Weekly Updates – Page 9 – Keith Robertson

Week in Review – July 21st, 2024

“Great to see you after 40 years!”

On Monday we drove through to Currie (just outside of Edinburgh and next to the Heriot Watt University campus where I spent the first year of my university career) to meet up with Bobby, a classmate and part of the small group that hung out together so many years ago. It’s close to 40 years since I last saw Bobby.

The Riccarton Inn hosted our reunion. Diana enjoyed our historical stories quite a bit. Bobby is a very good musician – playing both the standup and electric basses and he had a lot of good tales about his travels with bands and the albums that he’s made. One fun story involved the old Mountbatten building in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket area – this was the home of the Heriot Watt Electrical Engineering department for the final years of our degrees. It’s now a hotel and Bobby had played a wedding gig there. He said the reception was in one of our old lecture halls and it still had the terraced slope – he was having interesting flashbacks. That got us off thinking about presentations we had to do in that lecture hall. We remembered Andy’s troubled talk about the Free Masons that made us realize we should take this assignment seriously. Bobby gave a talk about a band recording that had won an award, playing the recording to occupy the final five minutes of his required talk time. Then he reminded me of Euan’s grave digging talk – I had completely forgotten that. Euan had that as a summer job and it was certainly the most unique presentation.

We were intrigued by the way the dry/sweet and boldness of wines were indicated on the menu. Why don’t we have this?

We enjoyed this sign outside the Inn, “Good Banter”:

After a lovely lunch, Bobby invited us back to his home to meet his wife, Kirsty. She is also a musician and teaches violin in the Currie and Balerno school systems.

We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Kirsty, and were treated to their granddaughter, Cassie, when she was woken up from her nap. Cassie quickly warmed up to Diana and enjoyed her reading of the “Wonky Donkey”, a hilarious children’s’ book.

Bobby had told us about “walking football” which he really enjoyed due to his bum ankle. What he didn’t tell us was that his team had won the competition – as evidenced by the huge trophy in his entryway.

I remember Bobby played forward for the Heriot Watt team and knew he had played semi-professionally for a short while. Makes me seem very lazy – he holds down a full time job (until recent early retirement), plays many musical gigs every week, and participates in a busy sports agenda.

Here’s an explanation from the official walking football website about what makes it different:

“The biggest difference, as the name suggests, is there is no running. Walking football is played at walking pace, with players not allowed to run. This includes with the ball or off the ball, and includes jogging. You can ‘walk’ as fast as you want and walking as described in the rules is “one foot must be in contact with the ground at all times.”

One other big difference to association or 5-a-side football is that it’s classed as non-contact sport. Although tackling is allowed, this must be done with no contact.”

Our drive to and from Currie on the “wrong” side of the road was uneventful until it wasn’t. Close to home, several long PVC looking pipes broke loose from a van in front of us. They were headed straight for the windshield. Fortunately there wasn’t a vehicle in the inside lane and I was able to swerve and avoid any damage. Arriving home, I found the next door neighours out front watering my Mum’s garden – apparently they had been quite worried about my ability to drive through to Edinburgh and back given all the changes in the roads. Sometimes I wonder how I get by, between Kenny’s concern about my driving in New Orleans and now this concern in Scotland.

I’m so happy that we made the effort to connect with Bobby – such a nice day.

Tuesday began with another walk and run along Kilwinning road. This time Diana reported that the “mountains” were back to being “normal hills” – she’s adjusted to the undulating terrain.

We had invited Mum to lunch at the Laird’s Table restaurant outside of Fenwick and asked if she would like to include a friend or two. She decided on the Dunlops and we were very happy to include them – always entertaining.

They were just back from holiday in Norway and had told us a bit about that. Most of the stories were about their ever expanding family. We had a very enjoyable lunch for several hours and laughed at the banter.

We also laughed at the “mini meringues” desert:

And of course Diana got all the pictures that she wanted:

The flights home on Wednesday were very pleasant, albeit the 10 hour leg from London to New Orleans certainly feeling quite long. Diana was pleased when champagne was served before takeoff and I appreciated that drinks and food service started about 30 minutes after takeoff. Much improved over our night flight over to London.

I really enjoyed the cheese plate for desert – with fancy oatcake presentation:

The “Gentlemen Out At Lunch” club (Thom, Alex, Dennis and Kenny) convened our inaugural meeting at Plume in Algiers on Thursday. The food and service were excellent and we got to try a decent selection of the menu by sharing food among five of us. This is the young couple that operates the restaurant with the help of their son:

The food is certainly not typical of the Indian food you find in the U.S., with light and flavorful sauces.

We voted on logos for the group. My submission:

The name was tweaked to replace the “To” with “At” in order to create a nice acronym (GOAL). The picture was deemed too “fancy” and “stuffy”, and so I’ve now come up with version 2.0:

I had the original displayed on a small easel for the krewe to review. The owner noticed and asked if we would sign it and leave it for her to display on the wall – we were happy to oblige. I’ll have to return and take a picture of that. I was chastised for not taking any pictures – we were chatting and having too much fun.

After lunch we made a quick stop at the Crown and Anchor before sitting for way too long in traffic on the bridge over the Mississippi. One final stop at the Milan Lounge to play along with Jeopardy on their TV (it’s a regular thing there every day).

As if we hadn’t had enough wonderful food for the week, we met a colleague of mine, Fred, who retired a couple of years ago, for lunch at Commander’s Palace on Friday. Fred grew up in the New Orleans area and has lived in the Dallas area for the last 20 years – he makes regular visits to New Orleans to enjoy the food and drink. The food and service were exemplary as usual during our 3 hour lunch. It’s always good to catch up with Fred.

This is the time of year when we can expect heavy thunder storms most days. We were able to get our walks in around the downpours on Saturday and Sunday, with some of the loudest thunder claps I’ve ever heard on Sunday.

I finished up “All the Colors of the Dark” by Chris Whitaker on the flight home. The subject matter is certainly dark, as the title would indicate, and I enjoyed this read quite a bit. Great characters and twists that weren’t the typical incredible nonsense. I recommend this one.

I’m still plugging away at “Southern Man” by Greg Iles and should finish that monster in the next week or two.

I‘m also reading Ann Patchett’s “These Precious Days”, a collection of her essays published in 2021. Some of these appeal to me more than others and the writing is as excellent as always. The first essay about Patchett’s three Dads is my favourite so far. The one about her husband’s flying obsession a close second. The one about knitting- not so much.

