Gracious Living
So much has been written about this city built below sea level, but unless one engages in the day-to-day living here, you don't get it.
What is that IT? The heat, the gifts from the lakes and streams, and the lushness of the semi-tropics? Or is it the inspiration drawn with each labored breath?
Wonder around the muse named streets, linger after sunset on the levies, draw a long breath in of night blooming jasmine, and taste a Creole tomato straight from the vine; you might begin to understand.
Better yet, get to really know the people. They are warm, from the sun, and the heart. There is something here that causes the heart to pump deeper. It is not the spicy cuisine, nor the fried foods; it is a connection to the Mother.
She has connected each one of us to the other. You can sense it pulsing through the old busted pipes under the broken streets. A rhythm that beats through the ground and keeps us marching toward the center. Sharing meals, celebrating vegetables, dancing in the streets, cheering on the visitors, urging others to laugh at themselves are the ways that Mother keeps us moving forward.
Even after the devastation know as Katrina; the people continue to embrace one another and our shared history.
Yes, we were criminals, prostitutes, and all sorts of adventurers from the beginning. It is precisely these rugged individuals who dared to live in the midst of such impossible geographic elements that birthed this city. These are the original sinners who forged this novel place at 29° 57' 15" N / 90° 4' 30" W.
More than a land mark, it is a place to taste and treasure.
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