Contrasts

This morning, a guided tour of New Orleans, by "car", or at least what is a car here but a mini-bus in Europe.  Out through the Vieux Carre, picking up history, myth, mythical history on the way; and on over the canal to see the "levee" that burst 5 years ago, and the Lower 9th district.  For levee read wall, and I'm not talking about a big wall, nothing like the Berlin Wall, or the walls separating districts in Dublin or Belfast.  It's not that there is no sign of tragedy; the memorial cleverly representing the height of the water is poignant, especially as from the car the height of the pole is roof height on all the dwellings I can see. 
Before I came here I had absorbed media stories about how neglected this area was, how the residents had been simply left to sink or swim in the years since, how more was needed for those who had lost everything.  But it was difficult to see this, I guess without an understanding of how things were before to contrast with.  The houses that we saw were new, and well cared for, displaying invention in decoration, and yet an overall unity with the place and the community they were still in.  The empty lots, mostly grassed over, they did not scream of emptiness to me, but cycles of fallow, seeding and harvest.  The remaining ruins were not overwhelming, they also reminded me of Ireland, where planning permission is not needed to build the flashest of new houses as long as there was an old cottage on the land, and often the old cottage was kept there as a reminder.  The impression overall to me seemed to be one of "Shit happens, get over it"; exemplified by the "FIDO" comment of the driver - "Forget it, drive on."  Recovery seems to have a political element, with celebrity endorsed projects; projects for musicians - so as not to lose the "soul" of New Orleans, or at any rate the tourist dollars.
And then we drove to the cemeteries, where a plot and vault could be had for over $1million.  Way, way more than a new house in the district we had just come out of.  Given the population of the city of the living (~400,000 people I'm told), and the population of the city of the dead, well, the money seems to be flowing to the wrong places; as Mum said, you obviously can take it with you when you go.
It would be trite and an oversimplification to say I was speechless about this contrast; I don't really know what to think.  I guess so far that New Orleans had felt like a cohesive vibrant, relaxed community; and I was suddenly aware of the divisions under the surface.  There was a discusion last night on how to sum up the place in one word... I'm still searching for that word though.

Well met

After a whisky tinted afternoon, the HoW'ers finally all get together around a table in Lafitte's at the Doubletree...  En route to the hotel Shauna & Kevin have found a book, just lying in the street.  An 18th century French dictionary, well, part of one at least, from T to Z.

Looking suitably literary, coffee cups (with their "secret" Irish ingredient) and beer mugs clutter the table.  A further battered 3 volumes were also lying to be found, but too big, too heavy, too battered to be of use they were left behind.  I should be able to think of a story to tell about those books, and if I can't, one of us here should... but I suppose that the "true story" of how they came to be there would be weirder, more mythic than I could imagine.

In the Casino

Noise lights people food
brightly overwhelmed, Harrah's
shuts out the seasons.

update ;)

We got to the magic number - 6x 6er's in one room drinking Irish/Scotch/US whiskey/whisky/bourbon. 
Shauna is here somewhere and Michael & Teresa are en route...
Just going to line the stomach ;)

Breakfast

Not at Tiffany's but at Stanley's.   Piles of pancakes, strong coffee and grey marble topped tables.  The cafe on the corner of Jackson Square has long tall windows, views of red painted building and scrollwork balcony out of one side; the other looking at the square with it's tarot card readers, people on a wheeled "walking tour, bobbing forwards and backwards to speed or slow. 

Wood and glass and marble reflections; the height of the room making all the people stick to the lowest quartile of available space.  Portions and proportions, we are not dwarfed by the space, New Orleans seems to be built on a more human scale, the ubiquitous skyscrapers away from this part of town. 
I like it.

Day 1

The Mississippi, unsuspected from the night before
Seen grey and opalescent from our eleventh floor
Hard-edged bright orange circle of the sun
It's cloud-cut rising at the start of HoW day one.

we're here!

and pretty awake considering we were travelling and awake for 24hrs "yesterday"... The sun is just rising over the river and we are having a coffee & getting our heads together and planning (ok, deciding to mooch) for the day to get oriented and perusing maps...

