Somebody went to New Orleans and all I got was this lousy t-shirt

My next post was going to be about all the road construction going on in New Orleans, but before I could do that, I was over on the Yellow Blog where I discovered that things are heating up over at the French Market. Comments made by the new director, Jon Smith, have angered some French Market vendors. The vendors were already ticked off by changes made in Market rules in 2012 and they filed a lawsuit which is still pending. This article just gives more proof to how screwed up things really are at the French Market.

One sentence made me take pause: "T-shirts also are prohibited, but a number of vendors who sold them before the ban went into effect were grandfathered in." Before Katrina, many, myself included, was lamenting over the proliferation of tacky, tourist t-shirt shops in the Quarter. These stores would cram dozens of t-shirts, usually with crude sayings on them (like these), in the doorway, all the while blasting music, sometimes Cajun, sometimes not. It was really getting out of control. Since Katrina, there's been a new explosion of t-shirt shops by local companies whose New Orleans themed t-shirts are geared to locals and tourist in the know. Stores like Fleurty Girl, Dirty Coast and Storyville to name a few. T-shirts are a hot commodity so it's surprising the Market would ban them.

Tacky t-shirts are no longer the only thing that scream tourist. What are the (tourist) symbols of New Orleans? Crawfish, something playing the saxophone and beads. Beads are no longer contained to Mardi Gras. The tacky t-shirt shops also sell beads, beads, beads. Feather boas are big too. The hot trend in conferences is in addition to your big old name badge and printed bag is a fake second line. There have been several times I've been down river when a brass band comes by with a handful of people decked out in beads and feather boas stumbling down the street behind them throwing beads. Like this company says on their web site: "We go beyond shutting down Canal Street for your own “second line” parade, bringing in voodoo priestesses to conjure your future and teaching you the Cajun two-step." Under Services one of the "Program Enhancements" they offer is a Jazz Funeral. Good grief.

"Remember: Rebuilding is a marathon, not a sprint."

I saw that on a law office sign on Carrollton Ave. while driving in Mid-City yesterday. A good reminder. We had a neighborhood association meeting Monday night and we have some very frustrated people in our neighborhood. We had 2 candidates come speak to us. Most people asked intelligent questions but there were a few that made you go "huh?" and feel sorry for the candidate. Maybe I shouldn't say "stupid" - isn't the saying "there are no dumb questions"- I should called them uninformed or just not thoroughly thought through. After the candidates left, it became more of a free-for-all, which is weird for our little laid back group. G was pretty good talking people down with facts and logic, though with a few it wouldn't sink in - that's what happens when you close you mind and refuse to consider a different perspective. Or maybe our group of neighbors have always been this way, now that I think about it; it was me and my patience (or lack of) that was different. When I got home from work that day, the front gate and the side gate to the back yard were both wide open. The side gate has a padlock. I called G to see if he was expecting anyone. No... and that's when I realized our copper downspouts had been stolen. I carefully looked around to make sure no one was still in our yard and if any windows looked broken. The coast looked clear. G came home and we checked everything else to see if anything was missing. Didn't look like it. I don't know if this is a problem in other parts of the country, but with the high cost of copper, people have been stealing stuff to sell at scrap yards.

So this is why my temper was short Monday night. I was pissed. And I have to say, our neighborhood was relatively unscathed by Katrina with no flooding, so I have little patience to listen to these people bitch and moan about the recovery and crime. And when our president asked if anyone wanted to head up a neighborhood crime watch, the room fell silent. Typical. Whine about stuff but don't step up the the plate. Yeah, I'm frustrated too people. Suck it up and if you can't, shut up, you're bringing me down. Argh...I'm getting myself all worked up all over again-can't be good for my blood pressure.

Whenever we travel, people asked "Why do you stay there? Why not move to another city?" All the cultural riches here and other good stuff aside, that would mean starting over somewhere else: new city, new friends, new jobs, plus, it's next to impossible to sell a house right now. So leaving, to us, is harder than staying. I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about leaving because I have. We've invested ourselves in this city and we've just got to hunker down and ride this out.

Hmmm... maybe I'll make a new t-shirt "Suck it up and if you can't, shut up, you're bringing me down." What do y'all think?