Nothing llike a good night's sleep......

Ya gotta admit....there's nothing like a good night's sleep to bring one back to reality. Sort of like -- Wham! Bam! Plop! Thud! And if that doesn't do it, then the 90 degree + heat we've experiencing alllllllllllllll month surely will!

I've got my feet back (firmly) on the ground. Sunday, in downtown BR, I thought I was near 'bout in heaven. But, I've gotta remember that rivers, old downtown areas, good food and good music make me vulnerable.

Today....I'm (questionably) rational again. And....I'm wondering. Wondering why it is that the bee-u-ti-ful bridge in the background of Sunday's sunset is still referred to as the NEW Mississippi River Bridge, even tho it was built in the 1960's. Okay, I know there's the OLD bridge that Huey built, but....that was in the 1940's.

'New' Bridge: http://www.visi.com/~jweeks/lower_mississippi/pages/lmiss12.html

'Old Bridge: http://www.visi.com/~jweeks/lower_mississippi/pages/lmiss11.html



Even today, whenever most people say the 'new' bridge (and most people still say it), the person usually asks, "Why the hell do we still say the new bridge!?!?" But....we still do it. Old traditions die hard, I guess. And let me tell you, if you don't specifically say 'the new bridge' some a-hole is sure to ask (with an innocent expression on his face), "Are you talking about the new bridge or the old bridge?" WTF!

And then there's the old state capitol. We were sitting within spittin' distance from it. I admit, it's not the prettiest structure around. Mark Twain called it the ugliest building on the Mississippi river. (He even insinuated that dynamite could be put to good use on it.) So today I'm wondering why it is these comments are front and center in Baton Rouge travel info?!?!

And then....these's the New Orleans election that was held last Saturday. Can you even begin to believe that Nagin and Landrieu are in the run-off? Okay, let's see. One was the incumbent when Katrina hit and one is from the family who has ruled NOLA in the past (and apparantly done not much to ensure its safety). And to top it off, most of the city coucil were reelected.

Now, I'm not from New Orleans, so I'm sure there must be something that I don't get. But....I sure as hell don't get it. If I were displaced, sitting in a city that is rotting around me, sitting in a FEMA trailer, or any of the other horrific options that are operating, I just don't think I would vote for the status quo. But then again, maybe there is something I just don't get.

These comments were thought provoking: "In U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races between Democrats and Republicans, New Orleans has often provided a large margin of votes for Democrats, sometimes making the crucial difference.

But the lower number of traditionally Democratic-voting African-Americans participating in Saturday's election could jeopardize candidates who depend on that block of support in upcoming elections, said pollster Ed Renwick, director of Loyola University's Institute of Politics.

"It's going to impact New Orleans politics, area politics, state politics and national politics," Renwick said. "It could have a major impact."

Louisiana pollster Bernie Pinsonat said the New Orleans election was billed as the most important in the city's history, and therefore a turnout of only 108,000, or 36 percent, is probably more an indication of lower population than of disinterest among voters. The Democrats' "cushion" of votes from Orleans is probably gone, he said.

In the 2002 mayoral primary, about 135,000 people voted, a turnout of nearly 46 percent. African-Americans made up 62 percent of the vote.

Democrats have at times enjoyed a margin of advantage of more than 100,000 votes from New Orleans, Renwick said."


Party labels aside (if that's possibly) there could be changes ahead for the state of Louisiana. ....But, then again, maybe not. I'll reserve my opinion until after the next gubernatorial election.

Well, enough of my bitchin'. But....I'm still wondering about one more thing. Thinking back to last Sunday, how can all those policmen watch people imbibe , and then watch those same people get in their cars and drive away?

Sometimes there is magic in these swamps......

Sometimes I remember how much I used to enjoy living here. Today was one of those days. As the sun was setting over the Mississippi, I was sitting under an oak tree, sipping a cold brew, nibbling on alligator on a stick, while zydeco was playing in the background and punk breakdancers (is there such a thing?) had magically appeared and were defying gravity. Everyone around me was smiling -- not quite drunk, tho the beer ticket line was getting longer as the shadows lengthened. Perfect! Or so I thought until a gentle breeze from the river blessed us and eased the heat. That was too much. Audible sighs filled the air. It was almost embarrassing. I imagine a group orgy would sound something like that.

