[tws]

I recently spent the weekend in New Orleans with an old friend.

Nothing can sound more like the beginning of some noir-ish novel or a song by Tom Waits or(in less fortunate circumstances) Billy Joel. I hadn’t been there in almost ten years, and it would go without saying to bring up the radical changes the city had undergone. Positively, though, much of the city’s vibrancy seemed like it never left, it just hid in the corridors and in the nightmares of New Orleans natives and resident besieged by nature a couple of years ago. Even when I was a kid trapped in a tourist bubble, the city seemed so full of wonder. Even though Gabriel Knight defined my perception of the city’s dark side rather than the evening news, I’ve always felt like I’ve had some form of unfinished business there. This weekend I accomplished a ton and was privileged to experience even more, and I still feel like I have a ton left to do and experience. I’ve only been to a handful of cities worldwide, but you just get the impression that no other city exists in the world like New Orleans, and they should be pretty damn proud of that. This place is more European than most cities in Europe. I can’t describe how incensed I get upon hearing the city get written off in the wake of Katrina. Somewhat reflective of Chris Rock’s joke, “Crack is destroying the ghetto? Like the ghetto was so nice before crack!” people still have the same things to worry about now as they did ten, twenty, or even one hundred years ago. Now, though, things are more in perspective, and I heard a number of natives’ unfortunate stories about “things they lost in the flood.” Some lost homes entirely, some lost loved ones, some (in the case of my buddy and TDC legend Ted’s comic book store clerk) lost plenty of rare collectible merchandise.

What didn’t change was the people’s resolve, and seeing just how many people are deeply involved in doing anything they can to give the less fortunate a leg up was downright gratifying. The Neighborhood Partnership Network and their newsletter (which Ted works for) The Trumpet are connecting people all over town that the tourists and the Bourbon St. urchins couldn’t give two shits about. Comics like the very funny Bill Dykes assemble high-quality benefits to help those still trying to get back on their feet, and even extend a generous opportunity for a random out-of-towner to share the stage in the heart of the French Quarter. Jacque-Imo’s brings people together to drink some Abita and eat expensive albeit DAMN good fried chicken and cornbread.
Below, I present one gracious visitor’s heavily abridged photographic journey over one long weekend in New Orleans.


French Quarter, late afternoon.


J, Lou, and Murph bring the noise at the House of Blues, Decatur St.


The Circle Bar.


DC’s own Borf makes a cameo on Broadway St at Loyola.

Cypress Grove Cemetery at dusk.


At the Oak St. Café before a delicious breakfast.


St. Charles and Louisiana.


Tyler, Ted, and Tom in the green room at One Eyed Jack's, French Quarter.


Their beignets are the most delicious fucking thing I’ve ever tasted.