I Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans

I have to admit, I was terrified when the letter came. I had no idea what I had done to offend the Supreme Court of Louisiana, but I was sure I had. My grandpa and my parents were so excited by it that they wanted to open it without me. As it turns out, they were inviting me down to New Orleans to give me an award for volunteering down there after Katrina.

After a bit of trying to decide whether to actually go, my sister and I made the 14 hour drive down on the Friday before the ceremony. That meant it was going to be a crazy weekend rush. Drive down on Friday, come back Monday night. It didn't hit me how happy I was to be in NOLA till we were driving down Magazine St. It almost felt like going home. We got to eat lunch at Parasols, which my sister declared was the "dirtiest place she had ever eaten" and "the best sandwich ever" (shrimp po'boy, dressed). It was good to see that inspite of the crime and the total Assclown in charge, that New Orleans is making notable progress. However, it was a bit disheartening to see the St. Charles streetcar running only because the producers of K-Ville got the city to run it in front of where they were filming.

That night we waited in line for almost 2 hours to eat at Port of Call. It was almost worth the drive just for that meal. Afte that it was a fun night out in the French Quarter. The next day was a tad on the rough side, but we had Nacho Mama's for lunch before a walk around the Quarter in the day light. We capped the night off with some ice cream at the Creole Cremery.



Monday morning we went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee which, in a stunning New Orleans moment we got to enjoy on the Moonwalk with the Mississippi River on one side and a guy playing the sax on the other side of us. It was a beautiful fall morning. After that we wandered over the the St. Louis Cathedral. It was blocked off by a bunch of Secret Service looking types and LA State Police. As it turns out, it was the "Red Mass" or blessing of the judges. Right as we walked up the bells starting going off and a flood of clergy poured out followed by a mass of judges. After that we wandered around the French Market buying nicknacks for the people back home funding the junket. I managed to pick up a pretty cool little "Abogado" devil. The guy didn't seem to find as much humor in me buying an anti-lawyer charm as did.



The awards ceremony itself was nice. There were at least 100 names of volunteers printed in the program and around 20 of them showed up. I was expecting to get a handshake and maybe a certificate. I was a little shocked when I got a plaque and my picture taken with the Chief Justice of the LA Supreme Court. Afterwards, there was a reception coinciding with the LA judges reception. I stayed long enough to get thanked by a number of judges and attorneys.

It was quite an honor to get welcomed and awarded like that. I got involved with New Orleans becuase I was fortunate enough to make some great friends. I volunteered because I fell in love with the city the first moment I visited it. I only wish I could have seen it before Katrina. However, the New Orleans I know and love is still a wonderful and chaotic place. It's going to take more than just me volunteering down there to help preserve what is good about the city while repairing what is broken and wrong with it.