It was Earth Day in Baton Rouge -- and it was damn near perfect.

Lefties or Southpaws......

whatever you want to call them, being a lefty adds challenges to daily living. You have the scissors problem, the infamous classroom desks, backwards golf clubs, playing cards to manipulate, corkscrews to make work, and my personal favorite.... coffee carafes with cup markings only on one side. Now....might I ask..for a country that can send a man to the moon, why oh why can't we make coffee carafes with numbers on BOTH sides? I mean, come on now!

So, after years of vowing to find a pen I could use and not smear ink all over the paper and my hand, I started my search. And I found one (actually several)-- in England -- actually made in Germany. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough in the U.S.? Amazing to me at least, the shipping was the same as if ordering from the states and they got here in a couple of days. How DO they do that? Jets, I would imagine.

I spent yesterday trying out my new pens. Not bad. Anybody remember these?

http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/acatalog/pelikano_cartridge_pen_pens.html"

I got the red one. :) And I got one of these because it looked so cool.

http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/acatalog/s_move_easy_rollerball.html

I got one in orange, and I think I like it the best.

Now, supposedly, the nibs of left-handed pens have been specially cut to the correct angle so the ink won't form blobs that smear on your hands and paper. (I guess that's where the German engineering comes in?) ;) Who knows? Maybe it'll work.

Well....so much for the ups and downs of living life left-handed. I'll leave you with what I think Kermit would have said/sung had he been of the sinister persuasion. "It's not easy being....a lefty."

Crawfish, Gumbo, and Elmers Gold Brick Eggs......

That was Easter dinner here. Oh! And the Easter King Cakes -- one chocolate and one raspberry cream cheese. :) The King Cakes were my daughter and her roommates' contribution to dinner. My daughter A's long-term Mississippi roommate has grown accustomed to our, um, unusual south Louisiana ways (she actually said those very words after she had grown accustomed to, and apparently felt comfortable enough with us to say so). The new Texas roommate has a way to go, but she's getting there.

I'm not quite sure what's going on with my daughter these days. Something about her has changed since the storm. To hear her talk you'd think that she hated this place where she was born and raised. When she was home at Christmas we were talking and she told me that it hurt too much to think about what had happened here. All these horrible, horrible things were happening and she felt as if maybe she should be here doing something. She checked into taking the few courses she needs to be certified to do DNA testing. She mentioned it again just last week so I know it's still on her mind. Maybe the angry talk is just her way of dealing with her conflicted feelings?

Anyway, as we sat around the table this Easter, and she was making some angry comments about this area, I couldn't help but notice that she was peeling those crawfish pretty damn fast, eating her share of gumbo, and making sure her dad had his Abita Amber not the Bud Light that had someway made its way into the fridge. And....lest we forget....it was she who had walked in with the King Cakes.

As I was listening to her, I was thinking -- "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

"Disturbed" Graves......

That's what the local news called them tonight -- disturbed graves. They were talking about cemeteries in St. Bernard parish where coffins were broken apart by Katrina. They showed pictures of legs sticking out of one coffin. The legs belong to a 15 year old child killed in a drive-by shooting -- you could still see his pant legs and socks. Other coffins were cracked open and you could see exposed bones.

(Much the same happened with Rita in southwest Louisiana. Caskets were washed a mile or more inland -- just not as many. Bodies and caskets had to be reunited.)

My husband doesn't watch the news. As this segment was airing I called him in. He looked and asked where it was. I said it was St. Bernard. He asked when this flim was taken. I told him today.

This brings to memory the stories told by native New Orleanians. Years ago.... during spring floods, 'supposedly', it wasn't unusual for children to be found kicking around/throwing around/playing with a skull that had been washed out of its resting place by flood waters. The saying was that in spring, relatives -- living and dead, were prone to visit.

Maybe that light-hearted spin on this will help me sleep tonight.

The vote is on......

