An Open Apology

[sevendayjoe]

as posted on http://humidcity.com/

An Open Apology
February 12th, 2008 by Lord David

Yeah, ya heard it. I’m writing this for no other reason than to say I’m sorry. Please, allow me to explain….

…I know New Orleans has it’s myriad of problems, from an absentee Mayor and a small percentage of police who think they’re re-living Cool Hand Luke, with us as the Parchman Farmers, to the little things, like cell phones that don’t connect when the weather’s bad, or resetting the clocks after every little thunderstorm, and driving miles and miles, from grocery to grocery, trying to find some freakin parsley…

I recently read that 58% of Americans still don’t think New Orleans is worth rebuilding. What they don’t understand is that it’s too late for that now. It’s coming back anyway.

This afternoon, it rained while I was working outside. I rode my bike through a couple of blocks of drizzle, to Capt’n Sal’s on St. Claude Avenue, and spent about seven dollars on two pounds of freshly boiled crawfish.

That’s the price of lunch at Mickey D’s these days, by the way. Anyway, I peddled home, opened the sack, and put on the radio. Satchmo & John Boutte, taking turns on WWOZ. The strangers at Capt’n Sal’s had discussed the quality of the latest Crawfish, and they were right. Big this season, shells still soft to show their youth, and tastey as can be. The guys working across the street asked (axed?) where to get them and I gladly directed them. They turned their radio down to hear mine when Satchmo started to blow. It’s lunchtime in New Orleans. A sacred event, bringing together groups of different languages and walks of life, over food & jazz, the pleasure of a sultry rainy day and a break in the work of Fixing It All Again.

So yeah, it’s too late to think about rebuilding New Orleans. Sure there’s tons of work left to do, houses to build, schools to open, roads to fix, hospitals to be built.

But the foundation of this city is already poured…

The People. The Food. The Music. The Culture.

The rest is frosting, made of brick & mortar, wire & nails.

So I have to say I’m sorry.

I’m sorry that some people live in the snow and sleet.
I’m sorry that there’s towns where all the music is programmed by people you’ll never see, who have no idea who you are.
I’m sorry there aren’t half a dozen live music venues withing walking distance of your houses.And I’m sorry you missed the crawfish jazz lunch that occured impromtu today, in a neighborhood 58% of you wouldn’t rebuild. It was awesome.

As I head back to work, Sam Cooke crooning in the back ground, finger’s still burning from the spicey shells, I have one more regret. I’m sorry you won’t be here tonight when I boil down those empty shells and make bouillabaisse from whatever the local grocery has to offer in local fishes. It’s gonna be insane.

On the other hand, my dearest 58%, you could always grab some wine, and stop by. We’re rebuilding New Orleans one pot full of dinner at a time. And you’re invited. That’s just how it is here. If you don’t get it, then perhaps you’re the one who we should be sorry for.


Lord David
Pirate & Artist
Skull Club
New Orleans

[Dixiegal]

awww...very nice. Thanks for posting it.

[mightyradgumbo]

That in a nutshell..or maybe a crawfish shell is why I am moving there...YYR, it is too late to think about it...it is time to go :D

[NYMAMA]

YYR:D

[csoul]

But the foundation of this city is already poured…

The People. The Food. The Music. The Culture.

The rest is frosting, made of brick & mortar, wire & nails


LOVE IT! I'm stunned that 58% of Americans don't think NOLA is worth rebuilding. Can that figure be accurate???? Wonder how they'd feel if it were their hometown?

[Frosty]

But the foundation of this city is already poured…

The People. The Food. The Music. The Culture.

The rest is frosting, made of brick & mortar, wire & nails


LOVE IT! I'm stunned that 58% of Americans don't think NOLA is worth rebuilding. Can that figure be accurate???? Wonder how they'd feel if it were their hometown?

I love my hometown but if it were lost, I could find pretty much the same thing eleswhere.

[LAwoman28]

How great is that! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to get back for Jazz Fest 08! It's been tooo long. :D

[ncfunk]

I wonder if any one of those 58% has ever set foot in New Orleans (other than Bourbon Street, of course)

[csoul]

I love my hometown but if it were lost, I could find pretty much the same thing eleswhere.

