Note #1: For those of you who wonder about these things, I went 0 for 5 in the Notre Dame Football Ticket Lottery, which means barring a very unforeseen circumstance I won’t make it to a game this year. I accept getting a refund for the tickets I tried to purchase but can I ask for a refund on my donation as well? I mean, can’t I get at least one game? Oh well, I knew the year that I got four games would come back to haunt me eventually.
Note #2: Battling the Current Volume 2 will hopefully be put together over the weekend. For those who are new to the blog, this is a CD that basically doubles for the soundtrack of my life. Or the soundtrack to a Cameron Crowe film that hasn’t yet been made, it’s been described both ways. I’ll let everyone know when it is done and I’ll put out the request for addresses and the like so you can all get your free gift for reading whatever thoughts pop into my head on a nightly basis.
Ok, I’ll try to wrap up the New Orleans stories with a bunch of quick points. I’ll probably post more pictures over the weekend but I kind of have the feeling that the masses are just waiting to hear my opinion on the new Paris Hilton single and I can’t deny the crowd what they want. So, some closing thoughts.
1) Here is my description of the new Bourbon Street. Have you ever noticed that when you are in a packed bar with people just completely wasted all around you that you always feel safe. It doesn’t matter how drunk you are, you just feel at ease in the situation. But if you are in an empty bar and there are two guys in the corner who are really drunk you get really nervous about what might happen next. That’s basically the way that Bourbon Street is right now, it’s an empty bar with a few really drunk people in it. Whereas before you felt safe just because of pure numbers now if someone wants to make trouble there are much fewer targets around. It is really disconcerting and it is made worse by having places close at one in the morning.
2) I previously thought that I had done everything on Bourbon Street that was humanly possible and a few things that aren’t. But, I think I topped everything this year by walking down Bourbon Street while talking with a nun. Seriously, through the heart of Bourbon past all the clubs while talking to Sr. Vicki. There were so many opportunities for humor there that I basically couldn’t talk.
3) For those who know the story from last year and are wondering what happened this time: a) I didn’t run into her, b) while I didn’t specifically go out looking for her I did keep my eyes open and c) it does bother me that I didn’t keep my promise when she asked me “When you move down here, look me up.” That said, you can already tell what an ending to a story I’m working on is going to be.
4) Incredibly, if you asked me which stores survived Katrina completely unscathed it would be the tacky t-shirt shops in the Quarter. They are all back up and running like nothing ever happened (while my art gallery is only open on weekends so I was forced to stare longingly through the window at paintings I would really like to buy.) It’s amazing, some of the landmarks like Preservation Hall are still closed but you can still buy the same bad tourist t-shirt that you could a decade ago. Still, the best new shirt has to be “I stayed for Katrina and all I got was this lousy t-shirt, a brand new Cadillac and a plasma TV.”
5) We did hit Café du Monde as a group so I got to have my coffee and beignets like I always do. It does bug me that they actually cleaned the place and replaced some of the ovens post-Katrina since it was the first time that they had ever had a chance to in years. You used to be able to taste the history in that place. You don’t want a clean coffee pot, you want a coffee pot that has been working continuously for twenty years.
6) I’ll post the picture over the weekend but a) my place in Pirate’s Alley is still standing and b) it is still for sale. And yes, I was once again tempted to call up a real estate agent and figure out how many organs I would need to sell to be able to afford it. I mean, you don’t really need both kidneys, do you? Well, in New Orleans you probably would…
7) One of the best ideas of the trip goes to Julie (thanks for the comment by the way), who as we stood around Café du Monde trying to figure out where to go threw out the suggestion of Molly’s, which was awesome. Molly’s is the bar that did not close during Katrina, they stayed open without electricity and served warm drinks to anyone who would walk inside. It is a real place in the Quarter, which is a nice change after spending time on Bourbon Street. Plus, Pete threw a lot of money in the jukebox and that meant that I got to take over at one point and play Social Distortion, Wilco, John Hiatt, the Radiators and the Old 97’s. Man, that was a good night. That was one of those nights where you just got to wander around and talk to everyone as we took over the entire bar. Closest thing to the Backer that I’ve experienced in a long time.
8) I said it before and I’ll say it again, I can solve every problem in my life over gumbo and etoufee at The Gumbo Shop. If there was one place that I was very glad to see open that was it.
9) New Orleans is bruised and battered and much of the city seems to be missing. I spent a lot of time noticing what wasn’t there, like the children and the vendors and the people that gave the city it’s unique flavor. But you caught glimpses of it and you knew that everyone was trying so hard to bring it back. And the place still feels like home to me. It’s not the same city that I experienced last year but somewhere in my soul it is still my home. And I’m happy that that feeling still remains.
No comments:
Post a Comment