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In May 2011,  the Mississippi River rose to unprecedented heights, threatening a worst-case scenario of massive flooding throughout metropolitan New Orleans and other outlying regions.Two spillways north of the city opened that month diverting waters into Lake Ponchartrain and the Atchafalaya Basin, but the river still ran high through June.

"In Search of Countess Part 1" Stephen J. Lewis H/T About Face Theatre

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, and what better way to celebrate than to listen to stories from a nearly 100-year-old resident of the French Quarter, George Eagerson, AKA Countess Vivian. The untold story here is life as African-American gay man in the south. In Part 1 of the 2010 interview, George recounts social realities of New Orleans, such as his initiation into gay sub-culture.  George is given the name Vivian and then Countess by older members of the gay community.  More on Part 2 when George tells about surviving Katrina after the break.