Hmmm....that says alot about your hometown, Frosty. It would be very hard to find "pretty much the same thing" anywhere else on the planet if you were from NOLA.

[Frosty]

Hmmm....that says alot about your hometown, Frosty. It would be very hard to find "pretty much the same thing" anywhere else on the planet if you were from NOLA.

I live in a great place. I love Chicago. I love the suburb I am in, right along the lakefront. But, other than deep dish pizza and our beautiful skyline, you can find most of what we have, elsewhere. I could move to a nice suburb of another city and have the same type of life. That explains why i love New orleans so much. It is unique. If we lose it, there is nothing like it to move on to.

[mamaroux]

Hmmm....that says alot about your hometown, Frosty. It would be very hard to find "pretty much the same thing" anywhere else on the planet if you were from NOLA.

Ain't that the truth!

[Michelino]

Hmmm....that says alot about your hometown, Frosty. It would be very hard to find "pretty much the same thing" anywhere else on the planet if you were from NOLA.

Many people don't live in a hometown anymore....they live in the suburbs. The malls, big box stores and strips of corporate theme restaurants vary little from place to place. Modern Sprawlville may offer a lot of convenient aspects but community and culture are not among them.

[csoul]

Many people don't live in a hometown anymore....they live in the suburbs. The malls, big box stores and strips of corporate theme restaurants vary little from place to place. Modern Sprawlville may offer a lot of convenient aspects but community and culture are not among them.

Ya' think! Everytime I see a new strip mall going up I cringe! Convenience is great, and don't get me wrong, I LOVE ME some Starbucks on a cold morning, but the cookie cutter aspect is SOOO depressing.
P.S., Mich, your Avatar winking at me freaked me out;)

[Frosty]

Many people don't live in a hometown anymore....they live in the suburbs. The malls, big box stores and strips of corporate theme restaurants vary little from place to place. Modern Sprawlville may offer a lot of convenient aspects but community and culture are not among them.

Careful how you define suburbs though. Many suburbs are almost as old as the cities themselves. Our suburb offers tree lines streets many of which are still brick, 80-100 year old houses, a lakefront, and no fast food burger joints. Other than a Panera and a Quiznos, dining in our suburb is done at locally owned places. Chains that existed here 30 years ago have failed with IHOP never able to compete with Walker Brothers Pancake House and 31 Flavors losing out to Homer's Ice Cream. It's a wonderful community to live. It just isn't irreplacable like New Orleans.

[csoul]

Careful how you define suburbs though. Many suburbs are almost as old as the cities themselves. Our suburb offers tree lines streets many of which are still brick, 80-100 year old houses, a lakefront, and no fast food burger joints. Other than a Panera and a Quiznos, dining in our suburb is done at locally owned places. Chains that existed here 30 years ago have failed with IHOP never able to compete with Walker Brothers Pancake House and 31 Flavors losing out to Homer's Ice Cream. It's a wonderful community to live. It just isn't irreplacable like New Orleans.

Sounds Fantastic, Frosty. It may be more irreplaceable than you think. (I also live in a community that actually predates a large percentage of the city of Richmond, Va. The church I attend has been active since the early 1700's.) It's great that your community continues to support the local mom & pop places over the chains. That is so very rare, today.

[Michelino]

Careful how you define suburbs though. Many suburbs are almost as old as the cities themselves. Our suburb offers tree lines streets many of which are still brick, 80-100 year old houses, a lakefront, and no fast food burger joints. Other than a Panera and a Quiznos, dining in our suburb is done at locally owned places. Chains that existed here 30 years ago have failed with IHOP never able to compete with Walker Brothers Pancake House and 31 Flavors losing out to Homer's Ice Cream. It's a wonderful community to live. It just isn't irreplacable like New Orleans.

The kind of suburbs to which I was referring were mainly pastures or open fields when most of my fellow boomers were born. 100 year old brick houses in the shadow of one of the world's architectural meccas is not quite the stereotype that I had in mind. If you have a sidewalk in your front yard AND know of some locally owned business worth walking to, then you probably don't live in the type of plain vanilla cul-de-sac that gives me the creeps. But if they built a Home Depot ten years ago on the very spot you and your friends use to pick teams for softball, you have my condolences. To put this another way, if you have to fire up the hummer every time you need a quart of milk....uh..oh.

