he and his family found out that he could celebrate Mardi Gras, it really meant a lot to them. This is the first time in both of their live that they have not been in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, it's interesting. You know sometimes we've been calling it a tale of two cities, but I think it may be better described for some people as a tale of two psyches, as some people have said. You know, it really depends on how you're feeling about it.

Thanks, Ed. Appreciate it.

Let's go right back to Miles.

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

More of our special Mardi Gras coverage in just a moment. The city is partying today but, of course, the recovery still has such a long way to go. The question is, do today's celebrations send the right message to the rest of the world? We'll take a closer look at that issue.

And next, sure, it's a party. But, let's face it, this is rooted in a religious tradition. This is the last day before Lent. Ash Wednesday is tomorrow. We'll talk about that as well ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, the party is optional. There's no question about them. But the day is fixed on the calendar. It is the last Tuesday before the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, 40 days of self- denial for Christians, Catholics in particular. This is a heavily Catholic town, of course. And so as a result, Mardi Gras, or fat Tuesday, has had greater significance over the years.

And this year the party has gone on. But it is also caused people to stop and think and reflect upon the real reasons to be thankful and the real reasons to work hard and to press forward with the work that lies ahead.

Joining us to talk about all of that and to give us an update on what's going to be happening on the celebrations a little bit later today is Father William Maestri. He is the spokesman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Father, good to have you with us.

REV. WILLIAM MAESTRI, ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS: Thank you very much.

MILES O'BRIEN: You're going to have a moment of silence a little later in the parade. Tell us about that and the significance of that.

MAESTRI: For the first time in the history of the Rex organization and Mardi Gras, there's going to be a moment of silence in which Rex is going to ask that everyone who is participating, that they please stop and observe a moment of silence and the church bells throughout the area will ring. We believe that the moment of silence will signify not only a celebration, but a remembrance of those who have died, those who are not able to return and also a symbol and a sign of our need to come together as a community to face all of the challenges that lie ahead.

MILES O'BRIEN: So many people lost in the storm, so many people struggling still. You feel comfortable with all that you see here and all the celebration and all the things that are maybe not the kinds of things you would recommend from the pulpit that people are doing?

MAESTRI: Well, I think that there's always two Mardi Gras. There's the Mardi Gras of the family and there's the Mardi Gras that goes to a great deal of decadence and all of the kinds of things that we would not want to associate with New Orleans or with family life.

But the Bible does say that there's a time for everything. A time to mourn, a time to be joyful, a time to work and a time to play. We have been going through a great deal for the past six months and we think that it is not inappropriate to have a celebration on the way to Lent.

MILES O'BRIEN: Is it going to be a more challenging Ash Wednesday and Lent because of all the work that lies ahead? I guess that's kind of a rhetorical question. Of course it is. How are you going to get people through it?

MAESTRI: Well, I think that if we remember that Lent is the time of fasting, the time in which we look at self-denial and begin to take stock of our lives, but it culminates in Easter. And Easter is the symbol of hope, of new life and new beginning because of the resurrection of Christ. And we believe that in this post-Katrina New Orleans and area, that Lent is beautifully captured in the sacrifice, in the suffering, in the self-denial, but always moving forward in hope to that new life and new beginning. And that's really what we need for our city.

MILES O'BRIEN: It's certainly probably hard to ask people to deny themselves of things in the middle of this Lent when they're denied of a home, for example. I mean they've been living Lent for a long time haven't they.

MAESTRI: Absolutely. But we've also seen so many small resurrections. So many signs of neighbor reaching out to neighbor. So many signs of people reaching out from around the world. Just yesterday I had a telephone call from a priest in Ireland. The Catholic community in Ireland, in Dublin, has collected $70,000 and is sending it over to the archdiocese as a sign of their solidity. That's just one example. Children from all over sending things to children here in the schools as this kind of solidarity and reaching out. So in the midst of the suffering, there's also a great deal of joy and a great deal of life.

MILES O'BRIEN: You, of course, with all the churches that were damaged, the archdiocese has had its own very practical considerations and concerns. Just give us an update on reopening churches and reopening schools.

MAESTRI: Pre-Katrina, in the archdiocese, we had 107 schools with 49,000 children. To date, we have reopened 81 schools and 43,000 children have returned. In terms of our churches, pre-Katrina we had 142 parishes, post-Katrina we have 107 that are open and operating.

MILES O'BRIEN: You feel pleased that you've gotten that far that quickly?

MAESTRI: We do. And we think it's a real credit to the dedication of our community, of our pastors and principals and really the entire people working together.

MILES O'BRIEN: Father William Maestri, who's the spokesman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans . . .

