Dateline: New Orleans
I couldn’t get comfortable.
Something was wrong. We crossed Lake Pochatrain and my wife pointed out how bad the railraod bridge looked. I was dealing with spitting rain, bad traffic, and a bad case of tension. The city felt sterile and too new. I wanted to turn around.
Ten minutes later, we drove underground at the Royal Sonesta and found a parking spot that beat me like no other. I tried five times before giving up and moving somewhere else. This wasn’t the laid back New Orleans I knew.
Finally, we walked for half an hour and reacalimated ourselves to the city we once knew as our own. When the Tropical Isle was on the wrong side of the street, I nearly suggested we go home. We learned later that it moved, complete with a New Orleans-style jazz funeral, in 2004. That made me happier than I’ll be able to express right now.
I thought the city had given me up after my nine-year absence.
It only took three hours before I walked down the street with the feeling like I’d lived here for years. I’ve only been in town for five hours, but I’m 100% at home. As for why, that’s a story for another time.
Tonight, we dine on nostalgia at NOLA. It was the place we ate when I got my first TV job. Tonight, we’ll eat with the knowledge that television is long behind us. Better yet, our life is ahead uf us.
With lots to say and still lots to do, I’m not going to spend a lot of time on the wax tonight. Suffice it to say, we’re in New Orleans and we’re home.
Labels: Travel
You have more homes than an ugly orphan.
As to N.O., I think they should sell it to Six Flags. Make a hell of a theme park. That’s probably too harsh; they’d actually clean the alleys and gutters and there goes ambiance.
I’m comfortable that, nearby, we have the most corrupt government (Lake County, IN) but N.O. certainly can certainly demand a recount.
But have a ball in the ol’ city. Am sure they weld on rose colored contacts as you arrived at the place that took you from children to human.
Hey, look! A Hand Grenade. Indeed.
Grunt. Snort. Harumph.
I get that feeling of being home every time I step in that city. Haven’t been back since the hurricane though.
On travels with my Dad to places he has been before, he always says something along the lines of “Sure did look different in ’54 (’62, ’58, etc). In 2002, in NO, he stepped out, looked left then right and said, “Bout the same as ’59. I was on the way from San Antonio to Pensacola . . .” Not enough time to finish that story now. It does involve a lot of alcohol and pretty LSU girls though.
have fun
Hey,
I saw your post on another blog and figured I’d check yours out and give you a headsup about a WPT giveaway I’m running this year.
A lot of players want to participate in a 10K buyin event, but most lack the skills or experience, so if I gave that way it would be like giving away a lottery ticket. Unless they got very lucky they probably wouldn’t do much with it.
So I tried to come up with something that I felt would be a much better prize for the majority of poker players. I’m giving away a WPT Battle For The Season Pass III package this year on my site.
You can win a weeklong vacation in the Bahamas, training from the pros (over 20 in attendance last year) and entry into up to three tournaments while you’re down there. One of the tournaments is a 3-day deep-stacked event with a number of WPT, cash and boot camp prizes. The grand prize is a $100,000 WPT Season Pass plus $10K in cash for expenses.
You can use the WPT Season Pass to enter any World Poker Tour events you want (ten 10K events, a mix of 5K, 15K, etc)
The first free satellite is being held on Full Tilt Poker Sunday, February 10th, 2008 at 14:00 (2pm EST)
Right now there’s only 34 players signed up, the top 4 advance to a single-table semi-final in February. The fields aren’t going to get any smaller as word of this promotion spreads. So if you want in, you’ll want to play some of the earlier events to have less competition.
Hope the tables & life are treating you well, and I hope you’ll take a shot at winning this prize!
AJ
President
http://www.RakeReport.net