Pageant News Bureau - Miss New Orleans 2001

P a g e a n t N e w s B u r e a u

Level-headed in Louisiana

"Playing it safe" is not a phrase you associate with New Orleans. The city was built by risk-takers, who put it below sea level, at the mercy of the mightiest river in America. And today, many of the people who live there like to walk on the wild side.

You know what we mean. Mardi Gras and masked balls, crawfish and bourbon, a little sin and a lot of skin.

Maybe it's the steamy climate, maybe it's all that jazz, but this is a city where it's easy to go a little too far. No wonder poor Blanche DuBois had to pack up and leave.

But not everybody in the Big Easy lives for the moment and parties 24 hours a day. Some people are planning ahead and working hard.

Stephanie Thomas, Miss New Orleans 2001 in the Miss USA system, is one of those sensible people. She wants to be an actress, and she has the beauty and talent to make her wish come true. But she's not just waiting for fame to drift her way. She's studying drama.

And if that's not sensible enough, Ms. Thomas even has a backup plan. She's also studying computer science.

Maybe she will be a star someday. We'd like that (and so would she). But in case she doesn't, she will have a computer career to fall back on. And that's much better than relying on the kindness of strangers.

Let's drink a toast to the beautiful, sensible Stephanie Thomas. Now let's drink another. After all, this is New Orleans.

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Thomas

P a g e a n t N e w s B u r e a u