MAESTRI: Thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN: Have a wonderful Mardi Gras and a blessed Lent.

MAESTRI: Thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us.

MAESTRI: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Miles, thanks.

We've got much more of our special Mardi Gras coverage coming up in just a few moments. We're going to talk this morning to a reporter from the "New Orleans Times-Picayune" newspaper, get a sense of how much progress he thinks he's seen in the last six months.

Plus, our good friend Julia Reed's (ph) back. She's got some thoughts about what's been happening here in New Orleans. Find out what's changed even today.

That's ahead. Stay with us. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And welcome back. It's time to check in with Susan Lisovicz.

Andy has gone home, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Slackers.

COSTELLO: He is a slacker.

LISOVICZ: I know where he's gone. He's gone to "Fortune" magazine. He's got a long day there.

But I tell you, you know, we bypassed fat Tuesday here, Carol. Stocks under pressure in the first hour of trading. It's just econorama (ph). A deluge of economic reports. One, the latest revision on the fourth quarter GDP shows that, yes, that the economy did slow down dramatically. Another report within that shows concerns about inflation. Yet another shows weakness in the housing market.

How is it playing out? Quite predictably. There is the Big Board. Dow Industrials down 35 points or a third of a percent. The Nasdaq's down 5 points or nearly a quarter of a percent.

Now we have a story that takes place right here at the New York Stock Exchange. Federal regulators have now approved the merger of the NYSE with electronic trading rival Archipelago Holdings. That means the 213-year-old exchange is on the verge of going public for the first time and the public will be able to buy stock in the stock exchange. The deal is set to close in a week. We, of course, will have more details about that next week. Ticker symbol NYX.

A bitter battle is brewing over AOL's plan to charge for business e-mail. A handful of interest groups are fighting the proposal. They say it defeats the purpose of the Internet, which should be a level playing field for rich and poor. You may recall last month America Online unveiled plans to charge businesses and other bulk e-mailer a fee to route their e-mail directly to a user's inbox bypassing junk mail filters. Yahoo! also has a similar plan. Marketers say charging for access to in boxes could hurt small businesses which can't afford the fees, but AOL and Yahoo! say the system will help them protect users from online threats and spam and some folks can't pay enough to get rid of the spam.

That is the latest from Wall Street. Soledad, now back to you.

COSTELLO: Oh, it's back to me for . . .

LISOVICZ: Oh, sorry, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, we're playing the passing game here, Susan.

LISOVICZ: OK.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Julia Reed is coming up. Soledad, she is one of my very favorite people. I just like to listen to her talk.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, she is. And, you know, she's on a float. And we want to talk a little bit about some of the local color, what it was like and what was different this year than in past years. The woman, Julia Reed, of course, has got some seriously deep roots in this community. She's sticking it out, staying. But some days she is angry and frustrated. We'll talk to her just ahead this morning.

We've got much more of our special Mardi Gras coverage. Here's a quiz for you. You ready? Do you know what city was the very first to celebrate Mardi Gras in the U.S.? Here's a little hint. It wasn't New Orleans. We'll have the answer for you when we come back in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get back to our good friend Julia Reed. This is a woman who has some seriously some deep roots here. And, frankly, who we've been talking to a lot over the last six months. You had an opportunity to be on a float.

JULIA REED, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEWSWEEK": I was.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm curious to know, what is the first thing you noticed the difference? Was it the crowd size? Was it the feeling?

REED: Crowd size, definitely. I mean, the first weekend especially, I walked out -- before I rode to the family roof avenue of St. Charles. I almost got teary how few people were there and how few black faces. And then the following weekend on Saturday, I rode on the ladies float, Iris, and just looking down especially from the height, you look down and see the crowds, and again, the fact that we're missing the great majority of the black population is something that you obviously cannot miss. You know so that was sort of sad.

On the other hand, it's sort of a kinder, gentler Mardi Gras. I mean, last night on Bourbon Street, somebody actually said excuse me to me. I mean, I felt like ways in New York on 9/11, and you know how people all of a sudden got really sweet and solicitous. It's a little bit like that. I mean, when I was throwing stuff off the float, people were saying thank you back to me. I thought, oh my God. So it's a very well-mannered sort of -- I mean, I think people -- a lot of the out-of-towners here, I noticed a lot of people who are obviously first time Mardi Gras goers.

S. O'BRIEN: Like they are here to help. To show the flag.

REED: Yes, absolutely, like people came to New York after 9/11. Of course we got a way bigger problem than that, so we need them to keep on coming.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about some of the big problems. What's the number-one big problem here? I mean, because we have talked in the past. You have a list of your personal list of 190. But seriously, what is the population's number-one big problem?