[VWGal]

P.S., Mich, your Avatar winking at me freaked me out;)

I just saw that! WHOAAAAA!

[Corona]

Amen Frosty....amen.

[marignygreg]

Careful how you define suburbs though. Many suburbs are almost as old as the cities themselves. Our suburb offers tree lines streets many of which are still brick, 80-100 year old houses, a lakefront, and no fast food burger joints. Other than a Panera and a Quiznos, dining in our suburb is done at locally owned places. Chains that existed here 30 years ago have failed with IHOP never able to compete with Walker Brothers Pancake House and 31 Flavors losing out to Homer's Ice Cream. It's a wonderful community to live. It just isn't irreplacable like New Orleans.

My house in Geneva Illinois ( hour west of Chicago ) was built in 1856. Try finding anything that old in Chicago ( thanks in part to aggressive developement and that damn O'leary Cow ). Outside of our well preserved town center lies the usual bland wasteland of Wal-marts and Quizno's.

[marignygreg]

Ellen found us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0fQRN4iXMw

[Frosty]

I think I posted a pic of our house here when we bought it. We have a tudor from the mid 20's. We live on a paved street but hope that is changed when they do sewer repairs in the next few years. Everything west of us is brick and they relay the old brick now if any street work is done. Right now, the brick is under the pavement. Home Depot's and Targets and the like are all a good 20 minute drive in any direction (except east). As far as walking, we walk to church, we walk to the library, we walk to the store, we walk to the coffee shop, the sandwich shops, the hardware store, the vet, the lakefront and beach, the outdoor theater. Add the fact that I ride my bike to work 9 months of the year along a beautiful bike trail and I'd say life is good. Problem is, I can't get a good stuffed crab po boy or head out to hear some good brass band music at the local club anytime I want.

[marignygreg]

I think I posted a pic of our house here when we bought it. We have a tudor from the mid 20's. We live on a paved street but hope that is changed when they do sewer repairs in the next few years. Everything west of us is brick and they relay the old brick now if any street work is done. Right now, the brick is under the pavement. Home Depot's and Targets and the like are all a good 20 minute drive in any direction (except east). As far as walking, we walk to church, we walk to the library, we walk to the store, we walk to the coffee shop, the sandwich shops, the hardware store, the vet, the lakefront and beach, the outdoor theater. Add the fact that I ride my bike to work 9 months of the year along a beautiful bike trail and I'd say life is good. Problem is, I can't get a good stuffed crab po boy or head out to hear some good brass band music at the local club anytime I want.

We got it good here Frosty,dat fo sure. So how come we miss/love/want to move to/envy/ spend all our vacation time going to New Orleans??
Here in Geneva they tore up the roads and for two weeks you could see the century old pavers rolling down Main Street. Very cool!!! Then they sludged the asphalt back on :(

[Frosty]

We got it good here Frosty,dat fo sure. So how come we miss/love/want to move to/envy/ spend all our vacation time going to New Orleans??
Here in Geneva they tore up the roads and for two weeks you could see the century old pavers rolling down Main Street. Very cool!!! Then they sludged the asphalt back on :(

Main Street of all places. Free the bricks!

Because there is a greater depth of spirit in everything down there, the food, the music, the joy of the people. Our pastor discussed the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is when you feel good now, usually becuase of something external. Joy is when you feel good deep inside throughout your life no matter how good or how bad things are externally. New Orleans is a place of joy.

[dank_bass]

Im about to start looking up listing agents

[marignygreg]

Nice Frosty.

[ChiTownHuck]

Very cool! Thanks for posting that.

[jhjpotter]

I’m sorry that some people live in the snow and sleet.

Much as I love the people, food, music, etc. and can't wait to be back for fest and again and again and again after that, there are few things in this world as fine as floating through a couple feet of the deep fluffy fresh champagne powder that we've just been getting oodles of this winter...410 inches at Jackson Hole to be precise now hehe... It would be nice to have a dozen music venues in walking distance, and that crawfish sound scrumdiddlyuptious right now, but it's snowing again and this has been an awesome winter. now, if it were doing this and I was a flatlander? not so sure about that!!

http://aycu15.webshots.com/image/45494/2003641997888452014_rs.jpg