Less than a month after we returned from our almost month long venture in Louisiana, it was hit by a hurricane that tested all of the repairs New Orleans had made after Katrina destroyed many of the systems that keep this city from being underwater.
My friend, Bart Everson stayed to defend New Orleans, while his partner and daughter came back to where they just vacationed, my hometown. At this point, they are all seasoned New Orleanians but I was still worried.
They moved after Katrina to a nicer home, but it isn’t too far away from their old one, which had roughly 6 feet of water in it due to the levee’s failing.
Utility Room by Editor B
This is what I was worried about. This is what I was concerned about. That’s an image of the interior of their home after Katrina. Being the God like creature he is, my friend was able to score a press pass and sneak into the city while it was closed to everyone. It was then when he took this photo and cleaned out the entire first floor of his home. It was the contributing factor in the saving of the home.
Most of my concerns were relieved however, as my friend is fine. The only real damage that he knows of to their home is that their little free library was destroyed, and the TV antenna on top of their roof was taken by the hurricane winds.
Power was restored to their home yesterday, but half a million are still without power. He announced shortly after we left that he is running for city council in New Orleans, on his platform that has awed and inspired me for decades. One of living with nature, instead of against it as we have for hundreds of years.
He posted this right before the hurricane hit
This man has been an inspiration to me since I was literally 11 years old. Even though that inspiration has shifted from star struck wonder to that of true friendship, it amazes me that he is able to still be that beacon of light to me. I would vote for him if I were able.
The Crescent City has wooed me with her charms, and shaken up so many things that were cores to my beliefs. Bart moved there because he couldn’t stand the cold, I’m oddly comfortable there because I have issues with midwestern heat.
My thoughts and my heart are with all of those in the south and northeast who were affected by Hurricane Ida.
On this date in 1951, my father was born. In the sixty-three years he roamed this earth he had many adventures. Adventures I’m sure would have continued had his heart not beat it’s last beat in 2014.
It was a fitting way to memorialize him, by placing all of the things he loved on his marker
This day has become a solemn day for me. Primarily because it was always a day of excitement before the old man kicked the bucket. I loved celebrating my dad’s day of birth. I no longer have that same feeling of excitement.
My father worked hard, and lived even harder. The tales he told of eating piles of mashed potatoes at the Westinghouse cafeteria, boxes of girl scout cookies or entire boxes of Twinkies for lunch were plentiful. While I didn’t know it when I was younger really, my father also smoked until he passed. His last pack of cigarettes are still in his truck where he left them. I tried to get my parents to switch to vaping, but neither of them enjoyed it.
Knowing the things that led to his downfall, have given me clear signs of what to avoid. I used to have my own snack cake addiction, Zebra cakes to be exact. I used to drink soft drinks like it was going out of style. I no longer do that.
He was the kind of man that never met a stranger, and it annoyed the hell out of me. It’s the exact reason why I am not as open. Quick visits to the grocery store or gas station could take hours.
I often wonder what dad would think of the life I have rebuilt from the ashes of his passing and my eventual divorce. If he is proud of his one and only child. It’s a bit of torture that goes through my head each and every day.
Anyway, happy birthday old man. I love you, we didn’t say that enough to each other. We had our own way, and I don’t think that can be captured with someone else again.
Last Wednesday while at work, I stood up to go meet a faculty member for a session on familiarizing him with the new technology in our new building. That’s when it happened. My back started hurting tremendously. To the point where I laid down in the gurney that just happened to be in the classroom I was in.
For the rest of that day, it was just intense back pain. Of course it couldn’t stop there though. The next day, I began having intense pains in my left thigh whenever I would bear weight on both legs. This then proceeded to move to my hip.
Upon this movement, I reached out to my primary care physician and asked to get an appointment as soon as possible. They called me quite swiftly, and I was able to get an appointment the next Monday.
Meanwhile, I just laid around. Moving from bed to couch and vice versa. No OTC pain medications would help, so I did my best to keep from receiving the pain at all.
At my appointment, my doctor said the left side of my back was “very tight” when compared to the right. My blood pressure was through the roof too, at 150/110. She had me do bends, moving to the back or left resulted in levels of pain that I could not bear. She provided me with a prescription for steroids, and told me to call her if I was not better within a week.
Under this amount of pain, it has been impossible for me to physically go to work, I have done my best to do as many things remotely as possible. Working at a medical school, those I work for are understandable.
