Winter in New Orleans is foggy and wet, as if the swamp is seeking to reclaim what was once its own....
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
Sunday, December 03, 2006
New Orleans, The Republic Of
It's been a busy November. I have been near and far these 30 days and some, with the wind blowing me to Boston, Chicago, and Phoenix (in that order). These cities are all beautiful in their own ways, and great though they may be, I find myself eager to return to New Orleans. For all of its issues, the Crescent City still has its spirit, and it keeps me looking forward to returning.
Leaving New Orleans for another American city is an experience unlike other traveling I have done before. It must be akin to leaving, say, Swaziland or Lesotho for Cape Town or Johannesburg, or like venturing from the Outback to see Sydney. I'm just not accustomed to making the leap from Third to First World while staying in my own country, though with patience and hard work, I'll get there, I think. But in early November, finding myself in the financial district of Boston, I found myself trying to remember if I had brought my passport, so I could get back safely to the Republic of New Orleans. All of a sudden I got a little dizzy, seeing all these immaculate, tall buildings, with nary a window missing, lined with clean, well-maintained road, and teeming with people - all of them white people! - and I had to sit down at the nearest pub for a refresher.
Going to Chicago was different, but weirder, since I just moved from there. It felt like I had been away, and was back, but not home. Which is good since that's in fact what was happening, but it was just a bit odd to be visting rather than living there. Friends and coworkers conspired to make me feel wlecome and happy, and for this I thank them.
Phoenix is just a strange place. Whenever anyone says anything about not rebuilding New Orleans, becuase it's below sea level, I'll ask them if they think Phoenix should also be abandoned, situated as it is in the middle of a desert. Or Las Vegas, for that matter. Only by diverting the Colorado River to the fullest extent have we been able to make both places habitable locales - and thereby robbing Mexico of all the water they would otherwise receive from the source. I suppose it is easier to add water than to keep it at bay, but I dare anyone to say living in a desert is a sane idea. The 5th largest city in the country can't be wrong, right?
Flying back from Phoenix I laid-over in Houston. Houston looks just like Phoenix from the air, except greener. Whatever.
Needless to say, my recent November adventures have left me realizing that New Orleans is, perhaps more than I had realized, home. Y'all come on down and git you some.
From the Third World,
Noel
Leaving New Orleans for another American city is an experience unlike other traveling I have done before. It must be akin to leaving, say, Swaziland or Lesotho for Cape Town or Johannesburg, or like venturing from the Outback to see Sydney. I'm just not accustomed to making the leap from Third to First World while staying in my own country, though with patience and hard work, I'll get there, I think. But in early November, finding myself in the financial district of Boston, I found myself trying to remember if I had brought my passport, so I could get back safely to the Republic of New Orleans. All of a sudden I got a little dizzy, seeing all these immaculate, tall buildings, with nary a window missing, lined with clean, well-maintained road, and teeming with people - all of them white people! - and I had to sit down at the nearest pub for a refresher.
Going to Chicago was different, but weirder, since I just moved from there. It felt like I had been away, and was back, but not home. Which is good since that's in fact what was happening, but it was just a bit odd to be visting rather than living there. Friends and coworkers conspired to make me feel wlecome and happy, and for this I thank them.
Phoenix is just a strange place. Whenever anyone says anything about not rebuilding New Orleans, becuase it's below sea level, I'll ask them if they think Phoenix should also be abandoned, situated as it is in the middle of a desert. Or Las Vegas, for that matter. Only by diverting the Colorado River to the fullest extent have we been able to make both places habitable locales - and thereby robbing Mexico of all the water they would otherwise receive from the source. I suppose it is easier to add water than to keep it at bay, but I dare anyone to say living in a desert is a sane idea. The 5th largest city in the country can't be wrong, right?
Flying back from Phoenix I laid-over in Houston. Houston looks just like Phoenix from the air, except greener. Whatever.
Needless to say, my recent November adventures have left me realizing that New Orleans is, perhaps more than I had realized, home. Y'all come on down and git you some.
From the Third World,
Noel
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