Them New Orleans people are killers," she said. "We got some killers in H-Town, but they're like some serial killers. I don't ever want to go to their city. I hear they kill like 10, 15 people a night."

..

Like many of the post-Katrina urban myths swirling across Houston, her number is wildly off the mark. In 2004, perhaps the best comparison because the year was not interrupted by a major hurricane, there were 264 slaying in New Orleans.

..
The city's (Houston) annual number of murders and non-negligent manslaughters had been inching up since a low of 230 five years ago, reaching 275 killings in 2004.

..

They weren't armed, he said, and the group remained calm. But he called for backup nonetheless.

"You're not going to believe this. It was about 2 a.m., and they were out there cooking gumbo. Gumbo," he said, chuckling. "Having a gumbo party at 2 a.m. while people are trying to sleep."

What can I say? By choice I have never lived in a really large city (metropolitan area). I know life is different whether big city or small town, whether north or south or east or west. I have visited every large city in the US and have felt comfortable in each one. But, I also know that visiting a city and living in it is no real comparison.

Why can't we get along? Probably because when you put destitute people in with an already abundance of destitute people the going gets really bad. Maybe someday we will be able to better help those in need without waiting for a disaster to knock on our door.