Slash, guitarist for Guns ‘n Roses, has a new album – here he teams up with Chris Stapleton for a good cover of a classic:

The sublime original:

And finally, an old classic that popped up on a playlist:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

Week in Review – July 14th, 2024

“Happy Birthday, Mum”

Diana and Anne enjoyed some fancy pool time at Merry Lee’s pool and cabanas on Monday. I say it’s fancy because of the ability to reserve a luxury cabana with a fridge and TV. I dropped Diana off, Anne joined her shortly thereafter and brought her home later in the day.

Kara invited Diana for oysters at Superior Seafood on Monday. She just wanted to get together before we left town. We’ll only be gone for a week, but very sweet all the same. They had a good time for several hours. Quite the fun Monday for McD.

Kenny, Kara and Diana had a walk and run in the park on Wednesday morning since yoga was cancelled. I finished up work and joined them for a late breakfast at La Boulangerie. This was Diana’s first visit and it’s a long time since I was there – the food and drinks are all very good and it’s nearby. We should visit more often.

The 10:30pm British Airways flight took us to London Heathrow on Wednesday night. We had a long layover and arrived in Stewarton on Thursday evening. I’m always very impressed with the service on the less than an hour flight to Glasgow. We were served drinks, high tea, and coffee all in much less time that it took to get a drink on the long flight from New Orleans. Here’s a view coming into land in Glasgow, including the island of Ailsa Craig where curling stones hail from:

Mum’s birthday was on Friday. The day started with a walk (Keith) and run (Diana) out Kilwinning Road into the country. The views of Ailsa Craig and Arran were excellent. On returning home, Diana complained about the incline and length of the “hills” – not something she’s used to in New Orleans. In the afternoon we ran some errands in Stewarton – “paid the papers”, filled up with petrol, and had a delicious lunch at a local café.

Saturday began with a walk and run on what was hoped to be flatter ground in Lainshaw Woods. Diana reported that the “mountains” killed her on this run. I think her altimeter must be wonky as there were really only a few small inclines. Her sore legs said otherwise.

Mum’s house became very busy on Saturday afternoon. Elspeth, David and Bramble (dog) arrived at almost the same time as Heather, Michael, and Mila (dog), soon to be followed by Struan, Emily, and Bonnie (dog). Nine adults and three dogs in a small living room was quite chaotic. Struan had shorn off almost all of Bonnie’s coat, creating a strange looking dog that really was not happy with him.

We loaded into a couple of cars and headed off to dinner at Seamill Hydro in West Kilbride. Bramble and Bonnie were left behind at Mum’s house – more on that later. Seamill Hydro is a lovely hotel that hosts many weddings (Elspeth and David’s several years ago). The coastal setting with a view over to Arran is beautiful:

We were seated in a quiet area and enjoyed a lovely meal. The Hydro was chosen as it has a robust vegetarian and vegan menu. I had haggis and potato croquettes as my starter and then cauliflower gnocchi (from the veggie menu) for my main – both were quite yummy. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals and the setting allowed us to have some fun banter and conversation – we even learned about Struan’s new IT job. Several times during the evening I found myself thinking how much Struan’s mannerisms and facial expressions reminded me of Campbell. Elspeth told me they actually think he reminds them of me. Here’s Mum with her surprise birthday desert:

Diana couldn’t resist the pavlova:

After that it was time for some fresh air before the drive home. Here we are with the island of Arran behind us:

On arrival home, we were greeted by the next door neighbours who had responded to the house alarm going off. Apparently the dogs had managed to “escape” the kitchen and trigger the alarm.

David and Elspeth spent the night at Mum’s and we started Sunday with a walk up the road to the Kennedy farm, Meikle Corsehill, with David and Bramble. David was channeling Rex Harrison in his Dr. Doolittle role on the walk:

Bramble didn’t want to be left out:

A dog at Meikle Corsehill was having a good bark at Bramble, causing it’s owner to come out and investigate the disturbance. The owner, Ian, happened to be a previous employee of David’s and they had a good catch up chat. I reminisced about taking in the hay on the farm, feeding the cows in the milking barn, and playing in the hay barn with Willie Kennedy and others.

After the walk we settled in to watch the Wimbledon men’s final – a bit one-sided, although not as much as the score indicated, in my opinion. We enjoyed a yummy lunch and then said goodbye to Elspeth and David, who needed to make the long drive home before it got too late.

What a wonderful couple of days with family!

The ESPN Espy awards ceremony happened during the week. Steve Gleason received the Arthur Ashe courage award and delivered an excellent speech using his computer aided voice. His son, River, joined him onstage for support. Here’s the video:

I had to take a break from “Southern Man” this week as it’s way too heavy for travel. I switched to “All the Colors of the Dark” by Chris Whitaker, which I have online and have almost finished.

Here’s an online summary:

“Late one summer, the town of Monta Clare is shattered by the abduction of teenager Joseph ‘Patch’ Macauley. Nobody more so than Saint Brown, who will risk everything to find her best friend.

But when she does: it will break her heart.

Patch lies alone in a pitch-black room – until he feels a hand in his. Her name is Grace and, though they cannot see each other, she lights their world with her words.

But when he escapes: there is no sign she ever even existed.

Left with only her voice and her name, he paints her from broken memories – and charts an epic search to find her.

As years turn to decades, and hope becomes obsession, Saint will shadow his journey – on a darker path to hunt down the man who took them – and set free the only boy she ever loved.

Even if finding the truth means losing each other forever…”

This has been a very enjoyable book so far, one that I have read in the wee hours when I was suffering from jetlag.

Some passages that I enjoyed:

A unique simile:

“was a steady drip from a leaking faucet, like a metronome that scaled up the tension.”

An interesting new word for me:

“The low hum of a generator buried beneath the baldachin of nature. They’d find him dead. Of course. And they’d catch the guy, but..”

Some other new information to me:

“Days were named after the planets of Hellenistic astrology. Saturn, Sun, and Moon. Saturday, Sunday,… Moonday.”

On the strained relationship between Saint and her new husband, Jimmy:

““He treats you well?” Patch said. She wanted to tell him that Jimmy said there wasn’t room for her piano. That sometimes she fixed his dinner and he forgot to thank her. That he was not silly in any of the good ways. She wanted to tell Patch that Jimmy did not like her being a cop. That he wanted to have children right away, and that when they did he expected her to step out of her life and into a mother’s. Most of all she wanted to tell him that she was scared. She was a cop who had done so many brave things. But she was scared.”

