So as
I mentioned last night Kim and I spent the weekend in our adopted home of New
Orleans. If my math is correct (and let’s be honest, it always is) I’ve been
traveling to New Orleans myself for eighteen years and have spent the last five
years with Kim by my side for events that have included our first date and our
wedding (though not on the same trip). I’ve come to the conclusion that I have
spent more time in New Orleans than any other city where I did not have a
mailing address and I believe I have spent more time in NOLA than I did in
Overland Park, Kansas which is by all accounts a good thing.
Anyway,
as is our tradition no trip to New Orleans for us complete without at least one
random and totally insane moment. We’ve found ourselves VIP members of a Mardi
Gras Krewe, being introduced to Paul Prudhomme and caught up in the celebration
of the Saints Super Bowl victory. We’ve also apparently caused one store in the
Quarter to change its policy after we entered the store without recalling that
a) we had been in the store the previous day, b) we had spent a good hour
looking at everything there and c) had apparently purchased a four foot long
alligator. That store is now one of our favorites, mainly because they sold us
a four foot long alligator.
This
trip was no different and may have set the bar for complete randomness. Over the
years Kim and I have become defacto members of the Krewe of Barkus, which is
the Mardi Gras parade dedicated to the dogs of the city. Meaning that everyone
dresses up their dogs in costumes and marches them through the French Quarter
and in the process help to raise money for Animal Rescue New Orleans and
encouraging the adopting of rescue dogs. It is a total blast and a cause that
we both support (particularly Kim who has been doing this for years and has her
two adopted dogs that I have been absolutely blessed to know.) As a result of
this and the friends that we have made over the years we are lucky enough to
have VIP access to the viewing stand; which really means that we have access to
the balcony of a bar to watch the parade.
So we
are up there, joking around with some people we had just met and others who
remembered us from years past. At one point we look down to the street below
and Kim turns to me and goes “Isn’t that Jesse from Opposite Worlds?”
Now I
wrote a week or two ago about Opposite Worlds, a Sy Fy channel reality show
that is a weird mix of Big Brother, Survivor, Captain Caveman and Twitter
advertising dollars. Kim and I might be the only people who have actually
watched the show and were certainly the only people who, in a Mardi Gras crowd,
could pick out one of the villains of a third tier reality. Kim, in all her
persuasive glory, got one of the guys next to us to yell out “Jesse!” to which
he turned to us, smirked and waved. Kim and I immediately yelled out “We voted
for you! We wanted you to win!” to which he replied “So did I!” At which point
Kim and I just burst out laughing.
I’m
sorry but that was so random that it made our trip. That was the last celebrity
that I expected to see and it was just a brilliant random encounter that only
meant something to the two of us. That is why I love going to NOLA, you just
never know what is going to happen. As always, I have to thank all of our great
friends who live there and show us unbelievable hospitality every time we make
our way there. It is incredibly appreciated.
Wednesday Night Music Club: This is a Lydia Loveless song
from her Indestructible Machine album and was the first time in ages I’ve heard
something that just made me stop and swear at how good it is. This is from when
she was 21 years old and there is no way that a 21 year old should either be
able to write or sing like that. People are comparing her to Neko Case, which
might not be a fair comparison but I remember seeing Neko in concert in 1999
and my reaction was the same and I don’t know if I can name anyone else who
just made my jaw drop with just her voice like these two did.
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