Christmas Season Travel Report: A Balmy Winter Day in New Orleans (And It’s My Birthday)

<Why, hello!> she said. Just another balmy Winter day in NOLA.

     Today is a balmy Winter day in New Orleans. Mornings in this city feel hazy and not quite woken up. It’s a city of the nighttime and in the morning everyone’s either leaving a bar to go home or someone’s yawning and stretching, trying to come alive. Here are pictures I took of friends and me coming alive in this crescent 🌙 city. It’s also my birthday today. I’m forty years old. Or, forty years young — as we like to say it.

***

I’m traveling with two teacher friends of mine - Michelle and Lauren. They both convinced me it would be a good idea to celebrate Winter break and my birthday in New Orleans. So here we are at the Palace Café on Canal Street. 

I have two old friends from New Orleans, Tony, and André to share the day. That’s me in the middle of the photo. It’s refreshing to see familiar faces in a familiar city. I’m happy. Let me know in the comments if you can read my shirt. 

PDF Copy for Printing

Christmas Eve Bonfire Along the Mississippi River Levee in St. James Parish, Louisiana

Along the Corps of Engineers engineered  Mississippi earthen levee stretching from Paulina, Lutcher, Gramercy to LaPlace, Louisiana folks have constructed wooden effigies which they properly light up on the evening before Christmas.

     People share stories, drink a beer, and get close to the heat. Kids run amok and adults are in a carefree mood. It’s Christmastime in Louisiana!

     Fireworks go off and the levee is set ablaze at exactly 7 o’clock on Christmas Eve.

     Standing on the slope of the earthen levee it’s possible to see the bonfires stretch out for miles.

Photograph: Ernie Childhood Toy Spotted at the Museum of the Moving Image

I had this Ernie puppet toy growing up — it was manufactured by Topper Toys in 1972 — mine was a handme down from my older brother. I liked Ernie (better than Bert). Watching Sesame Street as a kid, Ernie was the lovable one while Bert was irascible and perennially annoyed. Ernie was definitely the better guy for me. The toy is made from rubber and polyester. What's the main idea? Toys influence a life. I felt a visceral response seeing this same toy in the Museum of the Moving Image @movingimagenyc.

PDF Copy for Printing

To Thine Ownself Be True

I'm not pensive. Usually. Read what I write. Comment. Rant. Share. But, whatever you do, remember to support teachers,  writers, and artists.

PDF Copy for Printing

Photograph: The Constellation Orion Hangs in the Late Autumn Nighttime Sky

"Hitch your wagon to a star."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fall Night Sky 🌌 in Nassau County - The constellation Orion, named after the agile Greek hunter, is easily visible in the night sky. Look for him. Also, I’m happy this photograph came out so crisp and clean.

PDF Copy for Printing

Photograph: Looking Out the Window at Night

Windows. Side windows. Curtains. Basketball bounces define the streets of the city. Conversations. Night walking. Visions. Of Joanna.

PDF Copy for Printing

You Talk Too Much: On the Pleasures of Logorrhea

Wherein I expound on the pleasures and gains of excessive talking.

Is Silence Golden?

Common wisdom says silence is golden. I respect the virtue of a silent tongue. For example - silent meditation is divine. In the morning, I like to think in the quiet nil of the morning. However, there is also a perverse virtue in talking a lot. Talking relieves pressure and it helps the mind sort out ideas. Talking is enjoyable and it’s a salient way to test out new ideas and words (and stuff). I’m often told I talk too much (if you know me well, reading that last part will make you grin). I don’t think loose lips 👄 sink ships. I think talk should be loose. Otherwise how can you get closer to the truth? 

Let Talking Dance!

Talking lets you dance between binaries. Find value in common sense. I’d wither in a world of oppressive silence. Now. Don’t get me wrong. Quiet spaces are wonderful. Today all my kiddos were each reading books they’d chosen. Silently. But. Afterward, we were laughing and crying - sharing what we read! I’d be cheeky to say everything in moderation (because I think moderation is overrated). Go be loquacious. Don’t think about what you want to say. Free associate. But dip into the silence if you want to. But when there’s talking join the fray. It’ll boost societal health. Try it.

Random Fun Facts I Learned Today

1. Satan is an anagram for Santa.

2. Afghanistan is a land-locked country.

3. "-stan" means country in Persian.

4. The word "typewriter" can be written using only the top row keys of a QWERTY typewriter. 

5. China has city populations of millions-of-people-and-more than any other modern country.

6. The English word "goodbye" originally comes from "Go with God".

7. French fries are called "pomme frites" in France. Not French fries.

8. The Belgians are the first people to actually innovate on the fried potato.

9. The word "philosophy" derives from ancient Greek and it literally means "love of wisdom".

10. Braille can be found on the support columns of most New York City subway stations to help blind people read the names of stations.

11. People once thought that maggots spontaneously generated from rotten meat.

12. Quasars are the brightest and most distant objects in the known universe.

13. Dorothy in the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz books wears silver slippers (not ruby ones).

14. The capital of China is Beijing. If you translate the name of the city it literally means "North Capital".

15. Contrary to popular belief, an astronaut living inside the International Space Station won't be able to see the Great Wall of China from space. 

PDF Copy for Printing