Mardi Gras. Today tends to be synonymous with one thing: Bourbon St. It never fails that each year the national news coverage of Mardi Gras always shows crowds of inebriated folks making poor decisions in the Quarter. Bourbon St. and the rowdiness of the Quarter is not the New Orleans I know though. Hands down, New Orleans is my favorite city. It has a pulse. It has an attitude. It has culture. It has a strong personality. It has community. It has jazz. It is a city that disgusts some, wrecks others, and entrances and inspires many.
When I was in grad school my advisor told me that he doubted I would ever leave New Orleans. It is one of those cities people come to for a short stint and never leave. It burrows itself down into your soul and you can't get away. For me, circumstances led me away from New Orleans, but I so often long to go back. Unfortunately, just visiting New Orleans does not do the trick for me. My love of New Orleans comes from living there, the day-to-day life. I love the community and being a part of the community is not something that can ever happen during a visit. Maybe someday I will find myself once again within the eclectic and undoubtedly eccentric community of New Orleans. Until then. I will turn up the heat so it is sultry in our house and listen to WWOZ.
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