Early voting for the New Orleans election has started. Bus loads of displaced New Orleanians are rolling in to vote at satellite voting locations. (Shame busses couldn't have been mobilized to get people out quicker before and after the storm....) For quite a while now there has a been a frenzy of activities and suggestions as to how to get ballots to displaced voters - some of which have been hilariously ridculous (the suggestions and attempts have been hilarious - not the voters....as far as I know, but I digress.) Politicians are fighting for their political lives.

The saying has always been: so goes New Orleans, so goes the state. New Orleans was the population base of the state. The ninth ward was the population base of New Orleans. That's all changed now. It's going to be interesting to see what happens politically now in this state where politics has been an entertaining/frustrating spectator sport. It may get downright boring -- but probably not anytime soon.

Sometimes even the media is embarrassed......

Like last week when they reported the bodies found that day in New Orleans (yes, they are still finding bodies). That day the body of a female, under 18 was found. Not far from her another female body was found. Was it a mother and daughter? Were they torn apart by the rushing of the water? What could the mother have felt trying to protect her daughter?

Questions such as these were possibly going through the reporters' minds becase they just looked at each other and then at the camera....in silence (an embarrassing silence?). Or maybe the questions were more like: how in the hell can there still be so much debris piled up in a United States city that bodies are still buried and being found over seven months after the fact?

Anger, embarrassment, helplessness.... Who knows. We just listen and then go on about our business. All the while keeping a prayer going in the backs of our minds for those still lost and buried.

The local news did lead off with some good news last night. They were practically giddy when they announced that there was something good to report re Katrina. The news was that the official count of the missing in Louisiana went below 1,000 yesterday - Wednesday, April 5, 2006.

The landscaper finally called......

Actually, someone from his office called to say that the estimate was ready. The caller asked if she could drop off the estimate tomorrow. She told me not to wait on her - that if I wasn't home she would just leave the papers on the door. Now I think that was so nice and thoughtful. A man would have just said he'd be by with the estimate tomorrow and I'd think I'd need to be here so I'd wait around all day until he came and I'd be pissed because I was waiting and....

On second thought, maybe the price is so ridiculously high that she's embarrassed to be here when I see it??

I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

One thing I do know is that I've got to get something done about those flower beds in front. Years ago I made to mistake of putting Asian jasmine in the beds for ground cover and now the frickin' stuff is trying to take over my house! In this place where I live, you have to be very careful what you plant. If the plant happens to relly like its environment, it'll try to eat you up - house and all. And it happens so quickly. If I don't take control, I can hear it now. There will be people walking by on the sidewalk and they will look at the huge mound of vines. One person will look at the other and say, "Didn't there used to be a house there?"

BTW, the stinging caterpillars are here. Happy frickin' spring!

The Perversity of Cats......

I've never liked cats - the way they sneak up on you, the way they stalk, the way they used to always seem ready to pounce on me from atop my grandmother's tall armoires (or chiffrobes, as she used to call them). My grandmother had a house full of armoires/chiffrobes because her house had no closets, and she had a house full of cats because her house had mice. Eww....I don't know which must have been worse for her - having a house full of daughters and no closets, or a house full of mice! Umm....I don't remember ever seeing a single mouse so maybe that was just an excuse to have the cats? Who knows!

Unfortunately, cats have always liked me. No joke. Always..any time I go somewhere and there is a cat present, you can bet that the cat will be in my lap as soon as I sit down. People say things like, "Oh, look how Fluffy loves you!" or "Well, bless my soul! That cat never takes to people like he/she does to you."

I just smile and smile and smile. :) BUT..I know the truth. That damn cat knows I can't stand it. And....it knows I'd never tell!

So, as I sit here typing, my daughter's cat, Cassie (who's lived with me for how many years now??) is in the chair with me, on her back with her nose in the air. And I know in my heart that she's laughing inside her perverse little kitty mind because she knows I want nothing more than to push her out of my chair. Only problem is, when I try to push her away, she thinks I'm playing with her. She doesn't understand someone being mad at her (or is she just pretending?!?!). She, on the other hand, will from time to time, turn over and push me with her head when she wants more room.

Who's training who here?

So, I sit here typing away while sniffing, coughing, and constantly wiping my eyes and nose.

Sheesh!