Katrina Update #41Katrina Update #41
(click the graphic above to send her a greeting)
Janis, Jarret, and Andrea arrived last night about 6PM. I had told Janis to just keep her eyes on the road and watch for other drivers who are gawking at the damage coming into town. With more drivers on the road, I have been noticing an increasing number of "lane swervers" — people who are paying more attention to the damage than the road. I also told Jarret and Andrea to not speak coming in so she wouldn't be distracted. Today I drove her around a bit, and she just kept saying "oh my God! oh my God!" each time she turned her head.
Since they got in after the stores closed, we decided to go down to Coop's Place for dinner last night. I had the best grilled Pork Chop I have had in my life, Janis had a bowl of Jambalaya, and Andrea had a cup of gumbo. Jarret was immediately put to work. After dinner we took a walk down to Esplanade Avenue, where Jesse had heard there was a party happening. It turned out to be a "realty party" showing off Nicolas Cage's former house. They had decided to make the party a "welcome home" party for the residents. Here are some pictures:
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Entry to home.
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Closer look at Chandelier Sculpture.
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Sign welcoming guests.
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Satirical Pumpkin.
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The sign reads "No smoking in house or you will be killed. No weapons, knives, blackberries, or shoptalk. Your host." The pumpkin is decorated in satire of the search markings found on homes, like the one in front of our house. It has the date the pumpkin was created, then has "CNN" as the search party, "NE" meaning "No Entry," and "0/DB" which we were told means "zero deadbeats."
On the way to the party, Jesse did some very cool Fire Juggling. Here's a picture from just before he started:
Adam and Megan will be returning tomorrow. Janis gets an unexpected birthday surprise - another night in a hotel room! We are leaving right after the Packer's & Saints game (what a rout - 52 to 3 with 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter!) to meet them in Tallahassee. They are expected to be there tomorrow AM. We want to go tonight so we don't have to do all that driving in one trip.
- Jeff Underwood returned to New Orleans yesterday. He related a great story about performing at the Detroit Music Festival during his imposed exile. While there, he met Dave Brubeck, who invited him to play on stage with him. They played "When The Saints Go Marching In." Afterwords, Brubeck comes over to Jeff and puts his arm around his shoulder and says "That was the highlight of the weekend." Wow.
- Kevin stopped in at Coop's Place last night as well.
- Jesse treated us to some fire juggling (also called "Poi").
Not news, per se, but a great article about New Orleans just after the hurricane — with a bit of historical perspective — appeared in today's New York Times. I strongly recommend you read it.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune has strongly criticized Mayor Nagin's ideas for revitalizing the New Orleans' economy.
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