REED: Well, I mean, people don't have a place to live. And until about a week ago, they didn't know -- a lot of homeowners at least didn't know what kind of decisions to make. I mean, as the world knows, our Congressman Richard Baker early on, right after the storm, proposed a bill that would give homeowners money to buy out their houses and they could make decision. Like Kim Bondy was talking about earlier today, she's going to put her house up to sale. She's going to look for a house somewhere else. People have got to be able to do that. We had six months of limbo.

If the Bush administration was going to shoot down the Baker bill, they should have offered an alternative that same week. So that has made me extremely mad that the feds are just now stepping up to the plate, and now I know the president is reminding us that, you know, there are billions that's he's set aside for a housing solution or a buyout is a lot of money. It's not that much money in the scheme of thing. You know, I mean, I keep using the highway bill comparison. It's not the same.

But I mean, this is, you know, as everybody has pointed out this morning, a national disaster of unprecedented proportions. It's not -- this is a major city. And I just think sort of like we're having -- I feel like everybody is having to prove themselves. We earned this money. Please give us some taxpayer dollars. We need a stronger commitment from the feds.

S. O'BRIEN: OK. So then does Mardi Gras help or hurt? A lot of people say, woo-hoo, New Orleans is back.

REED: It helps. It has to help, because you've got to people from all over the world coming and seeing this place. I mean, your colleagues and my colleagues are crawling around this place like crazy. You just showed footage of Lenny Kravitz walking through the Ninth Ward.

As long as people are coming down here and seeing this, they're not going to forget what they've seen. I mean, the more exposure we have, I mean, we're just now having members of Congress trickle down here. I wish more of them had decided to be Mardi Gras guests, because they could just cross over a few neighborhoods and see horrific destruction.

So, no, Mardi Gras helps. And also, listen, we might be 100-plus million in debt, but Mardi Gras traditionally brings in about $16 million to the town. We're going to get at least 60 percent of that. So that's something. I mean, it's a start. Then we got to fill in the gap between now and Jazz Fest. I mean, that's what the tourism folks are worried about, how to get more people to come in between now and then. But it's a good start.

(CROSSTALK)

I think so, because the people do see. It's not -- I mean, people still ask me when I go out of town, can you buy groceries? Yes, you can buy groceries. It's hell out there, but you know, you can come and spend some money and help the town.

S. O'BRIEN: And people are doing that.

Julia Reed, thanks. We're going to ask you to stick around.

REED: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: I love chatting with you about all things New Orleans. Let's get back to Miles though, now.

M. O'BRIEN: Hey, Soledad. Say hi to Julia for me as well.

S. O'BRIEN: I sure will.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's take a little walk down St. Charles Avenue. The police here are starting to come down here. They're starting to clear us out a little bit, trying to clear a path, because as you well know, these big super floats, by the big krewes take up a good, good hunk of the street here. So they got to clear a path, the parting of the Red Seas, to continue our biblical analogies.

Come out here. Let me talk to this group.

This is Harold Simms (ph), the kids. Is that Erica, Erica Mouton (ph)?

How long you been coming to this place to watch the parade?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have been coming out here quite often, quite often.

M. O'BRIEN: Now tell me about this particular Mardi Gras. What happened to your house?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our house is completely flooded. We had 11 feet in the house. The water half an inch from the ceiling.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow.

How about you, Eric, same story?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, the same.

M. O'BRIEN: Whereabouts do you live in the city?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in Gentilly.

M. O'BRIEN: In Gentilly. And yet you have a smile on your face today. How do you do it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're doing great. We really needed to get out and do some fun stuff, and we're happy to be home.

M. O'BRIEN: Are you back home? Now where are you? Are living somewhere else now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in the trailers in Gentilly, right on the property.

M. O'BRIEN: So you do have a trailer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Which is better than nothing. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: And it's good to be home.

Now what about -- have you seen a lot of people here that you haven't seen since the storm? People have come back, or not that many?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some have been coming back slowly. More now than ever.

M. O'BRIEN: You think this is the right thing for the city to be doing today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we need this. We needed this.

M. O'BRIEN: You having fun young lady?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, good deal. You have a good Mardi Gras. Hope you get some good throws here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: You enjoy it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

M. O'BRIEN: CNN's Sean Callebs is with the Rex group. You know, Rex is the king of carnival. And the Rex Krewe is the oldest, the most steeped in tradition, one of the larger ones. He's up the street a little bit. Let's check in with him now.

How are you doing, Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm doing great, Miles.

