defend new orleans logo taken from here.
sometime in the mid-afternoon on nov 1, 2008, i drove west on 10 through new orleans east, i thought to myself “what the fuck did we get ourselves into?” my wife and kids were our other car, but i kinda suspected that my wife was probably thinking the same thing. our house, or at least the stuff that took up space in our house, were scheduled to show up on monday, thursday at the latest. november 1 was a saturday.
we had spent the previous night, halloween, saying goodbye to the friends we had made in our 5 years of living in douglasville, ga. the friends we had in douglasville equaled 2, and really how good of friends could they have been if i didnt even know their last name? so our goodbyes lasted all of about 3 minutes. we lived in the suburbs, and it sucked.
we were getting back to what we love, the city. something we should have done during our tenure in the atlanta area, but within our first month sandy got pregnant and we didnt know the city, atlanta, enough to “risk it.” dumb, dumb move. then we just grew complacent, and werent really in the mood to move. atlanta is a fine city, and i wish we could have gotten to know it better. although, we did spend a lot of our weekends down there, we still never really felt apart of it.
driving through new orleans east was a slap in the face. here sat seemingly nice houses with roofs still not repaired, still with spray paint donning their exterior from katrina, an entire theme park looking like a ghost town, and a host of other signs that really made me question our decision. unfortunately. we didnt get a chance to come down and visit before making our decision. we just went strictly off gut instinct, and at that point i was severely questioning if my gut knew anything. as we grew closer to new orleans itself, i tried to forget about what i had just saw. my fears subsided, only briefly, but were then heightened when we got off at our particular exit, 234c, claiborne ave. again, another slap in the face. buildings were still in disrepair, vacant buildings, etc. i drove down claiborne, and the scenery changed every slow slightly, as the blocks came and went. by the time i reached i reached my time to hang a left at jefferson and claiborne, it seemed like i was in a different city. well, not so much in a different city, but i began seeing it in a new light. i hung a right onto clara, my wife was nowhere to be found. she drives a lot faster than i do, and was expecting her to be beat me there. she showed up shortly after i arrived, and as she got out of the car we just looked at each other and smiled. we both knew what that smile meant. it’s been almost 7 months since we moved to our new home, new orleans. btw, our stuff showed up on sunday. thank god.
i was sitting back in douglasville when katrina struck. at the time, i thought to myself “what the hell do they expect? the city is below sea level for christ sake!” i truly felt no sympathy for the city’s inhabitants, cause i didnt know or i guess didnt care. i think i actually thought to myself or maybe said out loud, why dont they just let the city go. just give up on it. again, i really didnt know.
do you believe in fate? i do. do you believe you are meant to be somewhere, even though other people question your decisions? i do. from the minute we parked our cars, we were welcomed with open arms into the community in which we reside. as we unpacked our cars just about everyone on our block came out to greet us. i met more people in 3 minutes in new orleans than i did in 5 years in douglasville. we were invited, that night, to a barbecue. it wasnt awkward, it wasnt forced, it just felt right. i dont know if this is typical in new orleans, but from everything i hear, it is.
the days progressed, and we quickly fell under the spell that is new orleans. before we moved here i was told that it was “the worst lover you never want to leave.” when i heard that, i though “yeah right.” im from chicago, the greatest city on the planet, ill be the judge of that. chicago is my home, and always will be, but it doesnt hold a candle to new orleans. let me digress, most of my memories are of chicago. i spent 30 years there, and again its a glorious city, filled with awesome people, awesome culture, but unfortunately its expensive and cold as hell. it’s my second favorite city on the planet. always second city, huh? “the worst lover you’ll never want to leave” indeed. that is new orleans. i cant explain how it gets under your skin. i am still trying to figure everything out, but i can say, honestly, that i love new orleans.
are there murders left and right? hell yeah there are. does it bother me? hell yeah it does! do tourist treat the city like a fucking urinal? yeah, and if you are visiting please dont! you wouldnt treat your city like that, and if you did your’e probably a piece of shit anyway. i’d be lying if i didnt admit that the thought of living through a hurricane doesnt freak me out, but i hope, truly pray, that the corps of engineers have fixed that problem. one thing i didnt know in regards to katrina was that when she passed while she did do a bunch of damage, it wasnt until 24 hours later that all hell broke loose aka the flooding. hurricanes will always be a part of living on the gulf coast, but its what keeps us safe is what is worth investing in.
i love new orleans even with all its warts, and their are plenty. there is no other city in america like new orleans. it deserves to be saved, visited, dwelled, loved and defended.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
great read and wonderful story/recap. really enjoyed it. always nice to read when people are happy with where they live. life’s too short not too!
Great write-up. God, I love NOLA. A COMPLETELY unique culture. I get there whenever I can.
hey thanks ryan, and you’re right life is too damn short to be wasting away in a place you hate. thats why we got the hell out. again, atlanta is a fine city but it felt like one big giant sears/boxstore. just didnt have soul, like chicago or new orleans has.
kurt, thanks appreciate that. i could have gone on and on, but the half ass editor in me said to keep it simple and most people would pick up what i am putting down.
Very high class post. New Orleans truly is the cultural epicenter of the West. I haven’t been there, but will one day, if for nothing else to dig the food and music. Much respect for showing love to your adopted city. The question remains: is Mardi Gras as touristy and bull shit as it appears or do only the locals know the secret?
jojo, thanks! regarding mardi gras, if you spend it in the quarter its hell, wall to wall debauchery. mardi gras celebration actually lasts for about a month prior to fat tuesday. every week there are parades/celebrations in the neighborhoods which are pretty much all locals. surprisingly the local parades are very family orientated/friendly. so really the stuff you see in the french quarter is all tourist bullshit. it was fun to see what goes on in the quarter, but i wouldnt do it again. i dont think..
Agreed, great read Greg. If I’m ever heading down that way, I’ll have to hit you up for a ‘things to do’ list. Hard to compare any city to Chicago in my opinion. I’d have a difficult time ever leaving for a significant period. Glad to hear that there are cities that can have the same impact on someone.
Hey Y’all!
Have you checked out the logo for Dirty Coast?
http://www.dirtycoast.com/home.php
They are good folks, with a shop up on Magazine Street.
Anybody with a blog named Captains Dead (and attitude like a Saints Fan) is gonna fit right into New Orleans.
Trust me on that on, Noble Mons.
Try this post, it’ll make you laugh, and even cry (the beloved author of that blog died last year, he was a character to be sure).
http://ashleymorris.typepad.com/ashley_morris_the_blog/2006/02/sinn_fein_ourse.html
Editilla~New Orleans Ladder
One more word on “your attitude of a Saints Fan”…
That is a good thing, even when they called the team the “Aints” and wore paper bags over their heads to games as “the unknown Saints fans”.
Just make sure when you go to the games, (and you really should go to the games early for the parking lot scene) get a seat in SECTION 635 row 7. And you’ll see what I mean.
Or you could just check one of my fav Saints blogs:
http://blackandgoldpatrol.blogspot.com/
Spoken like a true patriot…rock on
What a wonderful post! Sounds like you are living in my old neighborhood. I lived on Octavia and Willow, a block off of Jefferson. It is great to hear that the magic of the city is still working its mojo. Welcome home!!! (New Orleans is the true hometown for people with a soulful heart.) And, yes, we must all defend New Orleans. Silence nearly killed her once already. NEVER AGAIN!
this is a beautiful post. i was down there for about a week a few months ago and got inklings of wanting to stay. and as per your second city, i was just in chicago for a few days; i had never been to the conservatory before- that place is heavenly.