I'm trying to get rid of a function that appends a loading gif while the script is busy ajax'ing in new content, but I keep breaking the script so I'm posting it here hoping someone can just kindly edit it for me correctly. (I'd like to get rid of everything that has to do with #load and keep everything else intact.)

    $('#header_nav_content_container a, a.scroll_to_top, a.clear_banner, a.desire').not('.exception').click(function(){ 

    var toLoad = $(this).attr('href')+' #content';
    $('#content').hide(1555,'easeInOutQuint',loadContent);  
    $('#load').remove();
    $('body').append('<span id="load">LOADING...</span>');
    $('#load').fadeIn(888);
    window.location.hash = $(this).attr('href').substr(0,$(this).attr('href').length-0);
    function loadContent() {
        $('#content').load(toLoad,'',showNewContent);  
    }
    function showNewContent() {
        $('#content').show(777,'',hideLoader);
    }
    function hideLoader() {
        $('#load').fadeOut(888);
    }
    return false;

}); 

Thanks for your help.