Here it is, late Thursday and the pain has subsided substantially. It is still there, but I no longer let out moans of pain uncontrollably when taking steps. I’m going to give it a go tomorrow and see how it goes. Right now is crunch time for me, taking a day off in August when you work in higher education is a bad thing.
On our last “adventure day” on our wonderful get away, we did something I always wanted to do, we went on a legitimate Mississippi river boat. It was also July 4th, our nations birthday. I found this to be the best way to celebrate our country, to learn about one of the first engines of our capitalist nation.
While I wanted to go on the Natchez, it’s apparently out of service with “The City of New Orleans” fulfilling it’s duties for the time being. I chose the Sunday brunch cruise, not too early not too late. Perfect for us.
The line to board took me this far away
Personally, I had a blast. The adults enjoyed the food, which included grits that were so fine I originally thought they were mashed potatoes, red beans and rice and jambalaya.
The interior was pure 19th century recreated
While not an actual steam boat, The City of New Orleans gives you a similar experience, with it’s paddle wheel and large stacks.
Kira was originally scared of the paddle wheel, out of a fear of something I had done earlier when we went to the Children’s museum. Amelia showed her that it was nothing to be scared of, and I assured her that I would not throw her overboard or hurt her in any way, and she relaxed.
I can see it in her eyes, “don’t throw me into this thing.”
The cruise involved a jazz band, who’s music was streamed all over the ship on TV and audio, they were stationed on the 3rd deck. There was also a gentleman who narrated the history about the areas we were traveling through and past.
Many onboard, didn’t take the food option and grabbed seats on the decks instantly, so we didn’t have the opportunity to find a “good” place to see the sights on the river, but that was okay. I didn’t take too many photos because I was again on water, and after the swamp tour I was a bit on edge.
While there are some changes, I can only imagine this is somewhat similar as to what people saw hundreds of years ago as they came to the French Quarter.
The French Quarter from the Mississippi River
This is definitely something I would recommend any family do if vacationing in New Orleans. It was nice and fun, suitable for all ages. Not something that is applicable for all things New Orleans.
I’m thankful Amelia gave me some good photos, it’s such a rare thing anymore
The next day we planned our exit strategy and packed up. It was a wonderful time in the crescent city. The big easy pulled all of her charms on me, and opened my mind on so many things that had been closed for years.
After getting back from our jaunt to Florida, we took a day to rest. We got back late, and were all exhausted.
We took two day trips to two uniquely different locations that are as far south in Louisiana as you can go. Following The Great River Road, led us to Venice, LA where they even have a sign.
If you look closely, you can literally see the end of the road.
There isn’t much to do in this area of Louisiana, but there is much to see, to take in, to experience. With the loss of swamp lands due to the engineering of the Mississippi river, these lands could not exist within a few years.
The area is primarily filled with bunk hotels and heliports for oil rig workers. There are also many echoes of the past, with buildings that have been destroyed by hurricanes. Some are time capsules of sorts, as they appear untouched.
There is one pretty interesting place on the way to Venice however, Fort Jackson. There is another fort across the Mississippi river from it, but we had no way to access it. It was wet, and so we did not have an opportunity to access the interior of the fort itself.
From Wikipedia
We parked at the entrance and proceeded down the wood bridge to the gate, unknowing what we would find. The area was flooded, and it was soon fairly obvious to us that we were not going to be able to enter.
What we arrived to. The wheels were used originally to open the door that protected the fort
I didn’t know that any American forts ever had moats, but this one did. We then ventured over to the cannon battery as it looked like something we could catch a case of tetanus on.
It had some very hard to read but interesting plaques and memorials on it. Most of which I still have not read fully.
The views from the gun battery helped show the fort in better contrast. It’s very old, damaged from hurricanes, but it still stands today. I didn’t even know about this place until I was reading a very interesting story on the destination I was heading towards.
We didn’t visit the museum that is just down the road from the fort, but did stop at this very interesting memorial, which sits on the bank of the Mississippi river.
Walking up to it, I thought an animal tried to attack meCavelier De La Salle 1640-1687
On our way out, we then made notice of these brick and earth shelters that littered the grounds outside of the fort proper. I could only assume that they were storage bunkers for things such as gunpowder and ammunition. They were wildly fascinating to me.
The next day, we went to the other southern tip of Louisiana, Grand Isle.
I did all of the driving, so I was unable to get any photos of our trips to either destinations. This trip was more residential however, and was filled with plenty of ship yards. It was quite fascinating. The last leg of the journey involved a toll bridge, that I honestly didn’t mind paying the toll to use. The views were quite breathtaking. Now mind you, this wasn’t a regular bridge. This was a several mile long, Louisiana bridge.
