The Big Easy
Every time I've been to and through New Orleans I've had to keep my hand on my wallet, extend and harden the outer boundary of my personal-space, and simply deal with the incredible crush of stereotypical tourists. Certainly due in part to post-Katrina realities, Bourbon Street was marvelously relaxed of a Sunday afternoon. We walked around a bit, had a bite to eat, and enjoyed the Quarter in repose, but didn't feel the infamous Big Easy musky sweetness until we escaped the stretch of pervasive porn purveyors and were drawn in to listen to some fabulous guitar trio blues (ala Stevie Ray) delivered on a venerable and ornately tarnished metaphorical platter by Mark Penton and the Pentones (an excellent sax player showed up and sat in) at the Funky Pirate bar. Besides the bartender, our only companions in the virtually sacramental blues extravaganza were a very drunk, very social, and marvelously Queer middle-aged man and his very straight but loving Great Nephew, who were in town for a funeral. The Uncle and Lisa danced a bit, fun was had by all, and I shall remember them fondly as part of the experience.
Afterward we returned to my classmate Victoria Hippard's lovely Uptown home just off Magazine. She lives in the high-ground "Footprint" and her house didn't sustain any storm damage. It is, as I suspected, a lovely place and very cozy, mirroring the graciousness of our hostess. Her son Daniel is in a performance of Red Sneaks by Liz Swados at the moment and loves to "Pump" (dance creatively guided by a video/scoring machine). His mostly Asian and Latino dancing buddies have given him the competition moniker "The Great White Hope" (aka Great White or GWH). Check out his YouTube appearance below.
I write this between work on my dissertation sitting in the Rue De La Course Coffee House on Magazine (free wi-fi) while Lisa and Victoria have gone to Wholefoods nearby. Tomorrow we head for Florida and a visit with Lisa's Dad.
Labels: daily, recommendation, travel, video, walkabout
| posted by Unknown @ 7/23/2007 09:02:00 AM
