WILL STRIPPERS RETURN TO NEW ORLEANS?

The manager of Big Daddy's -- the famously gaudy strip club in the French Quarter -- says he's determined to open the business. All he needs is electricity and water.

Strippers, too.

Big Daddy's was known for the mechanical women's legs in high heels, slowly kicking to attract customers. If you've been to the Quarter, you've seen Big Daddy's.

Saint Jones, the manager, says he has fresh water in bottles and a generator. He told The Associated Press that finding strippers is the next step:

"It shouldn't be too hard. Everyone's going to come back in town and want to work. You know, if you've got 50 dancers in Houston and they're not making money, they're going to spread out," he said.

Judging from the number of military and police vehicles which stopped or slowed passing Big Daddy's, they'll have plenty of customers. It didn't seem to occur to the men in uniform to enforce the evacuation order in effect on the city -- they preferred to ask when the strippers would be back.

One army Humvee, carrying a team of Puerto Rican troops, stopped so that a soldier could pose with his M16 rifle by a life-size picture of a naked blonde while his buddy took a photo.

Jones gave them vodka on the rocks in plastic cups, which they enjoyed before hopping back in the Humvee.

When Big Daddy's opens, you'll know New Orleans is back in business.