A Detoriation of Culture

I first visited New Orleans in 1996, the city had a sincere charm. Going into the French Quarter was an experience, but you weren't taking your life into your own hands. Originally I thought I visited in 1994 but realized that when I returned from New Orleans, my ex-wife had told me she was pregnant for the third time; this pregnancy lead to the birth of my little girl. So with the date clear, it's amazing to me how much the city has changed. The convention center was not here, the Quarter was a fun place to visit, and there wasn't as many officers around.


Patrolling the city, are N.O. (New Orleans not NO) police are everywhere. They were at about every block along Canal Street, and plentiful in the Quarter. But now it seems that there are numerous reports of people being mugged at gunpoint in the Quarter. Aside from the violence, sex is now a big trade in the Quarter. Larry Flynt's Hustler outlets are everywhere on Bourbon street. During the day they do what they can to attract men, and women, for what ever you desire. While prostitution is illegal, according to some that visited, it's available from these venues. In addition to all of this, there is an open container law for the Quarter; no glass bottles and all labeled alcoholic beverages have to be in a paper bag. Otherwise, drink anything to your heart's content.



And drink they do. Last night, my second trip down Bourbon street, there was a rather large African-American woman hunched over her belly, sitting on a step to the sealed entrance to a bar with music being played so loud it could be heard for two city blocks. This lady was out. She had a few shopping bags and a very large drink nearby. She was out. Patrolling the Quarter is difficult among the masses of people. So the N.O. Police use horse mounting officers. That in and of itself makes for an interesting dynamic because these horses have no issue with dumping their bowels onto the street without a moment's notice. So, there is puke, piss, and horse crap everywhere. What a wonderful place to visit.


The American visitors take notice of the variety of bodily functions on the street. But the Chinese don't seem to care. They walk through the horse dung as if it were a normal thing to do. This may be one clue as to why they periodically have an intense odor about them. Each store front is like the next along Bourbon street, filthy, typically dimly lit, and loud music coming from the core of the establishment. Last night a group of us decided to stop and have a few drinks. I enjoyed a mango Margaretta which was delicious. Needless to say it did not calm my nerves. The place seems like a hell hole, that lots of people enjoy. Definitely not a family place, a significant difference from what I remembered 14 years ago.


The Quarter still has some awesome places to eat, but they seem to be less numerous. According to some of the locals, many of the better restaurants have moved from the Quarter into the city due to the clientele that's available in the Quarter. So there is now no cluster of great restaurants in one small area; they are spread throughout the city. That's good for the city, but it's bad for tourists; it made it more difficult to find the places most would like to consider as typical of New Orleans. This does open opportunities for other restaurants, and I was astounded at my luck in finding hole in the walls that were as outstanding as some of the more advertised places. I ate enough oysters to fill a bucket, yet with the variety of ways to prepare them, it would have made Bubba proud.

Overall, the city seems to have lost some charm, but it's still well worth the visit.

After posing this, Jim Carson noticed he could not link in a few photos. So Three of his photos were included here. The first is Margaret Haughery (of New Orleans) Sculpture unveiled July 9, 1884, the second is a sculpture that was located outside of the convention center (a Tree House), and the last is Jean Baptiste LeMoyne de Bienville, founder of New Orleans.

Stupid People Abound

When i arrived in New Orleans, I immediately headed to get my luggage then to determine how to get to the hotel. There was no shuttle from the hotel, so that was not a possibility. I was left with three options; rent a car, get a taxi, or take a "hotels" shuttle. Renting a car was not in my travel authorization, so it was either a taxi or this shuttle. According to the hotel the cost of a cab is $33 to the hotel. The shuttle is $20. In fact, I later find out that the first two people in a cab is still only $33. So why not double up? Stupidity according to the rather irate taxi driver I had taken from the Lois Armstrong International Airport to my hotel.

At the outset of my trip to downtown, my taxi driver is yelling at me in some foreign tongue of how stupid the travelers are. I guess I'm just a sucker because I didn't look for someone else to ride with, but I was not about to take the "shuttle" because the shuttle takes people to a number of different hotels. So instead of waiting up to an hour to get to my hotel, I went by taxi.

On my way into the city, I saw the superdome, and all sorts of rather seedy places. When I arrived at my hotel, I checked in, requested my refrigerator that was part of my reservation, went to my room and unpacked and got ready to go to the convention center. According to my taxi driver the convention center was only 6 or 7 blocks away, so I considered walking until the hotel staff told me that there were special buses to the center. So I waited.