Then we made it. Lyndsey and I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, and thought it was adorable that all of the homes along the main drag had names. I noticed a trailer park that had all of the trailers in the air about 25 feet, with further reinforcements so the trailer did not fly off it’s supports. I had never seen anything like that before.
We proceeded to the state park, where we just made it in time. They were about to close the gate for the evening. There isn’t much to the park itself, there is a camping section, and a day use section. We ventured to the fishing pier where I enjoyed the views of the oil drilling platforms in the distance.
The Deepwater Horizon was out there somewhere…..The fishing pier is very photogenic
Just when we got there, a dolphin was almost at the shore line. The image I got would make you wonder, but others said it was a dolphin and not a shark.
Da da…….da da………She’s was in heaven when by the sea
We then made the arduous journey back to defend New Orleans which was made very complicated. The road we had taken in was closed on our way back. We didn’t learn this until our GPS took us to a complete dead end. For a while we were driving blind, in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t until after about 30 minutes or so that we were shown signs of detours. This detour took us to Houma, where we ate and then continued on our way.
One thing I noticed on our way back on both trips was what I only assume is one of the protective systems Louisiana has. At one point, I noticed a large door/gate that blocked the entire road off which was accompanied by a levee the same height as the door/gate. I found this very fascinating and interesting at the same time.
Not literally, but in a way. In actuality, an alligator did. But I’ll get to that later.
After our day at the museum, we got organized and made some plans we both couldn’t cancel and had hard timelines on. We were to have a day split with time in the French Quarter and on a Swamp Tour, something a friend of mine had told me many times to do.
Since I had been to the French Quarter before, and we had some tight timelines, I decided it would be best to drive and park in the French Quarter. I found us a parking garage we could park in that was just a block away from Jackson Square, and pre-paid. We had this block of time, there was no going back. We decided that we were going to split up, each parent with their child. Go do things we wanted to do. But there was a slight hiccup, Lyndsey left her phone at the house, something we didn’t realize until we got there. To go back we would lose about an hour of time, so to hell with it.
Amelia and I instantly went to our place, Stanley. I didn’t get the picturesque photo that I got last time, but it’ll do.
We had our breakfast, and were on our way. When we came in 2019, we really didn’t do much. So we explored the French Quarter as much as we could. Stopping at many of the gift shops along the way. Google maps wasn’t of much help, as it kept changing orientation on me. So we made some disorganized criss cross motions around the southern end of the place.
We stopped at the Museum of Death, which was cool but nothing awe inspiring in my opinion. They do have David Koresh’s band shirt, which is pretty cool.
We then made our way to The Art of Dr. Seuss, part of the Angela King Gallery. It was a small space, but my eyes were in heaven. They had lots of pieces that I found highly interesting, but one stood above the rest. I found it curious as it had no price tag on it. It was from my favorite Seuss book, “Green Eggs & Ham.” I had to ask, I had to prod.
“Would you? Could You? In a Car?” Arabian Edition
It was apparently the only copy remaining for sale. I was told that any works where duplicates were made are all done in limited copies. The price they gave was something I could handle, and so I bought it. I had it shipped to my home, just receiving it a few days ago.
By this time, we were both getting hot and we needed some hydration. Trying to find a place where you and your underage daughter can sit down and drink something non-alcoholic in the French Quarter isn’t an easy task, but I found a Oyster Bar on Royal street that let me do just that. Amelia had water and Sprite while I had water and a Hurricane, because why not?
I then started getting messages from Lyndsey, via her watch. She kept telling me where she was, but I was not getting cross streets to get a proper location. It appeared that her and Kira had went the polar opposite direction as Amelia and I did. After some back and forth, I settled up and we made our way to find them. When I reached them, they were both hot, thirsty and hungry. I wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe earlier, but knew they were closed. So I thought we’d stop by there, grab some grub and then head to our next destination. By the time we made it there, we discovered that they didn’t serve food until 4pm.
So I decided we would cut our losses and get out of dodge, with the traffic in the quarter – we were pushing making it to our swamp tour. We drove to the nearest place everyone could agree on and/or eat at. I just drank copious amounts of fluids to re-hydrate myself.
We made it to the location of our swamp tour just in time. After getting our wristbands, we sat and waited until the boats were ready. Something had happened to the boat we were originally scheduled to use, which bothered Lyndsey, as the boat we were on was a little larger than the one we were to be on.
