New Orleans is an amazing city. I had avoided the city before Katrina, despite several road trips that took me through the South. Given my Christian upbringing, I thought of the Crescent City as a sinful place to be avoided, an aversion that lasted longer than my religion. But when Katrina hit, the pull to the Gulf Coast was too strong to resist with fellow Americans wasting away in attics and on rooftops.
I quickly fell in love with New Orleans, and despite deep and lingering wounds from the human-made disaster of Katrina, it’s a mighty, magical city. This magic is hard to describe with the written word, but I will attempt to capture a bit of it with blog posts of everyday events here that are quite extraordinary.
Let’s start with this fancy pants car. Earlier today I was walking in the Marigny and talking on the phone with my friend, Malik, when I ran across this mobile art piece. Note the high heels stenciled on the side that complement the pastel paint job, common colors for homes in New Orleans.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed the words “Bon Jovi Shrine” written in red marker on the back window. I wonder if this mobile shrine is owned by the same person who wrote “What Would Jon Bon Jovi Do?” on many of the bathroom walls of my favorite haunts. Or maybe Jon is in town, promoting himself as the son of a deity…
A little further down the street, I encountered a pride of cats. Nine to be exact. Despite a strong urge to cuddle all of them at once, I did not interrupt their afternoon nap to find out whether they were wild or tame. Note that a few of them have chopped ears, a (draconian) sign that they have been spayed/neutered.
Very jealous you’re back in New Orleans, I hope Malik and everyone’s doing well. I can only imagine your joy on discovering the cats!
A pride of cats. Hmm. I had to look that up. As per my research, the proper collective for cats is clowder: a clowder of cats. Although, frankly, I prefer pride. After all, they are little lions.