While waiting at the hotel, I noticed something rather odd. In the center of Canal street there are trolley car tracks, on solid concrete and metal tracks. On these tracks were walking two older people, a couple I think, with canes! They were walking along a rail line, more like hobbling along it, with canes. The first thought in my mind was these people were either trying to commit suicide, or they were just plain stupid. The more I thought about it, I think it's the latter.

Another rather interesting and stupid situation that continues to defy imagination, is the U-turns our buses make in the center of the streets to take us to the convention center. It is something to see. Tonight, our driver actually stood up in her seat to ensure she did not hit a parked car on the side of the road. All the other drivers simply backed up to make sure they missed the cars. They move these buses like they are small cars, agile. As a rider, it's scarier than riding in a taxi. It's just good to know that stupidity abounds in the human race, and Darwin's principles of evolution continue.

Heading to New Orleans

Ever since November 2004, I've been attending the international conference for Super Computing. I've traveled to Seattle, Tampa, Austin, Reno, Portland (OR), and now New Orleans. Each new trip is an adventure, and one in which I get an opportunity to taste the foods of the local fare. Exploring the variety of cultures in America is exciting as well, because they each have an underlying root - the United States.

My trip began as usual, hastily attempting to pack the variety of clothes, toiletries, medications, media tools, and additional items to help make my trip successful. Each time I travel for more than a few days, I find myself needing drinks, glucose supplements (candy), and foods. To accommodate these, I usually bring my own plastic ware so I am not having to take or abscond with hotel items that are needed. But this trip, as in any trip I take, I forgot the utensils. I did bring Koolaid packs with Splenda, and wired hookup devices so I could listen to my iPod from a TV or even a clock radio. The last has proven futile, the former timely.

The flight from Richmond to Charlotte was uneventful, except to note that the colors of the trees are more vivid than I could ever remember. And from the skies above, the view was breath taking. Of course, I debated about taking my camera on this trip and now wish I had brought it so I could have taken some shots from the sky to include in this post. Suffice it to say, the magenta, orange, and yellows made for an orange globe, not a green one in our neck of the woods.

The flight from Charlotte was uneventful as well, except to note that I had a 3 hour lay over in Charlotte. I didn't think about that when I made the arrangements, but it worked out for me because I was able to do some work. The interesting thing to me is that in the variety of places I've traveled almost no airport offers free wireless internet. Now, Charlotte (CLT) does and it is really a plus to get a connecting flight. It's a big airport, but with time to waste and a free internet connection, the time "flys".

In a recent discussion with someone I was told that New Orleans still suffers from Katrina; it smells like sewage. To me, it does not and I have a keen sense of smell. In fact, I was able to pick up the scent of donuts being eaten about 30 minutes prior, when greeting some colleagues here. What did strike me as rather odorous was the fact that everyone here seems to be smoking. I walked for 3 blocks last night behind a set of 5 young couples, where three of the men were smoking cigars. Now I'm not too opposed to it, but it was like walking behind a freight train spewing smoke and ash. I was covered with the stench and it was so thick I could taste it. Not to mention what others seemed to be smoking was akin to wacky weed. It made for a rather interesting night.

So New Orleans to me, in 14 years, has not changed. It's as loud as it ever has been, and the smells are the same. Cajun cooking abounds, tobacco products are used extensively, and the city seems to be the same unethical place it always has been.

What This Blog Contains

Ever since my trip to France in the summer of 2010 to take my daughter to see her aunt and uncle as part of her Bat Mitzvah gift from my parents, he grandparents, I've begun to perceive my environment differently. I blogged during that trip and have 31 posts for 15 days of travel. Obviously I had a lot to say, and a lot happened in 15 days, both before the trip, during, and after the trip. So, the initial blog I started was the foundation of more topics and sights I've experienced that I ever expected.

Beginning to blog has made a difference in me as well. This is a forum for me to put my thoughts down in a somewhat orderly fashion where others can read them. It is not a diary - I keep that at work and call it a Journal. Rather, this is a place that if you like to read about what I have experienced or learned, then I consider it more of a source of information. Of course, since its my perspective, there is probably a slant to the writing, though I do attempt to remain objective. To that end, if someone wants to comment, please by all means do. My brothers have had comments, both constructive and destructive, and I try to understand all perspectives and wishes of those individuals, ideas, topics, and experiences. So if there is something that moves you, let me know - it's an opportunity to share a thought.

Finally, this particular blog is really focused on my travels. Throughout my life thus far, I have traveled to California, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Washington D. C., West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado in the US, as well as international destinations like Ontario, Canada, The United Kingdom (England), France, and Monaco. Yet my memory fades from time to time, so this is a place I will put my memories for safe keeping.