A New Orleans Week-end

You say tomato...

Today I'm volunteering to usher for a musical, in Louis Armstrong Park in Congo Square. I need a little rest from all the fun.  We have three festivals going on in the Quarter-the Creole Tomato Festival, Vieux To Do, and the Cajun Zydeco Festival. Yesterday I went  hear Preservation Hall Jazz Band play in the French Market.

I was on the phone when the Naked Bike Parade flew by. I bid a hasty farewell and ran after them, hoping to get a good shot.  

In wandering back through the French Market I happened to catch Bruce 'Sunpie' Barnes's lecture on food's influence on early Cajun Zydeco music.  Did you know that the phrase "Yippe ti yi yo" comes from the Cajun cowboys in South-west Louisiana?  It's a Cajun expression and the 'little doggie' doesn't refer to a cow, as I've always have been told, but to the Louisiana CataCoula Leopard Dog, the oldest breed of dog in the US.

 From there I went to sample the Creole tomatoes .  Creole tomatoes are god's apology for Southern Louisiana's abysmal summers.  A true Creole tomato is only grown in what amounts to Mississippi mud.  They are legendary here and much anticipated.  Many vendors were handing out free samples which people lined up for.  I ate my share and then wandered until I found my favorite booth for Fried Green Tomatoes.  How can you not love this place?

Trekking back through the Quarter I passed the statue of Our Lord behind the St. Louis cathedral, here better known as 'Touch Down Jesus'.  Jesus lost a thumb in the Storm, I believe I know who possess it.
On my way back to the bunk house I made a new friend on the streetcar.

Friday  I joined the local gym,trying to keep my life-style somewhat in balance.  Except for, dancing, running after money shots and back-stepping in second lines, when something wild possess you, it is impossible to move much here in the summer unless you are in some  serious air conditioning.  We become an indolent bunch, dragging ourselves through our work and play  under the crush of heat and humidity, sugared up on iced tea or anesthetized by alcohol, dreaming, swatting flies, always seeking the shady side of the street,  hoping for the slightest breeze.