September 27, 2026 – Keith Robertson

“Oscar Rossignoli”

This was a quiet, relaxed and “chill” week. Just what we needed after a couple of weeks of travel.

Diana had all the usual pickleball activities.

After being in last place for two weeks, the Bayou Boys trivia team had a resounding first place win. What was different? Well…I was traveling for the two weeks. And we added Bill to the team this week. You can decide for yourselves what impact those things had on success. Bill did contribute solid answers for a few questions. He has certainly been invited back.

Diana was pretty busy on Wednesday. She had a very quick change after pickleball before meeting Kara (and it turns out Kenny also) at Sunnie’s on Freret Street. I had to hustle to be ready to drive her over to sip and eat by the Sunnie’s pool.

I had a conversation with Philly Tim mid-week and he was telling me that he was in hospital for a test to make sure cancer hadn’t returned. It took a while and Dee came across a wall display about the therapy/companion dogs that visit people in hospital. She found one that said, “My name is Timothy Patrick, but you can call me Timmy.” How perfect is that. Dee said, “I’ve got to share this with Keith.” I’ve been calling our Timothy Patrick “Timmy” for close to 20 years now.

Kenny got a letter to the editor published in the local Times Picayune newspaper. He was reacting to someone who appears to have been misinformed/missed the point. Well said, Kenny! My friend is a “published author.”

Friday, September 25th, 9/25, “Nine to Five” was “Dolly Day” in New Orleans. The Krewe of Dolly, including our friend, Debra, paraded through the Quarter, ending at the Jazz Museum where the mayor declared “Dolly Day.” Some pictures from Bill, who braved Bourbon Street.

The Dollys had an after party at Blue Nile and then an after-after party at the just re-opened Hi-Ho Lounge on St Claude Avenue. I was happy to think of all those hundreds of people buying drinks at the Hi-Ho to help get it started. I’ve passed a few great evenings in there listening to live music.

I invited Diana to brunch at Atchafalaya on Saturday. I had seen somewhere that the Desert Nudes were going to be providing the musical accompaniment and I really enjoy their repertoire and harmonies. We had a tough experience with our waiter the last time we dined here, and I was really hoping this would be a different feel.

Things were very different. All of the staff were happy and friendly, and our waiter was very good. The food was wonderful – check out the specials list:

I like that they call out the “Musical Guest.” Diana couldn’t resist the soft shell crab BLT – crab and bacon being two of her favourites.

It was a great dish – Texas toast topped with lettuce, tomato, bacon, soft shell crab, poached egg and hollandaise sauce.

I love a good migas or huevos rancheros breakfast, and so I was happy to see the latter on the menu. These were some of the best that I’ve had – the pulled pork so juicy and flavorful.

The bill came with a clever postcard – Atchafalaya in the unusual snow storm.

I’m glad we gave this place a second chance, it’s one of the tastiest and most pleasant brunches that I’ve enjoyed in a while. We’ll be back soon.

Diana suggested that we could listen to the free music at the Kingpin on Saturday afternoon.

We invited Nic and Sandi to join us. The music wasn’t wonderful and it provided a pleasant background to a good catch up chat that I had with Nic. He was in Omaha last weekend for his son’s wedding and had some stories to tell. And some lovely pictures to share.

Shanie and Bill were not able to join us at the Kingpin due to a conflict with showing Bill’s cousin, Robin, and boyfriend, Aidan, around. One of the two texted asking, “Where’s the after party?” Problem easily solved with a Theo’s pizza order to our home.

We had all six over for a couple of hours – watching LSU beat up on the Aggies, talking about pickleball at high volume on the porch, revisiting the guy who thinks the timing of Bill’s jokes is poor, discussing “wheesht”, on a pillow on our sofa with Aidan, who says his dad used that all the time growing up in Ireland. All of that made for a fun evening and meeting a great new couple.

Sunday began with a drive over to the Bywater Bakery for a free concert. Shanie, Bill, Robin and Aidan met us there to listen to John Boutte perform. What a highlight of the week. As we were unloading chairs and stuff from the car, I saw and heard Oscan Rossignoli playing on the “piano in a truck.” I know you’ve heard me comment about him before, and he really is a piano genius – particularly with jazz classics. John Boutte is a New Orleans treasure with an angelic voice. What a great way to start out a Sunday?

