MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
President Biden and the first lady will visit New Orleans on Monday. The White House says they will grieve along with families and others affected by the New Year's Day attack that killed 14 people. The investigation continues into what motivated the truck driver who carried out that rampage. But in the French quarter, many people say they are ready to start healing and ready to reclaim some sense of normalcy. NPR's Jennifer Ludden is in New Orleans. Hey there.
JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Hi.
KELLY: Bourbon Street is open again. We know that's where the attack was. What was the scene today?
LUDDEN: Well, it's definitely not back to normal, right? One example I'll give you - at the famous century-old restaurant Galatoire's, Friday lunch - it's a big deal. It's a place to see and be seen, and there's often a line of people waiting to get in. There was no line today. Some stretches of sidewalk were empty. I spoke with Meghan Wagner, who was here from Chicago with her husband.
MEGHAN WAGNER: It's almost like I want to lie to myself. Like, these things aren't still happening. You know, it's sad. But it's still a great city, and it won't stop us from coming. It's one of our favorite places to visit.
LUDDEN: She is surprised, though, to see, you know, stores open and many trying to move on so quickly. She says after Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, the vibe was a lot more solemn and scary. Wagner says she's praying for the families of those killed, and she's thinking of the businesses here who depend on tourists like her.
KELLY: Stay on them for a moment. How worried are businesses that this tragedy will have a long-term impact for them?
LUDDEN: Well, they certainly are reeling from this week. I spoke with Cindy Dacula, who was working at the register at NOLA Gifts to Go. You know, there's T-shirts, Mardi Gras masks, racks of colorful bead necklaces. She actually was working New Year's Eve night and says, thank God the store closed an hour before the attack. But she's glad it's back open because, you know, New Year's and the Sugar Bowl is a really crucial time.
CINDY DACULA: This is only the time that we're making money. The beads for the Sugar Bowl - because we always run out of the beads. But this time we stuck.
LUDDEN: They're stuck, she says, with a lot of unsold beads for the teams in yesterday's college football playoffs. And she's really hoping crowds will come back in time for Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl. A few blocks away, the CEO of that restaurant, Galatoire's, says something I've heard from a lot of people. Melvin Rodrigue says what happened was not a bad mark on New Orleans. It could have happened anywhere. Hours after Bourbon Street reopened, he said he had 190 reservations for last night. So that's not quite his usual business, but it did give him hope.
KELLY: Yeah. I just had dinner at Galatoire's last week. I'm glad they're doing all right. What about other people, Jennifer, whose lives do not depend on tourism? How are they feeling?
LUDDEN: Well, I met Byron Smith, who has lived here all his life. He's just a 10-minute walk from Bourbon Street. He's a substance abuse counselor - kind of joked about that. But he says, you know, he loves people coming down here to enjoy themselves, and he loves meeting all the tourists. I asked him how he's feeling now.
BYRON SMITH: Like everyone else, there's a feeling of somberness. But that's not to say that I don't, at the moment, feel optimistic about the city rebounding from this. You know, here in New Orleans, we mourn our dead, but we also celebrate the transition from a person from here to eternity. So we're going to maybe try to come up with something to uplift the morale of the city.
LUDDEN: Smith has a friend who's in a jazz band, and he says they're thinking about putting on a concert to celebrate those who lost their lives in the attack. He sees that as a very New Orleans way to help everyone process what's happened. He says, that's just what we do.
KELLY: NPR's Jennifer Ludden in New Orleans. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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