““He never made me laugh. And I knew, before I met him. I knew love and laughter and how sweet life could be.” “You still married him.” She looked at Patch like he was a child, like he did not know how the world kept turning. “Sometimes people reserve so much of themselves. It’s like saving a fine wine for an occasion that never materializes.””

A great song by Martin Sexton (not related to Charlie Sexton at all – a misconception that I’ve had for a number of years):

A really interesting song from Thievery Corporation:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

Week in Review – July 7th, 2024

“When did you become a citizen?”

We celebrated July 4th with a pool party at Alex and Laura’s home. When I arrived, Kenny and the krewe were quizzing me about when I became a U.S. citizen – I couldn’t immediately recall the month or year, much to the chagrin of Kenny. I was able to look up a picture of my certificate and report that it was on September 20th, 2022. Kenny has promised to make sure this date is celebrated every year – fine with me, Kenny.

Once the ribbing about citizenship dates subsided, Thom and I advanced our idea of a monthly gentleman’s lunch. It’s amazing how much fun the group was able to have establishing rules and bylaws around governing the monthly lunch group. I’m looking forward to our first outing to Plume in Algiers. We’ll vote on the group name and logo at this inaugural event, and then pick the location for the following month. Each attendee is to make presentations on name, logo and next destination. Here’s what I’ve worked up so far for name and logo:

I think the first meeting on July 18th could be quite good fun.

We met Denny and Anne on Friday for Happy Hour at Chais Delachaisse. This is perhaps my favourite Happy Hour destination – the food and drink options and prices are so good. We tried their octopus for the first time – served with some pineapple like Avo, so I suppose that is a more popular thing than I realized. It was very good as expected.

Again the weekend was pretty quiet as we got ourselves organized for our trip to Scotland.

I started the massive, 900 page opus that is “Southern Man” by Greg Iles this week. Here’s the online summary:

“A senseless tragedy
When a brawl at a rap festival triggers a bloody mass shooting in Mississippi, Penn Cage finds himself in a country on the brink of eruption. As the stunned cities of Natchez and Bienville reel, antebellum plantation homes are being torched and the deadly attacks are claimed by a Black radical group as historic acts of justice. Panic quickly sweeps through the communities, driving the prosperous Southern towns inexorably toward a race war.

A rising star
But what might have been only a regional sideshow of the 2024 Presidential election explodes into national prominence, thanks to the stunning ascent of Robert E. Lee White on social media, a Southern war hero funded by an eccentric Mississippi billionaire, who seizes the public imagination as a third-party candidate.

A country ready to implode
As his hometown devolves into chaos, Penn Cage tears into Bobby White’s pursuit of the Presidency and ultimately risks a second Civil War to try to expose its motivation to the world, before the America of our Constitution slides into the abyss.”

This story is almost scarily current given all of our election drama of the last few weeks. I’m almost half way through and am most impressed by Iles’ capability to weave three or four main narrative arcs together in a cohesive way. More to come in the next few weeks – the book is too heavy for travel.

What an amazingly laid back and subtle guitar riff from the amazing Lee Ritenour. I have it stuck in my head for over a week:

I always enjoy the guitar tone and vocals of Snowy White:

And finally, the technique and guitar tones of Alvin Lee – beautiful:

Coexist peacefully with kindness and patience for all!

Week in Review – June 30th, 2024

“Argentine Jazz”

We returned home from Boulder on Tuesday – what a lovely break.

Jeff and Merry Lee joined us for dinner at Saba on Wednesday night. This is the restaurant that Alon Shaya opened after he lost the right to continue operating his original “Shaya” restaurant. The menu is very similar and we enjoyed our meal very much. We shared a decent number of menu items, starting with this delicious watermelon salad:

The lamb ragu humus is always a favourite:

Jeff and Merry Lee are always good company and like a lot of the same things that we do – makes it easy to enjoy a meal.

I read this notice in the Thursday “Langiappe” section of the newspaper and was intrigued:

Kenny had read the same item, and texted to see if we were interesting in attending. A unique event on a Friday afternoon at no cost – sure, why not.

The band was made up of two different jazz groups from Argentina – one of older folks and another of younger people. Local guitarist and banjoist Hunter Burgamy rounded out the ensemble. The performance space at the jazz museum is a very pleasant venue with great sound. We hadn’t been there since the cigar box guitar festival.

Here’s a clip from the opening song with Hunter doing some authentic 1920s vocals:

There were two other vocalists who alternated responsibilities – the lady singer was outstanding, really putting her all into the performances:

All three of us agreed that this was one of the better concerts that we had seen in a while – well worth the quick trip to the Quarter. We stopped into Kenny’s favourite coffee shop after the show, and then made a visit to Ryan’s taco shop for a margarita on the drive home. A delightful evolution of a Friday afternoon.

The remainder of the weekend was relatively quiet as we regrouped from our travels.

We’re skipping the book and music sections again this week as I’m yet again behind with postings. Ugh!

Coexist peacefully with kindness and patience for all!

Week in Review – June 23rd, 2024

“Happy Anniversary, Now off to Boulder”

Our 7th anniversary was on Monday and we wanted to use our Avo gift certificate to celebrate. Avo not being open on Mondays, we chose Hungry Eyes for a smaller celebration on the real day. This place has very creative offerings and good drinks in a kitschy 80s themed space. We enjoyed a smoky eggplant dip, steak tartare and pavlova. And as Diana said, “It was a real pavlova,” with the meringue perfectly cooked.

It’s been years since we visited Avo, previously Martinique, and we weren’t sure what to expect. The restaurant has been beautifully updated and the food was very good. We have some money left on our gift certificate and look forward to returning soon. The octopus was a highlight. The pineapple worked nicely – who knew?

And, of course Diana had to have steak tartare again.

Yes, those are savoury churros on the side – interesting combination.

We flew to Denver on Wednesday afternoon – or rather were supposed to. Another “If You’ve Time to Spare go by Air” experience. Plane needs a part but we don’t have it in New Orleans. It’s coming on a plane that lands 3 hours from now. Well the part didn’t work, so we have a new plane. Get on the new plane. We don’t have enough fuel on this plane, should just be a few minutes. Over an hour later we were underway. By this time we had missed the last bus to Boulder from Denver airport. Denny and Anne were kind enough to come and pick us up for the 45 minute drive. We settled into their lovely new condo and had an early night.

Thursday started with picking up yummy sandwiches from Lolita’s and heading up to the top of Lafayette mountain – about 1500 feet higher than Boulder. We enjoyed a picnic and then headed out on what Denny billed as a “short, flat acclimatization hike.”

That last picture was taken just before I was sidelined by what we assume was altitude sickness – dizzy, wobbly, nauseous, high heart rate and achy bones. Turning around was shorter than continuing, so we did that and took the better part of an hour to cover the short distance back to the car, stopping frequently for me to regroup. Diana wasn’t sure she was going to get me off the mountain without some professional help. AND – this was NOT a flat and easy hike – it dropped steeply and climbed steeply with boulders to navigate – classic Denny trickery. I was glad to relax in the car.

I was sufficiently recovered to make the short walk to River and Woods for Happy Hour. This is a quaint restaurant in an old miners’ cabin, with a very tasty offering of food and drinks for Happy Hour.

The agenda called for a post Happy Hour ramble around downtown Boulder, but I was still a bit dizzy and didn’t think that would end well. Back to the condo for a relaxing night in.

Brunch at Snooze kicked off our Friday. I was feeling much better, but opted for some healthy choices – green juice and a vegetable and grains bowl. Look at all these colourful drinks. Everyone enjoyed their brunch a lot.

Brunch was followed by a walk (not a scrambling hike) along the creek side. There was a very pretty trail that offered excellent views of the fast flowing and well filled creek. No tubers that day.

The trail dropped us downtown and we enjoyed a refreshing drink at the Rosetta Mall – a great place with multiple food vendors around an open eating area. All the food looked yummy. We climbed up to the rooftop bar for a view of the mountains.

We met Todd and Lori (Todd and Denny worked together at EDS years ago) for Todd’s birthday celebration at Pizzeria Alberico. The pizzeria is next to the only Michelin starred restaurant in Boulder and shares a kitchen. As you might expect, the appetizers and pizzas were excellent.

After dinner Denny advertised going to see a band named Sturtz at the Gold Hill Inn, further up in the mountains. We weren’t sure what that entailed but went along for the ride. Unpaved roads at altitude were not what I expected.

Thankfully, we arrived safely in Gold Hill, an old gold mining town, and made our way to the Inn. The band didn’t sound enticing and so we just enjoyed a drink in the old bar. Here’s a selection of pictures I took in this little town that time might have forgotten:

We dropped Anne and Diana off for some early morning rooftop yoga on Saturday.

What a beautiful setting!

Dinner was “at home” and we enjoyed some of Chef Denny’s wonderful pasta. Then it was time to head over to the Boulder Theater for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The band is named after the way the famous bluesman Albert Collins signed his autograph. Their music is “modern swing revival” and they were very popular in the 90s, playing the Super Bowl halftime show in 1999.

The theater was perfectly sized and organized – terraced floor so everyone could see and just enough people so that everyone could move around easily, and some couples could enjoy swing dancing.

From the first couple of bars when the band took the stage I was thoroughly impressed. A great sound, precision timing from all players, professionalism and choreography – just an excellent experience all around. Here’s the opening song:

And a great song from later in the show:

We set off another expedition on Sunday. After tacos for lunch, we drove to Dillon in Summit County – gaining several thousand feet on the 90 minute drive. Check in wasn’t available when we arrived at the hotel, so we made a visit to a Tiki bar on the lakefront.

We checked into the hotel, had dinner and then walked down to the Dillon amphitheater to see Ryan Bingham. Todd and Lori joined as well. After some hassle about the tiny bags the ladies had being too big, we settled in for the show. I wasn’t very familiar with his music but thoroughly enjoyed the show and the gorgeous setting.

Here are a couple of songs:

I’ve fallen behind again and so will skip the music and book sections until next week – which hopefully will be published tomorrow.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

Week in Review – June 16th, 2024

“Climb the New Orleans Mountain”

It’s getting sufficiently humid that our walks and runs have to start by 7am at the latest – so we got some early starts to the day this week.

Diana and I decided to try the Happy Hour at Plates restaurant in the Warehouse District on Friday. A very positive review by Ian McNulty in the newspaper put this place on our radar. Kenny texted to see if anyone was interested in Happy Hour, so I picked him up and we made our way. Kelly and Fred joined, and then Kara directly from work. A partial Krewe together – it’s been a few weeks.

The drinks were solid – Kenny and I particularly enjoying our Spanish Gin and Tonics, and the appetizers were all quite yummy. We all think Diana really suits Kenny’s cap:

Either Kenny or Fred, it’s been over a week now, suggested Pete’s Out in the Cold bar for a stop on the way home. This place is 0.7 miles from our house and we’d never heard of it – shame on these friends. It was a fun stop with frozen Pimm’s cups and games like Jenga.

A very pleasant neighborhood bar in easy walking distance of our home. Nice!

Saturday morning yoga at the City Park sculpture garden occupied Diana and Kara while Kenny and I explored the Couturie forest. I was just as skeptical as you are – a forest in New Orleans and inside City Park? Kenny assured me it was real and also contained the highest point in New Orleans. “Wait a minute, I’ve always told people that Monkey Hill in the zoo is the highest point.” Kenny: “Don’t worry, everybody knew you were a foreigner and didn’t believe you anyway.” Nice – thanks Kenny! Here’s an entertaining piece on the “mountain” from the Couturie Forest website:

“The Forest is made up of eight distinct ecosystems and is home to New Orleans’ highest point of elevation: Laborde Mountain. Measuring a daunting 27 feet above sea level, oxygen and sherpas are available upon request. Couturie Forest was named New Orleans’ top bird-watching destination. It is common for birders to see 40 species or more in a single outing.

The forest is a beautiful place to wander with your kids, family and friends. An afternoon along the trails is more than just exciting—it’s an easy way to work in some exercise and learn a thing or two about the Park’s rich, natural landscape. Expect to see countless varieties of trees, fish and birds along the trails and beautiful waterways.”

Here are a couple of pictures from the forest walk:

The rest of the week was relatively low key – a pretty quiet week for a change. Nothing wrong with that. We did watch a couple of movies and series. “Lance”, a documentary about Lance Armstrong was interesting.

He seemed completely unrepentant about doping and then lying about it thousands of times to all kinds of people, almost in a psychopathic manner, a la Trump. Certainly massively egocentric and not learning anything from experience. It’s hard to believe how admired and revered he once was – if only people had known the real Lance – which he seemed quite happy to share in this documentary.

“How to Rob a Bank” was an interesting documentary series. It details the life and approach of Scott Scurlock, the mastermind behind at least 19 bank robberies in Seattle between 1992 and 1996, netting more than $2.6 million. As is typical in these stories, he had to execute “just one last robbery” and then he was finished, and of course that’s the one where he was caught.

Scurlock lived in a treehouse outside Seattle, and led a very quirky existence.

I started “Natchez Burning” by Greg Iles this week, and honestly haven’t made it very far into the lengthy book. I have “Southern Man”, the latest from Iles, on hold at the library, and decided to try this one out while I wait.

Here’s the online recap:

“From #1 New York Times bestselling author Greg Iles comes the first novel in his Natchez Burning trilogy—which also includes The Bone Tree and the upcoming Mississippi Blood—an epic trilogy that interweaves crimes, lies, and secrets past and present in a mesmerizing thriller featuring Southern lawyer and former prosecutor Penn Cage.

Raised in the southern splendor of Natchez, Mississippi, Penn Cage learned all he knows of duty from his father, Dr. Tom Cage. But now the beloved family doctor has been accused of murdering the African American nurse with whom he worked in the dark days of the 1960s. Once a crusading prosecutor, Penn is determined to save his father, but Tom, stubbornly invoking doctor-patient privilege, refuses even to speak in his own defense.

Penn’s quest for the truth sends him deep into his father’s past, where a sexually charged secret lies. More chilling, this long-buried sin is only one thread in a conspiracy of greed and murder involving the vicious Double Eagles, an offshoot of the KKK controlled by some of the most powerful men in the state. Aided by a dedicated reporter privy to Natchez’s oldest secrets and by his fiancée, Caitlin Masters, Penn uncovers a trail of corruption and brutality that places his family squarely in the Double Eagles’ crosshairs.

With every step costing blood and faith, Penn is forced to confront the most wrenching dilemma of his life: Does a man of honor choose his father or the truth?”

A great blues sound from the rising star:

Something tasty from the Yacht Rock genre:

And finally, something knew from a favourite, Luke Winslow King:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!

Week in Review – June 9th, 2024

“Culture Week”

Book readings, an Opera concert, and the Paramount Jazz Band – what a lively week of cultural events.

The culture kicked off on Tuesday evening. Kenny and Kara joined us at the Garden District Book Shop for a reading by Brian Fairbanks, author of “Waylon, Willie, and the Boys”. Here’s the online summary of the book:

“The tragic and inspiring story of the leaders of Outlaw country and their influence on today’s Alt-County and Americana superstars, tracing a path from Waylon Jennings’ survival on the Day the Music Died through to the Highwaymen and on to the current creative and commercial explosion of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Zach Bryan, Jason Isbell, and the Highwomen.”

This was a unique reading, in that Brian enlisted local musician Connor Donohue to perform songs after he read a passage about them from his book. The event was well attended and the newly opened bar in the shop did a good trade. A very enjoyable evening.

There was another book reading on Thursday evening – this time at Octavia books. The shop was recently remodeled, doubling the space, and really nicely done. The reading was by Jimmy Nolan from his book “Between Dying and Not Dying, I Chose the Guitar – The Pandemic Years in New Orleans.”

The title is somewhat misleading in that Nolan did not learn to play the guitar during lockdown – rather he posits that creative pursuits were the key to making the most of the time alone.

The book attempts to strike a common theme between the three pandemics that Nolan has endured – Polio in his youth, AIDS while living in San Francisco, and the Coronavirus. The talk started out well – Nolan has led a very varied and interesting life around the world – but quickly bogged down in revisionist history, arguing the efficacy of various approaches to slowing the spread of the virus – six foot distancing, masking etc. Diana said she would have liked to ask him what three key points he was hoping to share – given the rambling and somewhat disjointed talk.

I did read another of Nolan’s books this week – more later in the Books section. We were glad we attended the event – this one even came with complimentary wines.

On Friday, I asked Diana to be ready to leave at 6:30pm for an evening of Italian stuff. The details on the “stuff” were a closely guarded secret.

An Uber dropped us at the Piazza D ‘Italia for “Opera in the Piazza.” I had read about this in the Offbeat magazine and thought it sounded like something Diana would enjoy.

We had a very pleasant evening. Three hours of singing. Here’s the program:

And a couple of songs:

Diana seemed to have a very good time. Nor Joe’s was the main food vendor – some very yummy pasta. These are the guys we used to cater our New Year’s Eve party.

Saturday took us to our regular spot on the grassy neutral ground at the Kingpin dive bar. The band was a repeat from several weeks ago, the Paramount Jazz Band – the one I describe as French café jazz music. The clarinet player is the leader of the band and always entertains me.

I enjoyed this video of Irma Thomas backstage with the Rolling Stones at Jazz Fest:

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/festivals/see-a-rolling-stones-jazz-fest-rehearsal-with-irma-thomas/article_08a6cb0a-0c9c-11ef-a69e-d75338c94409.html

My first book was “Broken Bayou” by Jennifer Moorehead. This was one of those free Amazon reads, so I didn’t have very high hopes. It turned out to be an entertaining murder mystery.

Here’s the online summary:

“In this debut thriller, a troubled child psychologist returns to a small Louisiana town to protect her secrets but winds up having to protect her life.

Dr. Willa Watters is a prominent child psychologist at the height of her career. But when a viral video of a disastrous television interview puts her reputation on the line, Willa retreats to Broken Bayou, the town where she spent most of her childhood summers. There she visits her aunts’ old house and discovers some of her unstable mother’s belongings still languishing in the attic―dusty mementos harboring secrets of her harrowing past.

Willa’s hopes for a respite are quickly crushed, not only by what she finds in that attic but also by what’s been found in the bayou.

With waters dropping due to drought, mysterious barrels containing human remains have surfaced, alongside something else from Willa’s past, something she never thought she’d see again. Divers, police, and media flood the area, including a news reporter gunning for Willa and Travis Arceneaux―a local deputy and old flame.

Willa’s fate seems eerily tied to the murders. And with no one to trust, she must use her wits to stay above water and make it out alive.”

Kenny’s Ninth Ward accent is apparently called “Yat.” This paragraph made me smile:

“They ask questions all at once about living in a big city and how Mama’s getting along and why I haven’t been back sooner, all in slow rolling accents that sound more Brooklyn than southern gulf. The Yat dialect, as it’s called in New Orleans.”

This was an entertaining murder mystery that read very quickly.

I did come across the most annoying phrases that I hear daily from entitled millennials – “Let’s grab lunch” or “I’ll do the shrimp salad.” When did eating together become a “grab” situation rather than time to relax and slow down. And who on earth “does” a shrimp salad. I’m on a mission to stamp it out, but like so many other millennial challenges, it’s rampant.

Next, I read one of Jimmy Nolan’s previous books – “Flight Risk.” This is essentially an autobiography, focused on the various countries and situations that Nolan has had to escape from in his very colourful and rich life. Here’s the online summary:

“Flight Risk takes off as a page-turning narrative with deep roots and a wide wingspan. James Nolan, a fifth-generation New Orleans native, offers up an intimate portrait both of his insular hometown and his generation’s counterculture. Flight runs as a theme throughout the book, which begins with Nolan’s escape from the gothic mental hospital to which his parents committed the teenaged poet during the tumult of 1968. This breakout is followed by the self-styled revolutionary’s hair-raising flight from a Guatemalan jail, and years later, by the author’s bolt from China, where he ditched his teaching position and collectivist ideals. These Houdini-like feats foreshadow a more recent one, how he dodged biblical floods in a stolen school bus three days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

Nolan traces these flight patterns to those of his French ancestors who fled to New Orleans in the mid-nineteenth century, established a tobacco business in the French Quarter, and kept the old country alive in their Creole demimonde. The writer describes the eccentric Seventh Ward menagerie of the extended family in which he grew up, his early flirtation with extremist politics, and a strong bond with his freewheeling grandfather, a gentleman from the Gilded Age. Nolan’s quest for his own freedom takes him to the flower-powered, gender-bending San Francisco of the sixties and seventies, as well as to an expatriate life in Spain during the heady years of that nation’s transition to democracy. Like the prodigal son, he eventually returns home to live in the French Quarter, around the corner from where his grandmother grew up, only to struggle through the aftermath of Katrina and the city’s resurrection.

Many of these stories are entwined with the commentaries of a wry flâneur, addressing such subjects as the nuances of race in New Orleans, the Disneyfication of the French Quarter, the numbing anomie of digital technology and globalization, the challenges of caring for aging parents, Creole funeral traditions, how to make a soul-searing gumbo, and what it really means to belong.”

Here he talks about tourists on a vampire tour, who are more interested in the sight of someone who actually lives and operates in the French Quarter. This is after his rant on how suburbs are the “death of society.” He may not be wrong in my experience.

“But the tourists aren’t starting at the balcony where the bloody ghost supposedly appeared. Mystified, they are watching me at my gate, juggling a coat on a hanger, a bottle of wine, a bag of tomatoes, mail, and house keys. I am the real ghost, of how urban Americans used to live.”

A small part of a long rant about the ineptitude of the local and national governments post Katrina:

“The city had at its disposal a fleet of public-transport and school buses, which should have been parked on dry over-rise highways to carry people out of the city in the event of flooding. I grow impatient with city officials’ excuses about the lack of bonded drivers with chauffeur’s licenses, a cover-up, according to historian David Brinkley in “The Great Deluge”, to the unpardonable bungling that actually occurred: these officials couldn’t find the bus keys. Impoverished Cuban and Mexican authorities routinely execute bused based evacuation of their populations whenever a dangerous hurricane approaches. But in the city of New Orleans, the needs of those who fall outside of the able-bodied middle class remained invisible.”

Nolan did evacuate New Orleans three days after the storm, in a bootlegged school bus.

On a last Christmas meal with his mother:

“She wouldn’t be here long, so I’d hung spruce garlands and put on her beloved, scratchy LP of Handle’s Messiah that skipped. We sang along to the Hallelujah Chorus, which I conducted with a wooden spoon from the kitchen. As usual, her eyes watered at the solo “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” as I was bringing in the caramelized yams. “That’s my favorite part,” she said. The next week she turned seventy-nine, and two weeks later was gone.”

I’ve heard “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” in my childhood home many, many times.

Let’s start off with some excellent and funky music from one of Stevie Wonder’s masterpieces, “Talking Book”:

Some beautiful guitar from the very underrated Snowy White:

And finally, the reason that the “Chickie Wah Wah” music club has its name:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

Week in Review – June 3rd, 2024

“Bachelor Week”

My continued bachelor existence started on Monday (Memorial Day holiday) with a walk and jog in the park. I took a break to watch this entertaining guy trying to position himself for maximum sun exposure.

After the exercise, I joined Kenny on his porch for some lovely Amaretto iced coffee – very refreshing.

Going a bit stir crazy in the empty house on Tuesday, I decided to try Plume in Algiers for lunch. This is a very creative Indian place that got a good write up in the paper. The restaurant is very understated – a house in a residential area just out from under the main bridge over the Mississippi from New Orleans.

I started with the Mushroom Kothu Roti – stir-fried mushrooms and chopped roti bread, goat cheese raita, and tarragon. It didn’t look like a lot of food and so I ordered the beet fritters as well. I was pretty full about half way through the mushrooms and only sampled a little of the beet fritter – great leftovers.

I love Plume – will be back soon. Delicious, creative, great service and a very casual environment.

I was watching the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA playoff game on Tuesday evening, and decided I could nip out and catch an hour of Tom Hook at Dos Jefes and be back in time to watch the conclusion of the game. Tom Hook is a human jukebox – such a massive repertoire. Here he is doing Tom Waits and then Ray Charles:

As I entered Dos Jefes, Chris Henry, tennis coach and buddy of all the tennis boys was sitting right at the front table. He’s a big piano player, and so I joined him and we had a good chat in between the music. What a pleasant surprise.

Wednesday was sort of a repeat of Tuesday. I drove over to 1000 figs Mediterranean restaurant by the Fairgrounds (Jazz Fest location) and loved the falafel platter and hibiscus tea that I ordered. Best I’ve had in New Orleans so far. The downside is the place is very small and seems to attract the loud sorority college girls. Maybe better for take out orders.

In the evening, I experimented with the Joe Ashlar Happy Organ Hour at the Maple Leaf Bar. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Stanton Moore was on drums, the show began at 6pm, so it had at least two big positives. As McD said after I shared a video clip with her, “Right up K alley.” And it was, I really enjoyed the show. Three excellent musicians playing completely in sync.

I stayed in on Thursday and watched the Mavericks punch their ticket to the NBA Finals. A very impressive accomplishment given where they were earlier in the season. Jason Kidd has done an amazing coaching job, and Boston awaits in the finals – that will be a lot of work.

Denny invited me to watch the new Mad Max movie, “Furiosa”, on Friday afternoon at the Broad Theater. The boys and Alex joined as well.

I enjoyed the first couple of Mad Max movies so many years ago, and this one was just kind of silly and quite a bit too long. Oh well, I was out of the house and enjoying the company.

We retired to Midway pizza after the movie and Kenny joined us. Always a good time there.

I did some cleaning, laundry, and shopping on Saturday, prior to picking up Diana at the airport in the evening. Her flight was delayed a bit, but nothing like the trip out.

Denny and Anne dropped off a gift from St. John on Sunday – a bracelet that comes with a code to download an app and track your sponsored penguin.

We really enjoyed the movie “On the Basis of Sex” – a biography of the early days of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. What a well done movie – highly recommended. We sorely miss her presence on the Supreme Court.

I was up late on Sunday and enjoyed “The Boys in the Boat” – a film about the 1936 USA rowing team. They were the junior team from Washington University, and a huge underdog to even represent the USA – never mind winning the Olympic gold medal. This was the same gathering where Jesse Owens made such a massive impact. A bit slow and predictable, but George Clooney did a good job directing.

I don’t have anything to report on the reading front this week – too much time enjoying local music.

The inimitable sound of Mark Knopfler’s guitar. He keeps turning out great music on a regular basis.

A Tom Waits song that Tom Hook covered at Dos Jefes. Such great lyrics:

And finally, a Joe Jackson song with all New Orleans musicians, including Stanton Moore on drums:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!

Week in Review – May 26th, 2024

“Birthdays and Graduations”

I dropped Diana at the airport on Tuesday afternoon, so that she could fly to California for Alicia’s graduation ceremony. She had a very long day with flight delays and missed connections, but ultimately made it late in the evening.

I treated myself to a yummy breakfast sandwich from Gracious bakery, around the corner from our home, to kick off my birthday. Wonderful fluffy eggs and biscuit.

Meanwhile, in the stadium at San Jose State, Alicia was graduating!

I enjoyed this video of Ben, Lilly, Madison and Petey celebrating:

Kenny and Kara took me to Irene’s in the French Quarter for dinner on Thursday to celebrate my big birthday. This is a wonderful Italian restaurant, and I enjoyed a delicious drum almandine meuniere. It was so thoughtful of these guys to take me out to celebrate.

After dinner, we had a cocktail at Peychaud’s and enjoyed their patio.

The evening came with door to door transportation included – always convenient to park at the Fire Station.

How about this birthday gift from Andy? He’s getting really good with his improvisation:

We had been looking forward to the Bob Dylan birthday tribute on Friday at the Broadside for several weeks.

Sam Price, bass player for the Honey Island Swamp Band, organized the event. All the folks in the poster played two or three Dylan songs. This made for a great variety of styles and voices. John Fohl (guitar), Keiko Komaki (keyboards), Sam Price (bass) and a good drummer who’s name I don’t recall, were the “house band.” Kenny and Kara joined again, and unfortunately Thom (our biggest Dylan fan) was not able to make it.

Here’s a selection of video clips from the evening:

“I Remember You”:

“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door:

A tasty John Fohl solo:

“Lay Lady Lay”:

“I Shall Be Released (with Tom Fitzpatrick on sax)”:

“A Simple Twist of Fate”:

What a wonderful evening of music by all those local musicians – it really took some work to pull it off so smoothly.

On Saturday, there was a special Jazz Funeral and Second Line to recognize those that couldn’t have a funeral during the peak of COVID. I thought it sounded like something worth checking out, and so made my way over to City Park in the heat of the afternoon.

Kenny let me know that evening that I (or at least the rear view of me) was on the local news:

The procession was interesting with marchers followed by the To Be Continued (TBC) Brass Band and a couple of Wild Magnolias Indians. It started with the jazz dirge (funeral part) and quickly transitioned into the upbeat second line dancing music.

I enjoyed “A Life Impossible” by Steve Gleason this week. This is the book I got at the event across the street at the Garden District Book Store a couple of weeks ago.

Here’s an online summary:

“In 2011, three years after leaving the NFL, Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal disease that takes away the ability to move, talk, and breathe. Doctors gave him three years to live. He was thirty-three years old. As Steve says, he is now ten years past his expiration date.

His memoir is the chronicle of a remarkable life, one filled with optimism and joy, despite the trauma and pain and despair he has experienced. Writing using eye-tracking technology, Gleason covers his pre-ALS life through the highs and lows of his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints, where he made one of the most memorable plays in Saints history, leading to a victory in the first post-Katrina home game, uplifting the city, making him a hero, and reflected in a nine-foot bronze statue outside the Superdome. Then came his heartbreaking diagnosis. Gleason lost all muscle function, he now uses Stephen Hawking-like technology to communicate, and breathes with the help of a ventilator. This book captures Gleason and his wife Michel’s unmatched resilience as they reinvent their lives, refuse to succumb to despair, and face his disease realistically and existentially.

This unsparing portrait argues that a person’s true strength does not reside solely in one’s body but also in the ability to face unfathomable adversity and still be able to love and treasure life.”

I loved this book! The writing is so brutally honest and direct. It’s hard to understand the vast hope and support that Team Gleason has provided to ALS patients in the last decade – over $40 million invested in research, and countless appearances at great stress on Gleason’s body.

I revisited “Spirit of Eden” by Talk Talk – what a tremendous and unique record from start to finish:

From that I bounced to “Sketches of Spain” by Miles Davis. Probably the first time that I’ve listened all the way through and concentrated on the musical details. Now I see what the fuss if about:

And finally, some Chet Baker, the best trumpet tone ever:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

Week in Review – May 19th, 2024

“Pre-Birthday Week”

Diana continued my “Birthday Month” celebration with the amazing Stanton Moore trio at the Columns on Monday night. Three musicians that are at the absolute top of their game, just world class. Here are a couple of samples:

All of this in a small room of a boutique hotel with great snacks and drinks. Another Monday in New Orleans. Thanks Diana!

Torkanowsky announced that there was a legend in the house. Sitting just behind us was Maria Muldaur, “Midnight at the Oasis” singer. Here’s some online info on her:

Her first solo album, Maria Muldaur, released in 1973, contained her hit single “Midnight at the Oasis“,^[5] which reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. It peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart.^[6] Later that year, she released her second album, Waitress in a Donut Shop.^[5] This included a re-recording of “I’m a Woman“, the Leiber and Stoller number first associated with Peggy Lee and a standout feature from her Jug Band days. Her version of the song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was her last Hot 100 hit in the U.S. to date. The title of this album is taken from a line in another song on the album, “Sweetheart”, by Ken Burgan.

Muldaur (left) with her band on stage at the 1983 Cambridge Folk Festival, England

Muldaur at the Riverwalk Blues Festival in Fort Lauderdale, 1996

Around this time, Muldaur established a relationship with the Grateful Dead. Opening for some Grateful Dead shows in the summer of 1974, with John Kahn, bassist of the Jerry Garcia Band, eventually earned her a seat in that group as a backing vocalist in the late 1970s. Around the same time Muldaur met and eventually collaborated with bluegrass icon Peter Rowan. The two became close, and she was chosen to be the godmother of his daughter Amanda Rowan. She appeared on Super Jam (1989).

McD had a good day on Wednesday. Started with yoga and then pool time with Kara. Does her face say she’s having a good time?

They took advantage of Merry Lee’s pool for the day. Looks really busy.

Denny had invited me to a birthday dinner with his family before they left town. Charlie’s steakhouse was the venue. I had a great time there on guys night out a year or so ago, and so was really looking forward to it. I had a haircut at Aidan Gill’s on Friday afternoon, and then put on a suit to dress up for my birthday dinner.

Charlie’s is a classic neighbourhood dive kind of place. People have been eating here on a regular basis for 30 years. I had warned Diana that they don’t have menus, they just tell you what they have to offer. I also coached her that they likely didn’t have a dry, crisp French white wine. Little did I know that all of that input was unnecessary. The hostess led us upstairs and I entered a room with all of my best friends. It was a bit of a shock and also a bit emotional.

The whole krewe (minus Fred and Kelly who were at a daughter’s graduation) were assembled.

I had a lovely time visiting with everyone and received some really thoughtful gifts. The wait staff was exceptional – following me around with drink and food orders as I moved seats to visit with everyone. This amazing Dauberge cake made it also:

What an amazing night with such kind and generous friends. Nicely pulled off Diana!

If that wasn’t enough, Diana took me for a much smaller birthday dinner on Saturday night at Wild South. The tasting menu at this place is very creative and always different. It’s nice to have such wonderful food and service in a very casual atmosphere.

The first dish was a king trumpet mushroom with a light tempura style batter. It was so fresh and flavourful.

That was followed by crab stuffed squash blossom – so creative.

Then a nice twist on shrimp and grits- with yummy heirloom grits.

Then a beautifully cooked trout.

And finally a poached peach dessert.

Thanks to Diana for another excellent meal.

My book this week was “Why New Orleans Matters” by Tom Piazza.

This is the best book about New Orleans that I’ve read. It explains everthing that I love about the city. It was written shortly after Hurricane Katrina and the loss is evident throughout the book. Piazza moved here and loves the city deeply, for all the same reasons as I do. Here he describes the power of Jazz Fest very well:

“Before I lived in New Orleans, Jazz Fest was the gravitational center of my year. I lived through the long, gray New York winter, or the howling, wild Iowa winter, which lasted until the middle of April, and Jazz Fest would loom like a rescue ship on the horizon. If it was a year when I would be lucky enough to attend both weekends and stay the week in between, my only thought was Please don’t let a car hit me between now and the end of April. New Orleans, in fact, is filled with people who came for Jazz Fest and never left. Or who went home and quit their job and came back. I think Jazz Fest teaches them what to love about the city, and how to love it. It is a kind of distillation of the mythology of the city. Jazz Fest constantly underlines the relationship between the music of New Orleans (and Louisiana) and the culture as a whole. The food, the parades, the crafts, are all part of a larger fabric, as they are in the city itself. You won’t find posters advertising individual artists’ appearances at the fairgrounds. Music, the logic seems to run, is bigger than any individual’s music. And, furthermore, culture is bigger than music. Jazz Fest brings this notion into focus, gives it life, better than any other event I know.”

And here he calls out Barbara Bush for her ridiculous commentary on the poor folks who had evacuated to the Astrodome. – one of my deep seated beefs with upper class out of touch behaviour:

“And what about New Orleans? What is the future of the culture that came from all those neighborhoods with their own sense of being, formed over decades and decades, where parents and grandparents and great-grandparents had lived? Former first lady Barbara Bush, visiting the Astrodome, told a radio interviewer, “So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.” How could they possibly miss a place where they were, you know, underprivileged.”

“How could they miss a place where they knew everyone on the block? Or where they could walk to the grocery store and buy food and seasonings out of which they could prepare meals that were unique to that place and which they had eaten since childhood and which made them happy? How could they miss a place where there was music all the time, and where they could sit out in the evening on their front steps talking to people they had known for years, and joking in a way that everyone understood, or where their son had gotten dressed in his high school band uniform that they had saved hard-earned money to buy, and then went out to play in the band for the Mardi Gras parade? How could they miss the place where their granddaughter took her first steps, or their father had kept his uniform from World War Two in a cardboard suitcase lined with newspaper? How could you even say such a thing unless you assumed that people who were—you know—underprivileged had no past, no sense of life, no memories and no feelings—in short, weren’t really people at all, as we know them? That they were incapable of finding dignity and a reason to live even in the teeth of a hostile situation? The “underprivileged” people of New Orleans spun a culture out of their lives—a music, a cuisine, a sense of life—that has been recognized around the world as a transforming spiritual force. Out of those pitifully small incomes and crumbling houses, and hard, long days and nights of work came a staggering Yes, an affirmation of life—their lives, Life Itself—in defiance of a world that told them in as many ways as it could find that they were, you know, dispensable. This may seem obvious to you if you are reading this, but it bears saying over and over again: They are not dispensable. Not to New Orleans, not to America. And any scenario of a rebuilt New Orleans that does not embrace the fact of their centrality to New Orleans, that does not find a way to welcome them back and make jobs and a new life for them, will be an obscenity.”

I have a couple of videos to share this week, rather than Spotify links. Check out this Allmans performance on Johnny Carson with a young Warren Haynes:

And how about a Jazz Fest moment for the ages:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!