Part of enjoying music is the vicarious energy of somebody else enjoying it too. Robin provided that, lighting up as soon as Boutte and krewe started up. She sings in a jazz band and this was certainly her jam. The vibe at Bywater bakery is always great – an eclectic group of happy people.

Things finished up at 1pm with “Treme”, the theme song that Boutte composed for the HBO show. Here are two versions – K’s static and D’s roaming among the musicians – I’m not sure why I’m even showing mine.

Our fancy friends needed to leave to attend a Saints pre-game party, and we hung out until the end, enjoying some of the croissants and stuff that Diana kindly stood in line to purchase.

We’re a bit more than halfway through the Saints game and they are looking solid.

I’ve almost finished “Degas at the Gas Station” by Thomas Beller and it has been a good journey. This is a collection of short stories that are loosely connected and I’ve found most of them quite enjoyable.

The author talking about the stories:

“Many of these essays recount confrontations or predicaments that a more cautious person would have avoided. They were written over a period of time during which I got married, and we had a child, and then had another. Concurrent to these events, I moved from New York City to New Orleans, with a pit stop in rural Virginia. All of it normal enough on the face of it, yet within each one of these episodes, I found my way to the sort of Clouseau-esque fiascos one usually dodges with a little foresight—again, not a strong attribute in a kid who may have liked to walk backward.”

From the “Kinks at the Garden” story:

“I hadn’t yet connected with the wistful, bitter, and very English flavor of Ray Davies’s songs, such as “Celluloid Heroes,” “Waterloo Sunset,” and on and on. The Kinks, for us, at this point, were “Low Budget,” “Catch Me Now I’m Falling,” “Destroyer,” and “Lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-la.”

And I have a Soundwaves art piece of “Waterloo Sunset”, signed by Ray Davies, in my direct sight line as I write this. Thanks, Diana!

Speaking about the joy of the strip mall Vietnamese places on the “West Bank:”

“We wind our way up and over the bridge, leaving downtown New Orleans behind us. The Mississippi River appears below us, in all its torturously winding, self-reversing glory. The sky is gorgeous in the late afternoon. We’re heading to our favorite Vietnamese place. Up on the span of…

The moment passes. We eat with our friends and their kids; it’s a regular thing, the two families joining one another at this Vietnamese place on the West Bank, Phở Tầu Bay.”

A good story about the Superbowl:

“We are not a football family. We had been part of the drama of 2010, watching the Conference Championships and then Superbowl on a borrowed TV. When the Saints won we cheered like we were longtime fans and ran out into the street. There was a bar on the corner of our otherwise quiet Uptown neighborhood, and we rushed over there, me, Elizabeth, and Evangeline, who was two years old. I count the scene outside the bar on the corner of State and Magazine as one of my foundational New Orleans experiences, the crowd on the sidewalk delirious. It was a cold night, and I put Evangeline inside my coat and zipped it up, just her head sticking out. I did this for purposes of warmth but also because it was a rowdy scene and this was my way of protecting her, putting her in this papoose. In the first moments after the game ended, a city bus came down Magazine Street, a box of bright light on an otherwise dark street. It came to a stop on the corner. The driver emerged, the bus still running, and rushed over to shake everyone’s hand, as though we had all had a baby together. Then he got back into that box of light and rolled down Magazine Street. For all I knew there were such gatherings all along his route and he stopped to shake the hand of every celebrant.”

About the ease of parking in New Orleans and the “encroachment” wind up:

“At some point we will be back in New Orleans, where parking also elicits strong emotions, if for a very different reason: Everywhere you go, you can find parking. If you go to a restaurant, you drive your car and park. Sometimes right in front! Maybe you have to park a block away. On the other hand, people in New Orleans get very jumpy if you encroach on, or even just crowd, their driveway space. I respect this neurosis, because parking engenders a kind of insanity, as do cars in general.”

Finally, a small quote about Katrina evacuation:

“Ten minutes later it was established that I could not in fact help her turn off the headlights—no matter what button was pushed. She was also from New Orleans, “Old Metairie,” she explained when I asked what neighborhood. That’s the place that elected David Duke. Her husband was back there, in their house, she said. It had started taking on water. We commiserated about the city, the storm, and I marveled at the sleek and powerful curve of the new car’s body. But what would all that power and elegance mean if the battery was dead? “

I have many more highlights, but you can tell how much I enjoyed this one.