Ray in New Orleans

Incredible, isn't it....

I am a former Broadmoor resident--I hate saying former, but that's the reality right now. I was back in town a few weeks ago and saw "a little" progress from the time I spent there in October cleaning the house out. At least the streets are "passable" right now. Still, as I wandered the streets and said hello to the various residents who had come back, I missed the sounds of cars traveling along Fontainebleu where I would walk my dog on the neutral ground, the smells of Cuban sandwiches at the Rendon Grocery, and the occasional sounds of gunfire in Gerttown.... My car is still parked on the street, one wheel missing, waiting for the eventual final drive to the great crushing bin in the sky. I have no doubt the neighborhood will come back. I hope it does when my 2 year old son is ready to enter Tulane....

Thanks for your posts and for reminding me of all I miss. If you're ever up my way, I'll make you a muffuletta sandwich that will rival Central Grocery. I also make a wicked White Chocolate Bread Pudding. How about next "First Thursday?" You name the place, and we'll share stories and food.

Take care,
Banzai

smothered duck po-boy

That almost sounds as good as sex.

Not quite, but you know, close.

I wish I could have been at the TW Fest. How was it?

Suspect that Gentilly/Lakeview looks like the Hiroshima I saw in February. I drove past a friend's house several times, but couldn't recognize it. People in the rest of the country have NO IDEA. They see John Goodman posing next to a streetcar (with *still-dirty* windows, obviously rolled out of the barn just for the tourism ad!!) and think everything is A-OK again.

Hope to get the poets'anthology out in the next few weeks...latest target was for Jazz Fest, but no word as yet as to launch plans in the city itself.

Oh, and UNO is trying to get rid of as many faculty as possible, regardless of tenure. That's a really, really depressingly bad idea. The Chronicle of Higher Ed's Katrina forum has been keeping an eye on things.

Hey Bill: I think it will come back, but it's going to be a long hard slog. Up Fontainebleu near the seminary things are hopping pretty well, lots of houses look occupied and others are being fixed up or are on the market. But I drove around down in Broadmoor proper, wiggled around S Robert and Octavia and then up Salcedo to Earhart...it's bad, man. It's going to take concerted and organized effort to bring it back; it's not just a question that individual homeowners can tackle on their own.

I'm going to take you up on that offer. When you gonna be in Austin?

Karl: There are definitely women who I wouldn't throw out of bed for a smothered duck po-boy. But then again, there are also women who I would trample in my rush to the lunch counter. It was GOOD.

Robin: I only went to the DYK panel at the festival, so I don't know how the rest of it went, but ours was well attended, maybe 70 people. And Ashley Morris reported yesterday that Loyola is following Tulane around like a puppy dog (eh, so what's new) and permanently closing their Computer Science department.

New Orleans is like your funny, loveable little brother who is also a fucking retard. You miss him, but half the time you want to give him a smack for being so stupid.

You know, I just realized that I had the perfect cuisine-and libations weekend with Ray.

Irish pub tour (with red wine included somewhere in there for good measure) followed by meals at Asian Cajun and Dante's Kitchen, my favorite restaurants in NOLA.

Holy shit - the mind-body complex unconsciously let go for one weekend. I'll be damned.

"New Orleans is like your funny, loveable little brother who is also a fucking retard. You miss him, but half the time you want to give him a smack for being so stupid."

Brilliant. Perfect. Thank you. I should use that as a tagline somewhere-or-other.