I hope you're coming back to New Orleans

By Rob Lepano

The Saints are back, the beignets are hot, and so is the music on Frenchman Street. Beads are being thrown on Bourbon Street, and the drinks are flowing. Nearly 700 of the best places to eat are open. 

So why haven’t you gone back yet?

It is truly a tale of two cities.  The French Quarter, Central Business District, and Garden District are all ready and waiting for you.  There is large-scale devastation in neighborhoods like Slidell and the Lower 9^th Ward, to name a few.  These places may not be the same for years.  But the people--they are the most resilient and courageous I have seen.

Having traveled to New Orleans over sixteen times over the last six years, I have come to love the city and all the amazing people in it. They will rise again!

I had the great pleasure of being in New Orleans for the return of the New Orleans Saints and the reopening of the Superdome. It was truly a sight to see and hear. I don’t just mean the game, which was a 23-3 Saints victory over the Atlanta Falcons, nor do I mean seeing the popular rock bands U2 and Green Day playing with the Rebirth and New Birth Brass Bands.

I mean speaking to people who took a few hours out of a day of gutting their houses to come see a Saints game. Season ticket holders who were reunited with friends they had not seen since before Hurricane Katrina. And others, still, who had sought refuge in the Superdome during the storm and who just needed closure.

But there’s more to New Orleans than just football.

No trip to New Orleans is complete without enjoying a Hurricane on Bourbon Street, or a spicy plate of red beans and rice. No matter what your pleasure, there’s something for everyone in the heart of this great city.

Or you can take a trip a few blocks up to the hustle and bustle of Frenchman Street. A little more low-key than Bourbon Street – you won’t find beads or t-shirt shops here – Frenchman Street has a more relaxed atmosphere and some of the hottest music you’ll ever hear. For musicians or just music lovers, this is the place to be.

On any given night you can see Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers at Ray’s Room, Coco Robicheaux at the Apple Barrel, Charmaine Neville at Snug Harbor, or the New Orleans Jazz Vipers at the Spotted Cat, to name a few.

Where else in the world can you see a live Dixieland band, hop aboard a riverboat, visit an aquarium, and try your luck at the tables, all in one day with the night still to come? Nowhere but New Orleans.

So I hope you’re coming down to New Orleans. I’ve been back three times since Katrina, and I’ll be back in December again. Now it’s your turn.

--If you plan on going to New Orleans and would like to know a little bit more about where to go and what to do, feel free to email me at nolarob@gmail.com--

Smart People.

    I know a lot of smart people. I have some in my family. I read the stuff smart people write and say in the media. I listen to them talk during my daily business. I get e-mails from them whether I like it or not. I open the pieces from people I know because, well, I guess I trust them. The time for that is running out. I am getting punchy when I open e-mails now. They contain little bombs, like viruses. People send these ideas for others to read that might justify their beliefs. The responses sometimes come back sometimes they don’t I imagine. Well, this is a response, in general, to the little  bombs people drop on me.

   We are a two party system. Most people feel the amount of government needed lies somewhere in between moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats.(see “bell curve”). That means there is a fine line between the two parties separated only by the word people use to register themselves to vote.

    These parties (political decision makers) think it works to demonize their political opponents for their own gain. They must think that their ideas about issues are pretty weak so they make the argument about the other party, in general. We, the people, seem to buy it.

     I heard people bash the president (pick any president) during his election. They bash him when he makes a decision. They bash him when he does not. They bash him when he makes a mistake. They deny when he does something right. When they think they hear enough people agree they rally and try to convince the country that the man is just bad. He is dumb or corrupt or both. He is everything bad and he does nothing right. It is a litany I hear from both groups all the time.

     I come to a TV channel and I see a politician talking and I know what he is going to say based on the name of the group he is a member of. I hear the question and I can predict the answer. Some say it with wit and charm, some have not learned that very well but they all toe the party line.

    Last night I was reading about a leading American practitioner of an eastern philosophy. I wanted to be inspired by his path to inner peace. He was even Ivy educated. He bashed a president on general terms. I had to re-read the article to make sure they were his words. A man of wisdom(?)! I hear ex-presidential candidates bashing leaders consistently along party lines. These guys wanted to lead a country!

    It is becoming clear that very few people in this world can see an idea, a person with an idea, or a person and think clearly about it/he/she without prejudice. These “smart” people think their bashing might be persuasive enough to convince me to bash with them. So many people try to get people to bash with them.

    This is a plea to those people to stop sending me your bashing crap. Send me anything that illustrates a novel idea, a behavior-changing idea, an idea that will convince people to stop thinking they are right all the time and anyone else is never right.

       I want to hear a smart person say something smart.

    Now and then, while journalizing my experiences as a fan of blues, I wonder about the motivations of we; those driven to blues.

   For me it seemed obvious. The motivation for my current involvement began immediately following the loss of a loved one. I was driving on a highway in Los Angeles in a blue funk of grief and I heard a song on the radio that spoke to me with a clarity I had not heard before in a song. Not only had I not heard an artist that clearly before but I had not been hearing anything at the time since my loss.

    Patty Griffin is more of a “folk” artist but the song and the CD are definite blues storyline and mood. The song was “Moses”, the CD was “Living With Ghosts”(scary ironic).. After hearing the song, gratefully, the radio jock did mention the title and artist. I ran to the store and bought the CD. I played it 24/7  for a while and it was cathartic in my grieving. One day while working in my shop with the artist in my walkman I felt a blockage pass or a connection, a rush of emotion and I fell to the ground and wept. I heard a voice that shared the very pain I was trying to hide. I began to feel more things from that moment. It gave me courage knowing that there were others with that pain and they were channeling it…sharing it…living with ghosts. I have been playing that CD ever since and looking for more that move me.

     Since I have not lost that pain of loss I suspect that other people (most people) that have experienced loss have the same need. Many have found the connection of music that echoes what they feel, hence; “blues”. The sound of many blues artists seems to appeal to many, even me before my loss. The added meaning just made it more…necessary for me. I am sure there are many artists, sensitive beings  that express pain that they experience through others and that they see around them. I was not “sensitive to “painful expression” until my personal experience. But since then I hear artists that express such emotion.  I hear it in Jimi Hendrix’s guitar as a matter of fact.  I hear it in Van Morrison’s voice, I hear it in Warren Haynes’s guitar, I hear it in Stevie Nick’s voice, Santana’s guitar, Jeff Beck, Duane Allman,  Maceo Parker. The list goes on and it is not all the definitive genre of “blues” as I typically think of it.… I hear it at times from local artists.

    For some reason the pitch and range of guitar finds the shortest route to my heart. But when anyone suggests that Hendrix’s expression is the result of drugs I tell them that the drugs may be part of the “instrument” but the expression was coming from the mans heart and he shared it and I heard it and thank God for him and all those out there trying to find their voice or with a voice and sharing their feelings with those who are needing it or still learning how.  I do not condone drug use but for those with the weakness and those with the ability to limit it, they can have times of well managed expression.

    Pain is part of the human experience and, like all other emotions it fosters expression. Like all other expressions of emotions ”blues” has beauty and meaning and at one time or another will be relevant to all of us.