Our Boat
There were many warnings about either locking things in your car, or making sure they are zippered, as items have been known to get lost on these tours. We were going along, having a blast. We would stop in locations and our guide would throw out marshmallows and hotdogs. The alligators faces would soften up, and act like puppies that were trying to steal food from the table. It was adorable.
He then popped out a little stowaway, a baby alligator. Lyndsey felt like she was in heaven, and Amelia smiled – which is rare anymore. I refrained, but relished in their happiness.
Recall what I mentioned about things being lost? I had put everything but my wallet inside a zippered pocket of my shorts. Through all of the bumps and hits that you get on an airboat, my wallet slowly but surely slipped out of my back pocket. While we were sitting still, there was a noise on my side of the boat. Someone stated they thought it was a fish jumping out of the water, then someone else said, “no it’s that guys wallet.” I happened to be “that” guy. Just then, a large alligator came to the boat, coming right up to me.
Everyone thinks that gator ate my wallet. Our guide told me that the wallet was in about 5 feet of water, and that if he felt like there was a chance to retrieve it, he would have. He kept apologizing to me, but there wasn’t much that could be done. Sure, it dampened my spirits but there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to proceed forward and enjoy things as best I could.
I had fun on the swamp tour, but spent the rest of the time trying to figure out how I would get my credit cards, ID and other items I keep in my wallet back. This created a real situation for us the next day as I had booked us a hotel room in Panama City Beach so I could see a friend who had moved away.
I kept repeating this phrase when on our vacation. I’m not one to like normal tourist spots, do normal tourist things. Even when I am the tourist. The next day we planned on going to the French Quarter, do some exploring and some shopping. We woke up late and not feeling the best – but we sure had to do something. XY (That’s Christy for the uninitiated) told me that they just built a new children’s museum at City Park, so we went for it.
For those who have never been, City Park in New Orleans is amazing. I would go to New Orleans just to visit that park.
We started the way we started many of our days, with a visit to Café Du Monde, as they have a location at City Park that’s laid back, easy to access and hello did you even read the title?
Located in the Casino Building
After the beignets were consumed, we carried on to the Louisiana Children’s Museum. XY wasn’t wrong, the place was new and mighty interesting.
The kids and I had fun with these chairs, the fog is actually an art installation and provides a cooling effect
The building was made to be as earth friendly as possible, and it shows. I appreciated the thoughtfulness in the design.
Speaking of design, the main entry doors even have a door specifically made for children. It was adorable as it is thoughtful.
Kira felt embarrassed, but I thought it was the cutest thing in the world.
The main lobby is a little blah for my tastes, but once you get to the primary areas it’s a hit. The first floor didn’t have much that intrigued our 11 year old brewing drama queens except for a really awesome magnifying station. The rest of the space was more for the younger kiddies.
Next to this were shelves filled with jars of things to discover.
The design continued with the windows for the building, which is full of to let in natural light and help eliminate the need for heating systems. There are a few windows that are larger on the outside than on the inside, causing an opportunity for the photogenic mind.
Where’d the rest of her body go?
We then went upstairs, where they had a “toy” replica of Jackson Square, a large bubble machine, a music room and a really fascinating recreation of the Mississippi river.
Someone could have a lot of fun with this and Photoshop
I really loved the umbrellas hanging in the air.
Their interpretation of the river was great for all ages. So much so, that the kids (ours included) got in trouble for attempting to flood New Orleans.
We then ventured outside, which is really the beauty of the museum and City Park. We first took the path northward, leading to a floating classroom. There was a marsh like area that had Adirondack chairs, so I made myself comfortable. There were sight glasses, where Kira did some turtle watching as well.
I spy with my little eye.
We then made our way back to the museum, and explored the southern portion, taking a bridge to the labyrinth.
Kira was not impressed
The girls had more fun with the ducks and birds around the area though. Cries of “oh my he’s so cute, I want to get close to him.” Were heard more than anything else.
We then went back to our “house” and rested, and had dinner. We just had a big day. Children’s museums are always a big energy suck for parents.
We then made some plans for the evening. First up, dessert. The first place on my mind, Angelo Brocato’s. This place makes genuine gelato, and has since it first opened it’s doors in 1905. Thankfully it was just a few blocks away from the house we were sitting. Mid-City has everything you need I tell you.
There’s a marker on the door of how high the water level was during Katrina.
After getting our fill of sweets, we made our way over to The Broad Theater, on the recommendation of XY. A place that’s not even a thing around here, a theater with a bar. We watched Cruella and I had a beer.
It was a good day in the Crescent City. The Big Easy really wooed us, and we miss it.
