Thursday, December 10, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Nickabob In the Backseat
It's Thanksgiving Day,
and we need the Newspaper
and some dish washing liquid.
"Who wants to take a ride?" I say.
"Me...Me!" yells Nickabob.
At the Chalmette Winn Dixie
my nephew is drowsy
from lots of Turkey
and Mirleton Shrimp Stuffing
and Candied Yams.
His head is filled with thoughts he can't express.
"Can we go to the self checkout?"
"So I can scan the items." he says.
Later, we read his Christmas list.
Nearly four pages.
Stuff ranging from:
Grand Theft Auto for the DS
to a live Weasel
to AA Batteries for the TV remote control.
Ever practical
Ever fanciful
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Kyshun's House
The mosquitoes are thick as thieves,and the springiness below my feet
reminds me
that this was all swamp
in the past
and the future.
Kyshun says:
"I haven't been inside in a while...
usually I just drive by."
I am trying to find rapport
I am looking for common ground.
But all I can manage is a memory about mosquitoes
and the trucks that would come
to spray chemicals in the air.
Then I see him slip into the past.
I see what he remembers.
This is his mother's house and her mother, Ms. Mary.
Later, Ms. Mary and I rock in rocking chairs
sitting across from each other.
She tells me stories of things that came before.
And I am almost asleep
but for the faint buzz
of the mosquito
in my ear.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Kitter and the Girls
We fall into stepwith Kitter and the Girls
at Charters and St. Ann.
In just 15 minutes, his shirt is off.
And the camera is out.
He tells us a story of hope and woe.
And being lost at sea.
He tells us a story
about the birds
etched on his breast.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Bywater can be Dark and Eerie at Night
In Sound Cafe, and on posters stapled to telephone poles around the Bywater, I read about one girl who got shot riding her bike home. She was not from New Orleans. She had come down to help with the recovery efforts. Bad form, I think...to shoot someone who is trying to help you.I worry sometimes too...when we are riding after dark. My mother says she will not cry for me if I get shot. She has warned me this is a bad neighborhood. I try not to be self-righteous in my defiance. It's hard, though. This is the land of the free, so I should be free...
free to ride my bike...
with no thought of danger...
except that the back break doesn't work...
and the tire is all wonky.
My mother-in-law reads about murders in America. She is Swedish, and there aren't too many murders where she lives. She wants us to come "home," where there is safety and health care and snow. She doesn't want to lose us.
We are living in the wild, wild west...
where people batten down the hatches...
and angry, drunk voices scream out in the night:
"I oughtta pop a cap in your ass."
We ought not to be popping caps in each others asses.
This is the south, people.
We ought to be polite...
and say "Howdy do,"
and "pardon me,"
when we are riding our bikes
in the middle of the night.
This is who we are.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
A year ago today, we were living in the Rowell's Living Room. Today, we are living on Desire Street
For the past four weeks, we have been staying with Spencer and Nicola and their two children Oscar and Maud, in London. We live in their lounge, which they have cleared out for us. Most evenings, the six of us pile into Spencer and Nicola's bedroom to watch TV. Maud sometimes practises her cello and Oscar is learning Sweet Child O' Mine on the electric guitar. There is always tea and biscuits, and fresh eggs (the children are rearing two free-range chickens in the back garden).
Nicola says they get a lot out of having people stay. "It helps the children to be open-minded and prepares them for the world out there," she says. She doesn't like British attitudes towards owning property. "We are a community, we should have people coming into our houses. It creates memories and shared experiences."
Next month we are moving to New Orleans and we have already set up the first two months of surfing. There is an ideology forming here: of freedom and mobility. Less impact on the environment through shared resources. Less impact on the bank account. Helping each other. A bit hippy perhaps, but with rising living costs and a rapidly changing climate, maybe it's time for that again.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Corner Shop
The man behind the plexiglass says:"Next time the beer'll be $7.85."
"What is it today?" I ask.
"$7.00." He is resting his belly on the counter, and, because he is elevated, I am eye to eye with it. This makes me angry for some reason.
"It was $6.85 last week." I say.
He shrugs his shoulders: "Inflation," he says.
I don't care. This is the closest corner shop to my temporary home, but there are a gadzillion others within walking distance. Maybe the beer will be cheaper at one of those places. But, he's counting on me being too lazy to find out. He obviously doesn't know me very well.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Destiny and Daisy May
I had every intention of being bothered by this dog.
She eats my underwear and steals my shoes.
In all honesty she does smell pretty bad,
Yet when I saw her I couldn't help but love her.
She's a happy, lovable, but scared puppy.
She's starved for affection no matter how much she gets.
I suppose I needed new underwear anyway.
Maybe she doesn't smell that bad after all.
All things considered I love this wonderful dog.
Guest Writer: Dominique Thopmson
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Baby Girl
Isn't it funnythat we saw Antonio today
at the bus stop...
downtown
with Baby Girl...
and we had scant little time to talk
'cause he had to catch the bus,
but I touched her skin
and I said hello.
and all the people looked...
and wondered
and made stories in their heads.
and they had to go...
and we walked on by...
and...
and...
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Police are Keeping us Safe
Analysis of FBI statistics shows New Orleans is still the nation's murder capitalNEW ORLEANS - A newspaper analyis of fresh FBI statistics finds that New Orleans is once again the nation's murder capital.
The Times-Picayune determined that with 64 killings per 100,000 people in 2008, New Orleans had the highest per capita murder rate in the nation, well ahead of second-place St. Louis, which had 47 murders per 100,000 people.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Grand Theft Auto
I walk out my room and think to myself, it could be anyone.
It doesn't have to be him.
Unfortunately I know the back of that head all too well.
His head is surrounded by an ominous circle in the back ground.
Why?
Why now?
Why here?
Why my life?
Why my house?
Why my family?
And then I know why.
I am strong enough to handle him.
I have a plan to get rid of him and the misery.
Guest Writer: Dominique Thopmson
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Morning Coffee by the Pool
I had this weird dream, for true.I was sitting next to the pool
in the courtyard
of my apartment
in the French Quarter.
The next thing I knew
I was awake.
I can no longer distinguish
between dreams
and
reality.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Wing Snack
Near the Iberville Projects,
where my mom grew up,
there is the Wing Snack
and the Brown Derby
No. 2 Liquor Store.
I want to stand outside,
drink ice cold beers,
hidden by tiny, brown bags,
and shoot the shit.
I want to yell "Hey baby"
at the young girls.
I want to ask:
"You stay here now?" and
"How's ya mamma?"
But, because:
I don't sound like here,
I don't look like here,
I don't smell like here,
it's too late for all of that.
I cannot
authentically
move backwards
through the distance
between me
and my history.
I can only look out the car window
with the doors locked.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Man United vs. Arsenal
It's 1:30 p.m. on a Wednesday, and I'm in Fritzel's European Jazz Pub on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. I'm nursing an honest-to-god pint of Abita Amber, and Big Daddy can barely contain his excitement: he's bootie-scooting all over the pub. We are here to watch the Semi-Finals of the Champions League Football: Manchester United vs. Arsenal. If we were back in London, the pub would be packed. As it is America (where football is soccer), it's just us and a dude wearing a Brett Favre jersey who may or may not be here for the football.
