I started making calls a week after Katrina. The captains all said the same thing: you can take away our homes, but you can't take away our Mardi Gras.

I challenged the team captains to put the program together. We are in the fifth week of the twelve-week program with proceeds benefiting the campaign for Relay for Life.

My forecast calls for on and off showers through the remainder of the week.

Every phone in the place started ringing. We had between 30 to 50 phones calls in the newsroom and an equal number at the front office in a 15-minute period.

There is a private side to Carnival. It started as an event that we did for ourselves and it still is. The economic side is monumental and it's good for the city. But we chose to do this for us.

All indicators were that the city just wouldn't be able to pull this off, even as recently as 24 hours ago. Somehow, they managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat.