Category: Food

“Football’s Back”

This was a relatively quiet week.  Walking or running in the park early most mornings, and back and forth to the new house to check on repairs were the regular activities.  The foundation repairs and all the miscellaneous things from the inspection report were completed.  Diana made sure to get before and after pictures of all the foundation fixes.  The owner of the company said we shouldn’t expect to seem him again in our lifetime – great news.

Jack invited me to join his trivia team at Dat Dog on Tuesday evening.  Kenny and Denny also participated, with McD providing some support.  Dat Dog is a very colorful hotdog restaurant on Freret Street.  Diana and I opted for the vegetarian versions in lettuce wraps.  Those and the tator tots were yummy.  The trivia was all over the map – history, geography, business, sports and more.

I did laugh at the rooster that wandered in and was quickly shooed away by management.  Not something one typically sees in McKinney.

I really enjoyed the competition and we won third place, apparently the first time the team has ever won a prize ($15 gift card to Dat Dog for Jack.)  The group gave me the MVP award for answering a few questions correctly.  “How many pounds in a stone?” was easy for someone who grew up in Scotland – not something Americans know.  I’m hoping this might become a regular Tuesday night event.

I tried Aidan Gill’s barber shop on Magazine street on Thursday afternoon.  I wanted to compare it to the other barber shop I tried during our residency.  Aidan greeted me personally, offering a shot of Irish whiskey, a draft Guinness or a soft drink.  He guessed that I was from East Kilbride based on what remains of my accent.  Not too far off.  Gill is from Dublin and moved to New Orleans many years ago.

Derek, who recently moved from Boston, gave me my haircut.  I think he did a good job, and he was full of restaurant and other recommendations.  I’ll be back to see these guys again soon.  Here’s an article from several years ago that talks about how Aidan led the resurgence in old school barber shops:

https://www.inc.com/best-industries-2011/the-king-of-the-barbershop-resurgence.html

I’ve been wanting to try Turkey and the Wolf sandwich shop for a while.  It has won many awards and has been featured on several television shows, including “Somebody Feed Phil.”  It was right around the corner from Aidan Gill, and seemed to be calling me.  This is the original restaurant from Mason Hereford who recently opened Hungry Eyes – a place near the condo that I really enjoy.

Their most famous sandwich is the collard green melt, and I decided to give it a try.  It was ridiculously delicious – collard greens, coleslaw and Russian dressing come together to create a fabulous combination, with just the right amount of spice.  Here’s the recipe if you’d like to attempt to recreate this:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/the-collard-green-melt

I was irritated to find I’d left my credit card at Turkey and the Wolf when I got home.  Back across town to pick it up.

I dropped Denny, Anne, Fred and Kelly at the airport on Thursday evening.  They’re off to London to visit Brennen.  The NFL season opener was in progress when I got home.  I texted Campbell saying I thought the Lions were going to beat the Chiefs (defending champions.)  The Lions did win in a large upset.  I’m so excited to have football back.

We kept up our tradition of a late Friday lunch at the Columns on Friday.  It was quiet on the patio and not too hot.  Such a nice tradition.

On Saturday morning, we picked up Kara and drove over to the sculpture garden for early morning yoga.  No, I didn’t participate, choosing instead to do my puzzles and enjoy a coffee at Café du Monde.  I resisted the urge to order some beignets to go with my coffee.

I enjoyed college football and the US Open women’s final on Saturday afternoon.  Deion Sanders is doing some amazing things in Boulder at the University of Colorado.  Coco Gauff rallied nicely to win the Open.  Thom came over on Saturday evening to watch some of the University of Texas versus Alabama.  UT had a nice upset win.  It has been a big week for sports.  I’m currently watching the Saints season opener, and looking forward to the Cowboys game this evening.

I started “The Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah this week.  All the sports watching resulted in slow progress.  The book starts in the Texas panhandle during the Great Depression, and is really good so far.  More to come next week.

I’ve been on a bit of a Tom Waits kick lately.  Here’s one of my favourites:

And here’s something that never gets old from Richard and Linda Thompson.  Sublime guitar.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion from all!

“First Week as New Orleans Residents”

We closed on our new house at 1520 Washington Avenue at 1pm on Monday.  The title company guys who facilitated the closing were fun local characters, with lots of good stories.  Their office was at 1521 Washington Avenue, directly across the street from our new home.

After closing, we met the guy who is going to refinish the floors and an air conditioning guy at the house.  Tommy, the air conditioning guy, was recommended by Fred, who let us know he was a real character who looked like Edgar Winter.  That was all true.  I enjoyed my time with Tommy quite a bit.  The picture is of him in the attic (natural habitat), surveying the duct work and units for improvements.

Diana was busy on Tuesday and Wednesday, coordinating the floor guys and a general contractor who is taking care of all the major things from the inspection report – replacing some siding, removing bad insulation, venting dryer and attic properly, adjusting cabinet and other doors, and so on.  The floor sanding is moving along well, and we should pick out the stain early next week.

Diana rewarded herself with oyster night (and frozen French 75) with Laura at Superior Seafood.  Well deserved!

Peg, our New Orleans realtor, came over on Wednesday evening with some nice champagne.  We enjoyed hanging out and telling stories for a few hours.

Meanwhile, the Krewe was enjoying the US Open tennis tournament in New York.

If you’re brave you can listen to Kenny performing at a Karaoke club after the tennis:

I received this picture from Amy.  Frankie and Molly look so sweet and calm, some of us know better.

I made the mistake of letting Sabine the cat out on Tuesday night.  Shaking her treat bag at both doors yielded no results and she ended up spending the night outside.  She was anxious to get in when Diana opened the door on Wednesday morning.  Doesn’t she look guilty in this picture?

I had made reservations at Mamou, a relatively new restaurant on the edge of the French Quarter that I had been looking forward to trying, for Thursday evening.  Then I noticed that John Fohl and friends, with special guest Joe Krown, were performing at the Pavilion of the two sisters in City Park at 6pm.  We love those musicians and especially an early show.

The average age of the audience was at least a decade older than us, and it was so pleasant to see that age group enjoying and responding so positively to the music, which we’re used to seeing in small clubs.  Jon Fohl was quite talkative between songs and shared some great stories.

One of those stories related to his song “The Right Hand of God.”  Apparently a neighbor had stopped in and asked what he was doing.  “Trying to finish up a few songs.”  “Ahh, doing God’s work.”  That gave Fohl the idea for the line, “The left had of Toussaint (famous New Orleans pianist, composer and producer) and the right hand of God.”

He also told a story about a session a few years back with Klaus Voormann.  Voormann was the bass player with all the Beatles members bands after they disbanded.  That’s how Fohl got to sing in the studio with Paul McCartney.  Here’s more about that:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sideman’s_Journey

He did play my favourite song of his, “Do or Die”:

This was a such a pleasant and hassle free musical experience.

We followed that with another pleasant and casual affair, dinner at Café Degas.  This is a unique French bistro over by City Park.  Kenzie was our waitress.  She had waited on us when we went there with Tim and Dee and had suggested a wine that McD really enjoyed.  She even had a picture to show Kenzie.  “Sorry, we don’t have that one anymore, but I have an even better one.”

That wine was accompanied by lamb tartare, a pate plate and yummy mussels and fries.  This restaurant is something that would never exist in McKinney.

Campbell and Molly invited Kris and Cat to the Padres vs Giants baseball game on Friday night.  The Giants lost but they had a great time.  It makes us very happy that those guys are spending time together.

Saturday started with a run in the park, a visit to the house to check progress, and a wonderful brunch at Ruby Slipper.  We shared the cochon Benedict and loaded (very) tater tots.  It’s a bit dangerous that this place is a short walk from the new home.

When Mr. Willard finished the lawn on Friday, he asked me if we were going to the Garth Brooks concert at the Superdome on Saturday, as he was working the door.  I told him we were not.  Then, I read that tickets were going for $20 or less on the secondary market.  I took a look online and snapped up a couple for $25 a piece.  That’s a really good deal, and Diana loves Garth and hadn’t seen him before.

That’s how we ended up at the Superdome on Saturday night, with 50,000 of our friends.  The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band opened, followed by Lainey Wilson (another singer that Diana enjoys.)

Mr. Willard welcomed us at the door:

Garth put on a typically high energy, crowd pleasing show.  At least one member of the crowd was quite happy with “The Thunder Rolls”:

The crowd lights for “The River” were impressive:

Sunday was a lazy day.  I picked up Denny, Anne, Fred and Kelly from the airport in the afternoon, and Diana made a delicious shrimp pasta with cacio e pepe sauce.  I didn’t realize until dinner that they were off to London on Thursday, and then to Portugal from there.  I’m not feeling so badly about our extended stay now.  They’ll return the day before our belongings arrive at the new home.

We were sad that Tim’s daughter, Keeley, and her boyfriend weren’t able to make the trip to New Orleans for the long weekend.  Their flight from Philadelphia was delayed multiple times and ultimately canceled.  We were looking forward to giving them something interesting to look at in the French Quarter – the Southern Decadence festival parade, celebrating all things LGBTQ+:

http://www.southerndecadence.net/

My book this week was “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett.  I really enjoyed this read – kind of a slow burn that you need to settle into.  The story is told as a mother sharing her early life with her three daughters, and that approach works really well.  The last fifty or so pages are quite something.

Here’s the online summary:

“In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

“Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.” —The Guardian

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.”

I enjoyed this passage about swimming – I agree that it really does provide a good “reset.”

“You said the lake was getting warmer,” Maisie yells. “If all hope is lost we should at least get a decent swim out of it.”

‘The four of us go out straight and strong. We don’t have a swim platform, we don’t have any destination at all; with a little orienteering we could swim to Wisconsin. I drop beneath the surface and open my eyes. It’s as if someone bought up all the diamonds at Tiffany’s and crushed them into dust, then spread the dust across the water so that it sifts down evenly, filtering through the shards of light that cut into the depth. We are swimming through eternity, my daughters’ bright mermaid legs kicking out towards deeper water. I stay beneath the surface and marvel for as long as my lungs can hold.

“Swimming is the reset button,” Pallace used to say. “Swimming starts the day again.”

A great simile – “like a border collie.”

“When I got older, my mother would watch me knitting a sweater at the breakfast table and say she was sorry she hadn’t paid more attention to her own mother’s attempts to teach her things. I tried a hundred times to teach her myself but my mother was like a border collie. She couldn’t sit still for it.”

Describing the rehab facility that Duke ends up in.  Just great writing:

“The room was smoky and crowded with people hunched into corners, trying to exchange sentences without being overheard.

It was the saddest bar in the world, the one in which no alcohol was served and everyone was waiting for the check so they could settle up and go home. Two women with clipboards were making the rounds, asking questions, marking people off. Magazines were piled on every surface and I picked one up because no one could find communion with George Eliot in those circum-stances. The caption beneath the picture of the famous model on the cover said she was looking for honesty.”

Something from the wonderful Joan Armatrading.  I had never heard this very first album.  Such a unique talent.

Another one from that excellent release:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

“One home sold, agreement reached on another”

The week was mostly spent getting ready to exit our home in McKinney.  Diana worked feverishly for many hours over many days to get everything ready.  The final packing and most of the loading was completed on Friday, with just our bed, couch and a few essentials remaining for Saturday load.

We signed the final closing papers on Friday afternoon.

I was able to work in a final trip to the dentist and haircut at the Boardroom earlier in the week.

We had an exciting event on Thursday evening.  Finn brought Holly over to meet us for dinner.  We found her very interesting, intelligent and calm, and are very happy he has someone for company when we move away.  I picked up dinner from Zin Zen as we were without most of our kitchen supplies.

As we were finishing up the final clean of the house, Diana noticed drips from the clothes washer water hoses.  They were not shut off and/or draining properly.  A quick trip to Home Depot for caps with washers, and the problem was solved.

Diana said a final “Goodbye pool” and “Be good Stanley”, and we were off.

As we checked into the Canvas hotel in south downtown Dallas, Diana got a call from Jennifer in New Orleans, telling us that the sellers had accepted our counter offer around what to pay for in repairs.  Woo hoo – we have a place to go when we finish vacation.

We were exhausted on arrival at the Canvas and nixed our plan of going out for a final Oakcliff dinner, opting for the hotel restaurant instead.

Will and the family gave us a gift card to the fancy new Miami restaurant that has opened in Dallas – Komodo.  We made a brunch reservation and I was a bit nervous – they kept sending me new rules about dress code, how long you could keep the table and so on.  The experience was good – they seemed to have an “old folks section.”  The music was quieter and it was out of the way of all the hustle and excitement.  This was totally fine with us.

Here are some of the things we sampled – all very good.

Lobster dynamite:

Money bags with gold leaf:

Dynamite crab cake benedict:

We checked into the DFW airport hotel after brunch and prepared for our Triangle Trip early the next morning.  Another busy week.

I relaxed with a couple of interesting sports documentaries this week.  Johnny Football was a really good film about Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M Heisman winner, who unfortunately came of the rails in the NFL.

The second was about the British cyclist Mark Cavendish, at one time the world’s best sprinter, and again tells the story of a rollercoaster of a career.  I particularly enjoyed this one.

I got sucked into the time sink vortex of the New York Times Spelling Bee this week.  The goal is to find as many words as possible from seven letters.  They have to include the center letter, and you struggle away throughout the day to get to “genius” level.

My first book this week was “The Celebrants” by Steven Rowley.  I enjoyed this read, just not quite as much as the reviewers I read did.  Creative premise, well executed, humorous at times, but just not jumping off the page for me.

Here’s the Goodreads online review:

“A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle.

It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves.

But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.”

My next book is a classic that I’ve started a few times and never finished.  I had to finish by Saturday morning this time, so that I could drop it back at the McKinney library before departing.  “The Great Gatsby” was a very entertaining and quickly paced story.  Again, not the wonderful classic in my mind that so many folks make it out to be.  Many top ten lists I see from readers, have this at number one.  Fitzgerald has a few interesting plot twists and some fascinating characters – I’ll give all those reviewers that.  It just seems a bit light weight, lacking in the depth of a true classic.

Here’s a new to me song that I enjoyed this week.  The Barr Bothers are a folk quartet from Montreal:

Something from the wonderful guitarist, Julian Lage:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

“Goodbye Penelope, and a lot of other stuff”

Monday was a sad day.  I took Penelope for an inspection requested by Rick, a prospective buyer.  They found a couple of issues, but nothing too bad.  Rick and Lisa came over and closed the deal on Monday night.  So sad to say goodbye to my companion of over 10 years.  Logically, it was the right time to sell, with almost 80,000 miles and about to lose a lot of resale value.  Emotionally is a whole different story.  The whole sales process was very quick and smooth.  Hoping the same for our house.

Tuesday was packing day with the movers.  I owe a huge amount to Diana for getting everything organized and for all the packing she did.  I was very little help at all.  We got so fortunate with the moving company we chose.  Keith, Fernando and the crew were wonderful.

At one point in the day, Diana appeared at my office door and I could tell she was in some kind of emotional state.  Always a bit scary.  Turns out Fernando had just found the very valuable and sentimental jewelry that she “hid” when we had the bathroom remodeled.    She thought it had been hidden in the pocket of one of my suits, but didn’t remember which and hadn’t told me about it.  We were pretty much resigned to the fact that if it didn’t show up as we were packing clothes, then it was likely gone.  Fernando found it on the floor next to one of the wardrobe boxes she packed – apparently it had been in the pocket of some of her clothing.  What a blessing that it was found!

Something else that was uncovered – Diana’s birth announcement.  She thinks her Mom hand drew it all.  The C major triad with the three names is great.

I also found this penguin that Olivia drew for me many years ago:

Wednesday was loading for storage day.  The truck was half full by 10am, good news given the heat outside.  Keith and crew were all over it.

Thursday was a partial day of rest from moving activities.  Diana had Janelle  over in the evening and broke news of the move to her.  She couldn’t break herself away from her picture sorting crusade for too long.  Days of poring through albums and stacks to determine what she can’t live without.

The painters started on Friday morning.  All the colour is gone, to be replaced by “Worldly Gray.”  That’s the colour of the family room and kitchen, and now the majority of the rest of the house.  Rodrigo, Maria, and Jesus did a great job and were very kind.  They will finish up on Monday.

I sold the pool table on Saturday morning.  That turned out to be a lot more than anyone was expecting.  Those 3 slates that make up the bed are very heavy.  Cesar and his buddy spent 3 hours breaking the table apart into manageable pieces.  What a lot of work!

The house is very empty now.  Here’s the calendar for the first part of the move.  It’s funny to think that we just made the move decision on June 11th.

While the guys were battling the pool table, a work buddy, Sean, was building a garage.  Some folks just have a load of hidden talents.  I can’t imagine taking on securing those roof trusses.

