Just the facts ma'am, just the facts......

Lately, I sometimes feel as if I'm living a double life. When talking to some of my friends we discuss what's going on in our city, what the plan might end up being for the region we're living in, who is trying to do what and why they might want to do it, if we want to stay in the area.... The conversation (along with a bottle..or two of wine, a pot..or two of coffee, or a plate of spicy food) often goes on and on and on with theorizing, what if's, maybe's....all the usual twists and turns of a conversation about the unknown.

But....when talking to other friends, friends who are in the rebuilding process or those still trying to decide whether or not to rebuild, the conversation is quite different. These friends only have time for a quick glass of wine, cup of coffee, or a little bite of something sweet. Each word spoken needs to be useful to them in some way, they just don't have time for anything unnecessary. One such friend asked me if I knew of the Shaw group. I said, yes, and started talking about some gossip-y details that I'd heard about this business. At that point I could see my friend's eyes glazing over. He didn't care about any details. He just wanted to know what they wanted and what they were going to do for NOLA. He just wanted the facts, ma'am, just the facts. ....And, he wondered if they might be able to get him some sheetrock.