I'm not sure when I became a New Orleanian. It didn't automatically happen after I moved here last year. New Orleans was just another stop in a broadcast career that's taken me across the country for the last 17 years. This was a one year assignment for NBC. It was a great assignment and one I personally requested. But nonetheless, this was a stint. And now my time here in the NBC News New Orleans bureau is coming to a close.

At some point, New Orleans became something more than a job to me and my family. I can't say there was one particular moment when it occurred to us. Instead, it was a collection of moments:

--Like the day last summer my 2-year-old daughter announced: "Claudia like New Orleans";--That Sunday in October when the Saints turned me (a total non-sports geek) into a die-hard fan;--The Thursday in January when 5,000 people marched against crime and I felt like I belonged beside them instead of with our camera crews;--Three weeks ago when our new neighbors came by to make sure we were OK after the tornadoes;--And last week as I watched my 1-year-old scream with glee during Mardi Gras.

Photo caption: Steve's daughters, Shoshana and Claudia, at Mardi Gras.

Which is not to say that there haven't been other things that we tried to forget about the last year; the crime, the grindingly slow recovery effort, and the psychological weight of living in a city where so many have lost homes, loved ones or a way of life. But those have been overshadowed by so many more positive experiences.

It truly has been a year that I'll never forget. I've met so many incredible people along the Gulf Coast: Politicians and plain folks, Uptowners and Ninth Warders, Cajuns and Creoles, evacuees and immigrants and everyone in between. I can only hope I've made a small difference by helping to tell their stories. Because that is what I set out to do.

If you forgive me for going on a bit longer, I went back to my first post on this blog to remind myself of what I wrote to explain why I came here. Here it is, in part:

"I asked to join this bureau because this is more than a story about a hurricane. This city and this region is a microcosm for every kind of issue we're facing in our country. How well are we prepared as a nation to respond to any kind of disaster, terror attack or epidemic? We're finding that out as we watch the government respond here. How do we as a nation take care of the less fortunate? We're discovering that as we watch faith-based groups, charities, and government agencies rebuild the lives of folks here. What is the best way to rebuild failing school systems, overhaul the insurance industry, revitalize a city's economy, or disrupt a long-standing pattern of violent crime before it has a chance to regain a foothold? You name the issue in your state or community and there are lessons to be learned by watching the stories from here."

So many months later, I still believe that to be true. The story of New Orleans is the story of America and how she cares for her citizens and how those citizens care for each other.

And so, I come full circle by telling you that for the first time in my life, I will become part of the story. My family and I have bought a home and have decided to lay down roots here. We are new New Orleanians. Although I'm leaving NBC, Brian Williams and NBC News have made it clear that they aren't leaving the story of this city anytime soon. And for that, we, the people of New Orleans, say, "Thank you."

Photo caption: Steve's partner Todd with their masked (and youngest) daughter, Shoshana.

A quick thank you to those of who have been looking (but not finding) my posts the last few weeks. I've just returned from a brief assignment in Atlanta. And I thought I'd share with you some of the stories from New Orleans that you might have missed.

DIVISION AMONG DEMOCRATS
Understandably, most of the attention on the upcoming midterm elections has been on closely contested races where the winners may ultimately determine which party controls the House of Representatives. Here in Louisiana, that's not the case. The majority of the candidates in the 2nd congressional district are Democrats. However, there is a belief that a "balance of power" may turn on this race's outcome. Incumbent William Jefferson has been the focus of an FBI probe into an alleged bribery scheme. His supporters worry that if a first-term Democrat replaces Jefferson, they won't wield the same influence needed to push through important legislation for Louisiana's recovery. His critics worry that Jefferson's problems have already made him less powerful and influential in Congress. And so, on Saturday, the Louisiana Democratic Party made an unprecedented move by backing State Representative Karen Carter in the race instead of incumbent Jefferson. (This despite the fact that Jefferson has raised almost twice as much in this race as Carter.) But the state endorsement was probably less surprising than one a few days earlier when New Orleans most prominent Democrat, Mayor Ray Nagin, announced he will campaign for Jefferson. Why? Perhaps it comes back to the balance of power and who wields it. New Orleans CityBusiness has a fascinating commentary examining whether we could all be writing next spring about Congressman Nagin instead of Mayor Nagin.

FINDING THEIR WAY
In the first weeks and months after Katrina, I'm told that New Orleans was akin to a one-stoplight town. The storm twisted, mangled and blew away traffic lights, stop signs and street names. New Orleans residents, being the contrarians they are, set up their own traffic systems; sometimes turning one-way streets into two-ways or re-directing traffic with their home-made signs that they felt were more descriptive than the ones placed by the city. Now, a year later, the city has received the first set of monies from FEMA in order to begin replacing traffic signs. City officials guess that they'll have to replace up to 20,000 of them throughout the city. Our tremendous NBC affiliate here, WDSU, is even asking viewers to help city workers find each and every one of those missing or damaged signs. It's quite an undertaking. It's estimated the sign project will take at least until next spring.

