Many parts of New Orleans are still under renovation after Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Police force can't patrol all the city, so Gov. Blanco has assigned the Louisiana National Guard to assist in the patrols.

They are soldiers and drive sandy colored Humvees.

A neutral ground is the New Orleans word for any median.

When the Louisiana Purchase took place in 1803, the French and Spaniards resented the U.S. presence. The only places they could meet peacefully was on Canal Street, which had a large median and divided the original settlement from the American sector.

Neutral ground now applies to all medians in the city.

The St. Charles streetcar (or trolley) is not fully operational yet. Hurricane Katrina knocked down the electrical lines that power the streetcars.

The streetcars operated on one of the larger neutral grounds in the city.

Humvee parked
on neutral ground
no accident with streetcar

soldiers on dinner break
Humvee on neutral ground
waits