Joe/Dwight predicted the time we would arrive at the hotel last night, and gave us a great welcome, rising from his perch on the bar stool in Lafitte's, where we later joined him for a quick beer and some appetisers before going our separate ways; us to bed to (hopefully) reduce our zombified demeanor, and Joe to try his luck at the casino across the road.  The free drinks for ladies offer at Harah's was tempting, but I wasn't sure I was capable of passing for a "lady" at that time ;)

Chatting over who was arriving when, we discovered that unfortunately Grey may not be able to join us;  which is a great shame as we were looking forward to meeting her; along with all the people who willl be arriving later today!

Sandra is busily writing in her notebooks, and I am brain dead wrt writing at the moment; since we flew Delta airlines via Memphis I have the "Ohrwurm" of the song "walking in Memphis" cycling around my head.  Not even the beer in the airport bar, charmingly accompanied by an Elvis impersonator crooning behind us, has managed to drive this song out of my head... I suspect it's there for the duration...

see you later!

damn...

...  I guess I really have to pack now?

Birthday today!

Just spotted on 6S that it is Joe / DD's birthday today - have a good one!!

En Route...

Well I hope Joe's flight gets there OK, 36hrs and I'll be at the airport... too early and pacing no doubt but I'll be there... wondering what I forgot to pack.
Browsing the supermarket after work today for something "typically German" to bring, I saw a pile of Kinder 'chocolates' - I use the word loosely as I'm not sure they've seen cocoa solids in their lives, but I digress; I did think about throwing a load of these "Happy Hippo's" in my suitcase to share... but then thought again... Do I want to be known as the Hippo girl?

By the way, if anyone actually likes Jagermeister let me know - I've a couple of bottles in the cupboard, one of which has never been opened and that I certainly won't drink...

HoW Quotes: 14

HoW many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over
In states unborn and accents yet unknown!

William Shakespeare

HoW do you do what you do to me

Oh my goodness - is THIS going to be part of our  HoW weekend?

HoW Quotes: 13

It's none of their business that you have to learn HoW to write. Let them think you were born that way.

Ernest Hemingway

(a nice literary and writerly one for number 13)

HoW Quotes: 12

HoW far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

William Shakespeare

right...

...I've played around on the computer, loaded the dishwasher, am boiling the kettle for a second cup of coffee or maybe I will try the chilli & cocoa tea I bought yesterday... 
Then I will finally get down to it!  To writing a list for the things I need to get down to over the next 4 days... and maybe get some things on the list ticked off too today, nothing like ticking off things to feel like progress.

4 days!!! HoW exciting ;)

HoW Wonderful

Bad news reversed and Michael will be there after all - what better reason for a glass (or two) of wine?

HoW Quotes: 11

If I'd known HoW much packing I'd have to do, I'd have run again.
Harry S. Truman

Bad news...

Damn Mexicana! 
Michael we hope you can come up with some other plan so we can meet you in the flesh

HoW to play the Dictionary/Fictionary game

I'm not saying we have to, but suggesting that we might, and it would be an idea to come prepared ... the Dictionary / Fictionary game is similar but simpler/speedier to the Ex Libris game that Gita mentioned.   It's just a matter of choosing an obscure but interesting word from a dictionary and asking for definitions - I can guarantee that hysterical giggling will emanate from me and Gita, with or without alcoholic lubrication. 

So, Be Prepared by making a list of half a dozen words in advance.

My all time, and partially appropriate for this event, favourite was 'mallemaroking'
There were several interesting possible meaning put forward for this by the then participants, and no-one guessed that its true meaning was  'the carousing of seamen in icebound ships'

How Quotes: 10

HoW marriage ruins a man! It is as demoralizing as cigarettes, and far more expensive.

Oscar Wilde