Twenty-ThreeThe excitement and activity of the New Orleans waterfront is a choreography of longshoremen, vendors, tourists and streetwalkers. Fresh fish here… flowers for your sweetheart… quench your thirst…tap your feet…satisfy your desires… The musical dance of New Orleans life is especially scintillating in the crisp early morning air, but Michael resists them all and walks directly to the Jambalaya, a highly recommended Cajun restaurant. He reaches for his cell phone but decides he doesn't want strangers to overhear his conversation. Michael steps into a phone booth, an actual relic from the early days of Ma Bell, to call Al Jergens. Closing the decorative wooden door, Michael feels a sort of comfort in using an old-fashioned mode of communication for a change. “I'm staying for a few