I was able to catch up on some backlogged New Yorker magazine reading while the painters were busy.  This article on the multi-year development that ended up yielding my favourite, the CrunchWrap Supreme, tickled me.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/24/taco-bells-innovation-kitchen-the-front-line-in-the-stunt-food-wars

I also enjoyed this article about a man who teaches elephants to play various instruments and records their orchestral performances.  There’s a lot more to it – this guy is a psychology professor during the day, and a big part of the downtown New York avant garde music scene at night.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/03/david-sulzer-profile-neuroscience-music

I wasn’t able to start a new book this week.  Hoping to make it to the library tomorrow.

I enjoyed this song from a band I haven’t heard of:

And this one from a band I know well.  Those old Faces albums with Rod Stewart really are classics:

And another one from an artist I don’t hear too often that caught my ear:

Coexist peacefully with patience and kindness for all!

“These screws need to come out”

We made a big decision shortly after my last post.  Have you heard?  We’re listing our house and moving to New Orleans.  We love our home, but it’s just so boring and such a long drive to things we like to do.  We’re looking forward to spending time with our friends in the city we love.

It’s been a complete whirlwind since we made the decision.  We hired a realtor, organized a moving company, contracted with a painter, and packed innumerable boxes.  Diana has been a beast with the packing and I haven’t been a ton of help due to my leg surgery – more on that shortly.

On Monday, Diana was upset that the under-sink garbage disposal hadn’t been replaced while she was in California.  I rarely use it, and so hadn’t even thought about it.  Never mind – a quick order from Amazon and I was ready to tackle replacement.  Not having done this before, I made sure to read all the instructions carefully.  The flange from the old disposal didn’t accommodate the new one – ugh.  I just couldn’t figure out how to get the old one off.  Youtube to the rescue – there’s a hidden spring clamp inside the assembly.  Ahh – two seconds later and it was off.  Now it was time for problem number two – the replacement unit is too fat for the space available.  Back to Amazon and a new unit showed up before 6pm.  That was quickly installed and all is working well for now.

I decided to have the screws removed from my femur.  They’ve been in there for over three years and continue to hurt every day.  Enough!  The orthopedic surgeon required several tests to be completed through my regular doctor before operating.  Should be easy enough, I thought.  Never that easy.  Four phone calls later, the doctor had the instructions on what was needed.  So, I got to spend a happy couple of Monday hours waiting for an EKG and some blood tests.

Tuesday brought the final pre-op test – a chest x-ray.  I was all clear for surgery the following Wednesday.

Thursday brought my final pre-op appointment at the orthopedic office.  All clear and ready to go.  We also met with a listing agent who will help us to sell the house.  She wants all the clutter and personalization gone from the house before she has some staging done and takes photos.  So now we’re in mad dash packing and sorting mode.

We awoke on Friday to the horrendous news of a tornado that destroyed much of Perryton, TX.  It arrived with no warning and wiped out big swaths of Main Street and other areas.  Just devastating.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/16/perryton-tornado-storms/

Finn turned 30 a week ago on Saturday.  We took him to Drake’s Old Hollywood in Dallas for dinner.  What a wonderful new place.  Beautiful old school design and wonderful food and service.  We started with lobster escargot – like escargot but with lobster, puff pastry and garlic pesto.  Finn said the appetizer meatball was the best he’s ever tasted.  Diana and Finn both had the Chilean sea bass and loved it.  Then the sparkler topped chocolate mousse.  I think Finn had a very nice time.  He just told us some big news a few days ago – he has a girlfriend that he really likes and they also celebrated his birthday.

We celebrated our 6th (iron) anniversary when we got home – letting Finn have the dinner be just his celebration.

Dr. Neffie (she just completed her PhD) and her fiancée Shaun came over to visit us on Sunday.  Diana made one of her famous meat and cheese platters and we enjoyed some mini sliders from the grill.  I really enjoyed chatting with Shaun – I can see why the Dr. likes him so much.

After a long wait in bed at the surgery center on Wednesday morning, I was finally wheeled to the operating room around noon.  Can you believe the size of the screws that were in there?  Here are before and after x-rays.

Apparently bone had grown around the screwheads, causing the pain that I’ve been experiencing.

Wednesday was also Timmy’s 60th birthday.  He celebrated with his lovely family in Philadelphia.