It is an absolutely beautiful day out here. You're exactly right, Rex goes back to the 1870s. And now it likes to boast that it has probably the most liberal admission of any of the super krewes that roll through here. Still about an hour away.

But I want Floyd, our cameraman, to pan around, show you the street is absolutely packed down here. If we can look up that way. I know it's in the sun a little bit, Floyd. But to give folks an idea of just the colors, the sights that are out here.

And if you talk to the locals, this is Mardi Gras. You see families out here. You see people of all ages. You see kids, the elderly, everybody having a good time. They make fun of themselves a little bit.

Here we have some white trash, and this refers, of course, to all like...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The white goods, the refrigerators, the trash that's in the streets.

CALLEBS: And you're having a good time out here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So far, so good.

CALLEBS: Drinking a Coke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Drinking a Coke.

CALLEBS: This is Mardi Gras.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Mardi Gras.

You need a garbage bag?

CALLEBS: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What you're seeing on St. Charles Avenue is what Mardi Gras is to New Orleanians. We want the world to know that. It's not Bourbon Street and bare boobs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's covered boobs.

CALLEBS: It's covered boobs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And our boobs.

CALLEBS: So many people talk about, should they have Mardi Gras this year? Should they not have Mardi Gras? Did you wrestle with that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. Everybody has to stop and have a drink every once in all. This is New Orleans drink. After six months, this is the New Orleans cocktail party.

CALLEBS: And tomorrow it's back shoulder to the wheel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Late afternoon, maybe.

CALLEBS: Enjoy yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: FEMA trailer trash and white trash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who are you with?

CALLEBS: We're with CNN, that gentlemen right up there. So you guys have a great day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell Anderson Cooper thank you.

CALLEBS: I will tell him that. Thank you very much, ma'am.

And that's a pretty good indication of the kind of folks that we're getting out here, Miles. Just an amazing day out here. A lot of fun, Miles. Back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Sean Callebs. Look who came up on by horseback here. It's Mayor Ray Nagin, ala Honore today.

How is it going so far?

MYR. RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: It's going incredible. The crowds are absolutely, you know, comparable to other Mardi Gras. There's a loft excitement out here, and people are having a good time.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, it's interesting. You say comparable in size, you think?

NAGIN: Comparable in size. I mean, we've been riding pretty much 10, 15, maybe 20 deep in some sections so far.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Now it's interesting looking at the looks on people's faces. I can't -- we have been coming here now steadily for six months. I can't remember seeing this many kids. I can't remember seeing nearly as many smiles. What's that like for you to be on this horse and seeing that?

NAGIN: You know, it really pumps me up, because as I ride through the crowds, everybody is so excited. They're cheering. They're thanking us for putting on Mardi Gras. And you know, having the families back, it put as different picture on Mardi Gras, that it's not just the craziness that you would see. It's a family event, and everybody is having a good time.

M. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this. A little while ago you were talking to Soledad, and you said, hey, I'm a controversial guy. Are you getting all applause? Or are you getting some boos?

NAGIN: I'm getting a few boos, a couple of fingers, but for the most part, it's been really positive. And I expect that. You know, I'm in the middle of probably the most highly profile disaster in the history of this country. So I'm going to get my share of positives and negatives, and I'm OK with that.

M. O'BRIEN: What is the name of your horse there?

NAGIN: Patty Girl.

M. O'BRIEN: Patty Girl. All right, that's Mayor Ray Nagin, ala Honore on Patty Girl and...

NAGIN: For all the New Orleanian that are not here, we're having this one for you.

M. O'BRIEN: Don't kick me now, Patty Girl. Don't kick me. (INAUDIBLE) Patty Girl is not the place to be.

We'll be back with more in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Let's head back to New Orleans to check in with Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, not Fat Tuesday there, maybe, but definitely Fat Tuesday here. Miles has been bragging about his golden coconuts. Look what I got, someone up to me. I got my little red hot chili pepper.

Ahead, we got much more of our special coverage of Mardi Gras. New Orleans obviously had to make lots of progress to get just to this point. We got some perspective on that. A reporter with the New Orleans "Times Picayune" newspaper will join us with an update.

And then this year's Mardi Gras, obviously, a very scaled down version of years past. Security still, though, no easy task. A commander with the NOPD, the New Orleans Police Department, will join us, fill us in on how it's going, legally speaking. That's just ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: You might say we have our own little parade down here on Bourbon Street, just pedestrians making the way. But the real big king of the Mardi Gras parades is the Rex parade. Coming up, we're going to talk to the man who designed this year's big show. Also ahead this morning, we'll take you live to Texas. Folks there are celebrating Mardi Gras. A little bit of Louisiana flair. We'll show you how.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. A short break and we're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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