"Like rising vibes of an acid frenzy" as the Good Doctor would say, Mardi Gras Season is upon us. Soon you should expect your mother, sister, and hairdresser to revel at a level only they are fit to judge. Some will wantonly lose their minds, others will recoil like a purple, green, and gold Scrooge, and some will wander off somewhere in between returning with stories and tales only they can convey. So, let's have fun! While the rest of our shell shocked Trumpian nation wails, postures, and Orwellianly soils itself, we will be here swaddled in a blanket of booze, King Cake, and excess. This land, where most only hope to visit, will be our playground, our theater, our home! Let's be glad! Let's be grateful! Let's be gracious.
In 2015, a record number of Human Beings worked, saved, and waited to spend a record 7 billion dollars here in our beloved, crime stricken, below sea level Crescent City. After a day of commute, work, and then commute again, these junkies chose NOLA as the place to get their fix, and be advised, that is more money and more junkies than 2014! No matter the time, season, or circumstance people across the globe are traveling here to be with US and our city! They find us interesting. Even that complete asshole you work with, he is bestowed an issuance of cred when he says "I live in New Orleans." You'll immediately pull for the dork on Wheel of Fortune when he tells Sajack "I'm from New Orleans." Understand this you fiends! We live in a tourist city! Like an alcoholic Hajj, bucket list must, or return to the scene of a previous crime, revelers come here to celebrate! They celebrate things that probably have nothing to do with you! Weddings, birthdays, random Thursdays, or something that happened far far away! Go to MSY with a daiquiri and a chunk of beads and be prepared to make new friends. They are here to marvel and be jealous of the way and where we live!
What I'm ultimately admonishing and charging us all to be is welcoming ambassadors. Whether you're a gritty member of the Lollipop Guild, a card carrying Hipster shithead ready to belittle, or you're Wonka himself, help our newfound friends. If you spent two weeks in Okinawa and know how to say a few words, help out that Okinawan couple trying to find a bowl of gumbo. Let's say a concierge sends some marks to the BBQ shrimp spot he's paid to suggest, find a cool way to intervene. Daiquiris are way better and cheaper out of the Quarter. No chicks don't randomly and haphazardly flash their boobs no matter what you throw at them. Yes the roads are horrible, don't drive the rental into a pool of water. He's going to say "you've got them on you're feet!" It's pronounced "chop-a-tool-is!" Be kind to our alien friends, because we will miss them when they are gone....
Your post is wonderful! I visit New Orleans every year. Its like a second home to me and yet I have no relatives there. Nola beckon me, like a soft southern breeze. Thanks for writing this.