Diana worked miracles, putting in 14 to 16 hour days of packing and sorting.  The first truckload left on Friday – all donations to the women’s shelter and other charities.  Now on to the stuff that’s going into storage while we show the house.  It’s a lot of stuff, and includes all of the pictures on my office walls.

I posted Penelope for sale on Facebook Marketplace on Friday afternoon, and wasn’t sure what to expect.  Immediate interest.  I showed it to a guy on Saturday afternoon and he seemed very interested.  More to come next posting.  I did find this entertaining picture of the day I bought her, a little over 10 years ago.  She’s been such a good car.

Quite the storm came through on Friday night.  We had several branches come off the huge oak tree in the front yard.  No major damage, thankfully.

Will likes to post about his dining adventures on Instagram.  He tried the Bywater restaurant in Los Gatos and appears to have really enjoyed it.  It’s operated by David Kinch who owned Manresa for many years.

“1 Dead Attic – After Katrina” by Chris Rose was my book this week.  A shocking collection of articles that Rose wrote in the aftermath.  These are tremendously well written by someone who lived through the early days of recovery in New Orleans.  Chris was married to our friend Kelly at the time this was published (Kelly actually self published it and remembers how successful it was financially) and it’s interesting to read her account of the impact all of this had on his mental health and overall physical wellbeing.

Here’s an online summary:

“Celebrated as a local classic and heaped with national praise, 1 Dead in Attic is a brilliant collection of columns by an award-winning Times-Picayune journalist chronicling the horrific damage and aftermath wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2006. “Frank and compelling…vivid and invaluable” (Booklist), it is a roller coaster ride through a devastated American wasteland as it groans for rebirth. Full of the emotion, tragedy and even humor—which has made Chris Rose a favorite son and the voice of a lost city—these are the stories of the dead and the living, of survivors and believers, of destruction and recovery, and of hope and despair.”

Here’s a quote about New Orleans:

“The experience of everyday life here is magnified by emotional intensity and creative reverie, yet also reduced by the heat, humidity, and altitude to its most basic and primal elements: Food, shelter, and the Saints.

You can regulate our smoking and regulate our music and – hard to believe this day has come – you can even regulate our go-cups.

But you cannot regulate soul.  You cannot legislate funk.  And you cannot pass an ordinance that makes us ordinary.  

The best things about us will never change.”

So well said!

“If there was no New Orleans, America would just be a bunch of free people dying of boredom.”  Judy Deck.

From the article “The First Time Back 9/7/05”:

“Riding my bike, I searched out my favorite places, my comfort zones.  I found that Tipitina’s is still there, and that counts for something.  Miss Mae’s and Dick & Jenny’s, ditto.

Domilise’s po-boy shop is intact, although the sign fell and shattered, but truth is, that sign needed to be replaced a long time ago.

I saw a dead guy on the front porch of a shotgun double on a working class street, and the only sound was wind chimes.”

From “Life in the Surreal City 9/10/05”:

“There are men and woman from other towns living there in tents who have left their families to come help us, and they are in the park clearing out the fallen timber.  My fellow Americans.

Every damn one of them tells you they’re happy to be here and every time I try to thank them, on behalf of all of us, I just lose it.  I absolutely melt down.

There is nothing quite as ignominious as weeping in front a soldier.

This is no environment for a wuss like me.  We reporters go to other places to cover wars and disasters and pestilence and famine.  There’s no manual to tell you how to do this when it’s your own city.”

From “Don’t Mess with Mrs. Rose 2/21/06”:

“I’ve always had a particular fascination with people who steal stuff that obviously belongs to kids.

Anyway, my wife, she’s like me: a little raw.  A little roughed up by all of this.  With all that can go wrong around here on a minute’s notice, she’s in no mood to let her day be ruined by a punk, a bad guy, part of the problem.

So she unfurled a bloody tirade against this guy, who may or may not have been armed but was so stunned by her fury that he babbled some lie about “That guy said I could borrow it” and she continued with her furious but rather persuasive diatribe.

She grabbed the bike.  He got off and walked away.

“Moseyed,” she tells me.”

That would be Kelly, and I do not mess with her.

I have many other dog-eared pages, but that’s enough for now.

Here’s a beautiful, relaxing piece of music:

And I think that’s a good way to end.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!