Like living in a Norman Rockwell painting

I too have mentioned to other people the Norman Rockwell character of many New Orleans neighborhoods:

For the first time in my life, I live in a real neighborhood, one where the residents do more than merely make eye contact with each other. Our little block is a real community where people know a lot about each other, not because they're nosy, but because like most New Orleanians, they are naturally friendly and they genuinely care how you're doing.

Christina Dolan lost her job as a history teacher after Hurricane Katrina. Her column in its entirety is in The Times-Picayune.