We'll be in NO in a couple weeks and are considering a Katrina tour - not as "gawkers", but as people who are concerned and feel like the pictures we've seen probably don't tell the whole story. I have very mixed emotions about going on one. What do you all think?

Personally, I would rather DO something than to pay for a tour to look at damage.

Check out www.NOclean.org. It's amazing what one woman started. Click on the "volunteer" link on the left to find out what volunteer opportunities are available when you are in NO.

We went thru Hurricane Andrew in South Florida back in the early 90's. Why pay for or take a tour. Just drive around the NO or the southern MS area. It will be more than obvious that a catastrophic storm was there. It will be many many years, if ever, before the last sign if Katrina are erased.

That sounds morbid.

Please reconsider taking a tour. We were victims of a hurricane (not Katrina) and as we hauled all of our ruined belongings out on the front lawn, people would drive slowly by with their camcorders. All I could think about was, "Wow, now I know how those animals at the zoo must feel."