Went for my bike ride this morning and it was cooler than normal because we are feeling the effects of Fay. As I rode to the Lakefront, I saw girls coming back saying it was nasty out there. When I got there the wind was whipping around like a squall and it started raining hard and riding my bike through it all was almost like a test of endurance. But there was also an underlying…
I was going to title this entry Bringing New Orleans back but we’re not bringing it back, we’re trying to make it better. There is a bike path going from the lakefront to the bayou and now they are attempting to install another biking corridor from Carrolton to the French Quarter through what is called Lafitte Corridor. This is right in back of the old Brake Tag station and basically you could ride your bike…
In a very interesting observation, with T here to calm me, I tend to focus much better on the work at hand. Instead of trying to accomplish the impossible, I go about things more realistically and get deeper into what I am doing. But you know what – TGIF – I’m ready to focus on F U N.
I walked Loca early this morning because I had to be at my desk earlier than usual. We went to the post office down the street at the end of the bayou – recall the pictures from the storm – this is where the red helicopter went down, where the people were waiting on a spit of high ground for days, where dogs and people wrote signs RESCUE ME on top of the American Can?…
Last night, we took Loca out for an evening stroll and looked for a place to have a draft beer. Since the storm Liuzza’s by the Track has not had draft – the machine hasn’t worked. Three years, you’d think they’d find a way to fix it – we sure miss those icy schooners of Abita. We ended up going to Pal’s – and I must admit I was a little apprehensive as I have…
The news here says: The new report, “A Long Way Home: The State of Housing Recovery in Louisiana 2008,” shows that while some progress has been made during the past year, thousands of residents who want to return home are facing a critical rental housing shortage, inadequate rebuilding grants and a recovery plagued by red tape and ever-changing rules. Yesterday, President Bush visited historic Jackson Barracks in New Orleans to tout the progress of the…
We are getting bombarded here in the U.S. by images and text on aggressive Russia storming into Georgia. Condoleezza has issued warnings left and right that we don’t invade countries with elected officials. On the phone with European colleagues, we were talking about how negative the press is here in the US about Russia but that over there they see the events differently. Later, with an expert on the subject, I learned the heart of…
We were talking this morning on our walk about how some people live for drama. And if they don’t encounter it naturally, they foment it. It reminds me of an interview with Wallace Stegner and Terry Gross that I heard many years ago that kind of put me off Stegner. He was saying he remained in a tumultuous relationship for material to write about. Bizarre. Throughout my life, I’ve heard people say that they loved…
Home is definitely where the heart is and having my heart in one city, one house, one person has made this LaLa a home.
A source of mine from another time was in town and we met for a drink at my new favorite bar (820 Rampart) – one of the thoughts I took away from this chance face to face meeting is how important it is to be passionate about your job. The source had entered a new field and to build passion, he became a student all over again. I remembered when I first started speaking with…