After our glorious evening at the Westin hotel in Huntsville, we headed due south with a destination of Montgomery Alabama. No, we weren’t there to see something about the Bus Boycotts, or any other historical site. We were simply there to see a friend outside of town.
That friend is Hank Williams, who is buried just outside of town.
The grave of Hank Williams, and his wife Audrey Williams.
For those who don’t know, Hank Williams is often times referred to as the godfather of country music. Before him was Jimmy Rodgers, the real question to me is who he passed the torch to exactly. Growing up as I did, one side of my family listened to old school country, where the other was all classic rock & roll.
You’re probably curious about the AstroTurf. The story goes that upon Williams’ death (which is a tale of the trouble with the life of a music star) fans would come to his grave and take blades of grass, to the point where no grass ever grew there.
In-between his parents graves, Hank Williams, Jr. (a country music star of his own right) placed a plaque asking visitors to be respectful.
Alan Jackson forever memorialized this spot in his song “Midnight in Montgomery.”
It’s actually the reason why the title of this post is “A Friend Outside of Town.” This song had a tremendous impact on my views of music that came before me, and when I really dug deep into the genre.
I had to take the opportunity to give personal thanks to a man who directly and indirectly impacted the way music has touched my life. Music that continues to impact people’s lives around the world.
We then continued on our way to New Orleans, where we spent the evening with my friends in their home. They left the next morning.
I was finally able to be a man of my word to the man who gave me my first blog. When Amelia and I visited for a short period in 2019, I told him I would house-sit for him while he took his vacation, then a worldwide pandemic happened.
We spent 25 days out and about. Primarily staying in and around New Orleans, but making stops in Huntsville, AL, Panama City Beach, FL and Pensacola Beach, FL. We also took day trips to Venice, LA (on the Great River Road) and to Grand Isle, LA.
B has told me over the years that Louisiana during June and July is highly humid, I can’t remember the term he used exactly but it was meant as a warning. That said, now that I have returned – the peculiar weather conditions in the south are actually better for me than those of the midwest. I was able to do all the things there, where I cannot here.
I’m very confused at this point. This is the first part of many writings on this 25 day vacation.
If this pandemic did anything to me professionally, it showed me and many others how important the role of technology plays in our everyday lives in this abundantly interconnected world.
Many were given the opportunity to work from home. I did too, but many times I didn’t have a choice. I had to go to the office and take care of a situation.
Now, as we are starting to see real traction on the other side of this my responsibilities have been increased. Responsibilities that sometimes cannot be managed by a single person physically, as it’s impossible to be in multiple locations at a single time. My frustrations were just below the surface until I received an email newsletter that is sent to people in my division, UITS.
This email literally is talking about me
This was how I learned of this happening. I didn’t get an email from my manager, my director didn’t send an email to the department letting them know of this. There were 0 official communications on the subject.
Roughly a year ago my manager asked me how I felt about / if I think I could manage Nursing, but later on told me that Nursing wanted to keep with their current model.
Then about a month or so ago, my printer guy who has also been the IT person for Nursing told me that there was some plan to hire him under my department as the IT person for Nursing. He said that it was all hush hush and that nothing was official yet.
When I received that email however, it threw me into a fit of rage. In the last 6 months I have been named the “Lead IT Support Person” for an entire building and now, whether they want to admit it or not I have to support the entire School of Nursing. Even if we hire that guy, if something happens – the responsibility will fall directly on my shoulders.
So I did what I’m known for. I sent a long email to my director and manager stating my issues and my concerns. I don’t think my director fully understood – but my manager did. When I was young, such things would have gotten me fired from a position, which happened to me several times. But at IU, holding truth to power is many times embraced; and I for one appreciate that.
I’m appreciative for what I have, but I have had to navigate all of this with no increases in wages. IU suspended cost of living wages last year, but they are slated to begin again this year. I’m starting to feel that I’m in a similar spot as to the one I was in around 2017, when I learned that two people who I helped hire for positions based off of mine were earning 13k more a year than I was. It felt like a slap in the face.
All of this has led to costs for me personally, as my energy levels have plummeted. A typical day for me is to go to work and then lay in bed for most of the evening when I return home. Sleeping most of that time. The most recent revelation is that I am in a lot of pain doing small tasks, such as walking to my vehicle, standing up, etc. This pain lasts for hours after the event. I do not know what is going on with me; and it is seriously scaring me. I have reached out to my physicians and hope to do something to start mitigation of this by the time we leave for our first vacation in 2 years.
