I have had quite a weekend! On Saturday I went on a swamp tour with Norbert LeBlanc. Norbert is an elderly, bearded man with plenty of experience on the swamp. Along the ride, he showed us shells from turtles that he had just caught, pictures of him with 12-foot long gators he had captured, National Geographics in which Mr. LeBlanc was featured, and a picture of Norbert with Charles Kuralt. We toured the swamp, and were lucky enough to see an 11-foot alligator. Norbert also showed us the big old trees on the other side of the lake, one of which was 1200 years old or so. Then we went into a cove of trees once used for voodoo rituals, and offered us moonshine. I was surprised by the amber color of the liquid. As it turned out, the amber coloring came from the barrel that the moonshine was aged in for 5 years. Then we went to a local restaurant, and I ate an alligator burger. The next day, I awoke early, with the crowing of the cock, and ventured out into the city. I first visited the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. There were some spectacular pieces there. In particular, I enjoyed the photography section the best. I felt that the simple black and white photos really captured the Southern way of life perfectly. After Ogden, I decided to tackle the French Quarter. It was...well...an adventure. I started off on Bourbon Street, and never in my life have I been solicited by so many strip clubs. My favorite name was "Johnny Flynt's Barely Legal" club. I doubled back, and said wait, is that legal? Than I realized that it was, as the sign indicated that it was legal, but only barely. One of the very sketchy strip joints even tried to entice new customers with free BBQ ribs. Anyways, I made my way out of the red light district as soon as possible, but was then offered cheap bootleg porn DVD's by two men. I politely declined. I took out my camera and was taking some truly lovely pictures of the city, when I attempted to take a shot of a man smoking a large stogie. He said no pictures, then found out I was from NC, and began talking to me. I ended up talking to this man (John was his name) for about 45 minutes. John shared his insights on corruption in the government, and even said that cash rules everything around him (not in those words exactly though...I borrowed that phrase from the prophetic Wu-tang Clan). John was born in South Carolina, and moved to New Orleans after his tour of service in Vietnam, got a girl pregnant in Nawlins, and ended up settling down here. He had his baby shower at Pat O’Brien’s, where his wife was working at the time. When he started talking about conspiracy theories, I grew excited, as that is right up my alley. John explained that when he was in 'Nam, his job was protecting the Vietnamese and the poppy fields. He also discussed Manuel Noriega, and how his trial was never publicized, because the U.S. government was actually pushing the crack. The CIA in fact distributed crack widely, he said. This John fellow explained that the government is run by the mob. Money is what influences people's decisions. And money corrupts. (For those of you wondering, this is all taken from John, and not my own thinking.) John then told me about his experience with Hurricane Katrina, when he fled to Texas. After sitting in the sun on the stoop counting my lack of money and talking to John, I was rather hungry. So, as a good tourist, I made my way to Cafe Du Monde, and ordered a coffee and some beignets. Delicious! But, Sunday is almost over. Alas! The weekend squandered again! I guess I had better get ready for a strenuous day at work, and a nice long workout in Audubon Park in 101 degree weather...until the next post, may the Force be with you...
peace,
Moe
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