January 28th, 2020
New Orleans Public Library
New Orleans, Louisiana
I like to talk to people. I saw a man on the corner of Loyola and Poydras Streets. He wore a blue blazer. He had a nice tie, knotted with a nice cravat. In his red manila folder, he had a resume of a single sheet, which he was reviewing.
“Knock them dead!” I said to him.
He was obviously cooling his heels, waiting for an interview.
“Hey, do you have a cell phone?”
“Sure, I do”.
“May I borrow it? I can’t find my bus out to Veteran’s Parkway, so I’m going to be late for my interview at the debt collection company”.
“Ok, let me dial the number”.
I had a few minutes before the library opened for the day. He left a message for his interviewer, but on the general voice mailbox. Nobody was going to check that. So I rode the switchboard until I found an operator and the operator put him through to the interviewer. Everyone knows that the bus system in New Orleans has grown less and less reliable. She was willing to wait for him.
I asked for the address. Turns out, he was waiting on the wrong side of Poydras. He had to wait at the stop across the street. He had lost his cellphone, so he couldn’t look at this information for himself. He knew everything he needed to know to catch his bus and make his interview, so I excused myself. I had done a good turn for him, a Boy Scout term for a good deed given without hope of any reward.
I think that qualifies as a New Orleans moment. Yes, downing a hand grenade on Bourbon Street qualifies as a New Orleans moment. Dressing up for a Mardi Gras parade, and there’s lot of parades, qualifies as New Orleans moment. Riding a Cable Car home from dinner in the French Quarter qualifies as a New Orleans moment. But just helping a man standing on a street corner has to qualify too. I felt big about it and his day became easier because of it. A Big Easy moment had happened in NOLA. “Everybody in town wants you to win”, I told him as I took my leave.
The brick pavement had sunk and water had filled the sinkhole. I had rained Sunday most of the day. I walked into the street, the parking lane a safe enough lane, and I almost ran into a woman who was doing the same. “That puddle never ever seems to go away”, she said and kept on walking. Maybe it’ll dry up today because the day in full of sunshine. Sidewalks could use a little attention in this city, but this isn’t Cleveland. It’s New Orleans. Tennessee Williams said about New Orleans the following praise.
There Are Only Three Great Cities in the U.S.: New York, San Francisco, and Washington. All the Rest Are Cleveland.
If I wanted perfect sidewalks, Cleveland awaits. Right now, I don’t mind stepping around a mud puddle or keeping walking as a sidewalk turns to dirt.
Hot in Cleveland Theme
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