New Orleans, La.

I sat down to write about the start of the college football season, or, as its known in Frat-land, as tailgate season. I felt like Owen Wilson from Wedding Crashers when Vince Vaughn reminds him of the upcoming wedding season. Unparalleled joy and excitement as I anticipated the debauchery that is common before noon. However, I was struck by the stories coming out of the Crescent City, so my recollection of the day's happenings will have to wait a day or two.

I have made four trips to this beautiful city on the banks of the Mississippi River and in the shadow of Lake Pontchartrain. Unfortunately, none of them took place before August 2005. I was too late to take in the beauty and culture captured in this southern gem, shaped by a blend of French, Spanish, and African flavors to complete the Cajun that envelops the region. The city is rich in beautiful architecture, the best food in North America and its own musical sound that is rarely reproduced elsewhere.

However, the scars still remain from the most devastating disaster in American history. Entire neighborhoods remain disaster, complete with empty warehouses where stores use to supply bustling neighborhoods, but now serve as a stark reminder of the lengths still needed to go before the city can return to its pre-storm levels.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Gustav threatens the impressive progress that has been made since Katrina, which left 80 percent of the city under water. It is being predicted that Gstav will land about 75 miles southwest of New Orleans as a Category 4 hurricane. Now, it is not fair to compare to Katrina, which landed directly over the city as a Category 3, but at that level, Gustav will supply "hurricane force" winds that could overtop the levies of the Mississippi River, flooding parts of suburban New Orleans south of Downtown.

This could be devastating for a city still struggling to repopulate and rebuild. What repeatedly struck me during my trips to New Orleans was the resiliency of its inhabitants, whom I expected to complain of corrupt and ineffective government in responding to Katrina. Instead, I found people prepared to rebuilt and expectant for life to return to normal. No where was blame placed; just a determination to restart.

Gustav threatens that spirit and hope. Asking people to recover just three years after another storm that wipes out their lives may prove too much, and this beautiful city may be lost forever. Too many think of New Orleans as Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. But what lives there is a proud people, a strong and determined people with a spirit that belies their situation, and it would be a terrible loss to the world if it is undone by a hurricane. Please pray for the city, that they may be spared another horrible disaster. And pray too, for whoever is stricken by its winds and rain, that they may survive and recover.