Life on the road. Here at the Beau Rivage where I can look out the window of my 18th story hotel room and see nothing but the Gulf. I try to imagine a thirty foot storm surge and water up through the third story of this place and marvel that it survived. Yesterday we drove from here towards New Orleans and got as far as Pass Christian. You may recall that is where ABC's Robin Roberts is from who did some telecasting from there in the early days of Katrina as well as Ellen Degenres. The devastation is stunning - the debris has been cleared but there is empty space, a few bricks here and there, maybe some steps or traces of a foundation. Remnants of a Waffle House sign but no Waffle House. We have a book that is a before/after pictorial guide they sell in the gift shop here (and everywhere) with proceeds going to the ongoing Katrina relief fund. The highway is close to the water here, kind of like the outer banks, and the contrast of the white sandy beaches and the stark nothingness of what used to be hotels, homes, restaurants, and casinos is eerie. And it has been nearly four years. What Katrina did not take, the recession might. Business is off about fifty percent over last year and though business has picked up a little since I have been here, it is hard to say that the 80,000 sq foot casino and 2,000 slot machines are "busy." The fine dining restaurants are not open nor are most of the shops in the hotel. Despite the challenges everyone is nice and the service is spectacular - we dined at Emerile's last night in one of the casino's and it was terriffic. BAM!
So when you are in a conference you are in a news blackout but I did manage to catch a few minutes of Denise Richards "elimination dance" from Dancing with the Stars. Bless her heart when you get eliminated BEFORE Steve Wozniak you know it is bad! And it was. Two high profile bike accidents this week - Matt Lauer hit a deer with his bike and had to have his arm surgically repaired and Lance Armstrong broke his collarbone in four places! Ouch! No decision yet if this derails his plans to give the Tour de France another go - I think great retired athletes should stay retired. Lance, think Michael Jordan! Hope everyone has a great day!
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