I have written too many somber and serious blog posts since I’ve been here. Obviously there are a lot of heavy topics that are brought up when doing rebuilding work, but, this being New Orleans, there have also been ridiculous moments along the way.
Almost every day on my way to the house I pass a billboard that says, “New Orleans: We live to eat.” And that right there sums up how New Orleans views food, they don’t eat to live, they live to eat. Boston folks be forewarned, that will not be a fat suit I’m wearing for Halloween when I get back, so don’t ask me to take it off. That billboard should also include “We live to drink, plentifully, everywhere and anywhere.” The open container laws and lax feelings towards public consumption continue to shock me. A friend of mine was looking to buy a flask and realized nobody knows what that is down here because you don’t need to be inconspicuous while drinking; people literally walk down the street carrying a whole bottle of booze. As I mentioned in a prior post, drive through daiquiri spots are completely normal here. As long as you don’t put the straw into your cup while you are driving, then you are not breaking any laws. But if one pops off the top, takes a big gulp of their “Antifreeze, high octane, tastes like gasoline Daiquiri” and then puts the top back on without compromising the seal of the straw hole, then there is no proof that they have broken the law. Just last night I found myself sitting in the bed of a moving pick up truck (I happened to “know’ the driver, having met him on Thursday, and he assured me he had checked the laws, and it is, in fact, legal to ride in truck beds in Louisiana. Weird given how strict the rest of the laws are in this state…..) drinking a bloody mary cocktail out of a Styrofoam cup. And last night was a low-key night.
Some other highlights of the trip so far:
-Swamp touring it up with Big Troy, the Cajun Encounters’ guide, who left a budding football career to come back to the swamp where he grew up to give tours. He got some of the gators to jump out of the water, I got to hold a baby gator AND I got a glow-in-the-dark Cajun Encounters wristband. WORTH IT. I was actually surprised by the beauty of the swamp. The trees with the Spanish moss hanging down, the green carpet of algae (even if it is an invasive species, it still looks nice) and the stillness of the back swamp set an exquisite scene. Troy’s decision to come back made a bit more sense to me after those two glorious hours.
-25 ¢ martinis at Commander’s Palace. I’m guessing this is how wealthy Southerners roll: work from 9-12, go to Commander’s Palace, proceed to drink 25 ¢ martinis over a long, decadent lunch, take the rest of the afternoon “off” in a drunken stupor. Though I would never be able to hang with this schedule, it was fun to check this out.
-Arts for Arts Sake. This is a kick-off to New Orleans art season that takes place the first Saturday in October. They shut down Julia Street, open up all the galleries and have food and drink stands scattered throughout. 2 thumbs up to drinking wine, while pretending to be an art connoisseur.
-Seeing the Lagniappe Brass Band at Tipitina’s (thanks to Jess!) Getting to check out some sweet tunes in a legendary music spot wasn’t too bad, neither were the the hula hoopers that accompanied the opening act. Also, this was the night I tried to find out some friends’ totem animals, which led to confusion as they had never really heard of this, or just had never thought of it. Mine is the sloth, not because I’m lazy (though sometimes I certainly can be), but because a sloth face brings so much joy into my life. http://www.fupenguin.com/2008/12/laziest-animal-ever.html Look at that face! If I can bring/share half as much joy into this world as that face brings into mine then my life will be successful. Well done, sloth.
-Checking out live music on Frenchmen St., having a few beverages, giving away big bills to travelling kids with dogs and being asked if we wanted to “hop a train” with them. No thank you, but I appreciate the invite.
This is the soundtrack to my life:
I haven’t been able to listen to any other CDs because I simply haven’t had enough time in my car, but they will serve me well on my subsequent long rides. WWOZ, 90.7, has been my soundtrack. Good tunes and copious amounts of fried, fatty foods, New Orleans, you win.
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