ANOTHER SIGN OF THE TIMES
We've reported a great deal about the crime problem here. Police believe many of the deadly shootings are either between rival groups who are fighting for control of neighborhoods and the corresponding drug trade or between individuals who carry out revenge shootings for real or imagined slights against members of their families or friends. But two of the most recent incidents involved innocent victims. Both happened in the trendy art/club district known as the Marigny. Monday's shooting happened outside a popular restaurant, and a tourist couple from California got caught in the crossfire. The husband pushed his wife to the ground out of the line of fire, but he was grazed. A day later, another innocent couple was held at gunpoint while walking through the area. But this time, the ROBBER was shot. Seems as though the woman's companion took out his own concealed weapon (yes, he had a permit) and shot the robber dead, according to the Times-Picayune. It looks like it will be considered a legal case of self-defense.  Long-time residents are wondering what would be worse: That tourists become too afraid to visit or they start to come to the city, armed.   

CRUISING HOME
This Sunday, the Norwegian Sun came home to New Orleans, marking the first time cruise ships have departed from this port since Katrina. All told, four ships will sail from the ports here at least through next spring. Bringing cruise ships back has been one thing, bringing tourists back, another. All the cruise lines are waiting to see if they can attract enough passengers willing to use New Orleans as a base for their cruises to the Caribbean or Mexico. The industry is no small part of the city's economic recovery. Downtown hotels, the French Quarter and the Riverwalk retail center have all been waiting on the cruise ships and conventions to help jump start their recovery. Check out  this article on MSNBC.com for a great explanation of what the industry means to New Orleans.

IF I HAD A HAMMER...
What will it take to rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast? Thousands of workers, according to Gov. Haley Barbour. As the SunHerald reports, the state has announced an innovative new program to train 20,000 workers in basic construction over the next three years. The training is free.  I researched a similar program in Mississippi a few weeks ago and found that these programs are not only attracting folks who want to make a good living. They're also luring in just plain folks who want to use their newfound skills to rebuild their own homes. I guess you might consider that the ultimate DIY project.

SAINTS ARE HEAVENLY
And finally, if you were busy this weekend catching your favorite team play, you might have missed another great game. On Sunday, the New Orleans Saints defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-24 in a stunning fourth quarter comeback. No one wants to get ahead of themselves, but there's cautious talk of what might happen if their spectacular start continues the entire season. This week, talk radio has been filled with people who talk emotionally about how the team has come to represent their hopes for a better future. And it's not just the victories that have given residents hope. Rookie running back Reggie Bush and head coach Sean Payton have lent their time, money and names to rebuilding efforts across the city. Even if this is not the Saints' "Cinderella season," the team has already given the city so much. Go to the official Saints site and click on multimedia, if you missed the game and would like to see and hear some of the highlights and interviews.

Thanks for bearing with me. It's nice to be back. I promise to post frequently from here on out, and we'll bring back our "Faces from the Gulf" feature soon, too.

Chevron-Texaco's Petronius Oil Platform as seen from the air. Photo by Steve Majors.

One of the things that lured me to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast was the opportunity to get out and see interesting people and places. I got that chance last week when I flew with CNBC's Scott Cohn by helicopter to visit a hulking oil platform 100 miles in the Gulf of Mexico. That's where I met Ferrell Martin.

Oil and natural gas production represent a large part of the economic engine for this region and the black gold mined from the ocean floor literally fuels your cars. Ferrell Martin is one of the 100 folks who man the "pumps" at the Petronius Oil Platform. You could call it a full service "station."  Standing 2001 feet above the ocean floor, the floating steel island is taller than the Sears Tower and produces the crude oil that eventually is processed into gas, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel.

Ferrell reminds me of John Wayne in some old movie like "War of the Wildcats"-- sunburned and leather-necked, with piercing eyes. His job is to tame the wide open oil fields that lie beneath the gulf and help bring up more than 60,000 barrels of oil and equivalent gas per day.

One barrel of oil translates into about 20 gallons of gas. And for that, Ferrell works 12 hour shifts, 14 days at a stretch. But he's used to it after working more than 30 years on platforms across the gulf. He doesn't the mind the searing heat, the inescapable roar of machinery or the cramped living conditions. It's the time away from his family that hurts -- especially his four grandkids.

But just like the Texaco man made famous 50 years ago, he stands like a sentinel, waiting to be of service. (full disclosure here, Petronius is run by the now merged CHEVRON-TEXACO.) Still, his values seem to be a throwback to that "Men of Texaco" era. He's weathered hurricanes, dangerous operations, boom times and bust. Ferrell tells me he can't concern himself much with storms (except when they put his platform in peril). And he doesn't have time to think about political debates about the price of oil. His job is just to keep the pipes pumping and America running.

So the next time you drive up to one of those neon "Gas-Marts" and hand over 25 bucks to a gum-popping counter clerk who's too young to remember the Men of Texaco, think of Ferrell. He'll be out in the Gulf of Mexico, standing watch for you and your car.

Editor's note: Scott Cohn reports tonight about Ferrell and the Petronius Platform on CNBC's "On the Money" program at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.