Sad Veevers
Hi Pals. First let me say that this entry is going to be a wee touch gloomy due to the bleak subject matter, so the chances of me sharing something entertaining and witty with you are going to be slim. Just a head's up.
I've been in New Orleans visiting Mrs. Veevers all week for her birthday. My mom used to be a total babe. Now she's just a cute little old lady. Its actually kind of weird. I'm scared that my parents are getting old. My family is the first priority in my life, so the thought of them having aches and shrinking makes lil Veevers heart break a tiny bit. Here's my mom now:
First thing we did was grab some breakfast and go look at the houses in the 9th Ward that were lost in Katrina. Sorry to tell you guys about sad stuff, but truth is we lost alot in the Hurricane. Our family photographs, letters, jewelry, heirlooms, paintings, family articles and written history, my mom's beautiful clothing, and lots of important places from my childhood are gone forever. I'm not sad anymore, but when I think about all the sentimental stuff I won't be able to pass along to my future kids from our lineage I get angry. On the upside, New Orleans still has an ethnocentric pride and mini-nationalism that makes the French look like a bunch of traitors. My mom is super happy living here, which is good for me because I can visit whenever I want.
Crawfish Etouffe over hash browns and eggs. Cajun deliciousness. New Orleans for me is basically a food vacation.
After breakfast we went to look at sad stuff (pictured below). You can see the FEMA codes spray-painted on the front of each house. They tell you how many dead bodies and/or animals were found inside. There are still floodlines stained into the sides of closed businesses and abandoned homes all over the city. As we drove through the damage I thought about those old people who sat on their rooftops for days and days waiting for helicopters, boats and food that didn't come. I know its old news and we've moved on, but I was seeing this stuff for the first time. Are you catching my gloomy vibes yet?
You can see straight through to the back of the house. A pink rusty carcass.
We should probably stop being mad that we're not famous and Jessica Alba isn't our girlfriend and that our roommate is a pig.
To take our minds off of the hurricane, we decided to go shopping. There's tons of this stuff everywhere:
We never see this crap in New York. Old ladies would get shot for carrying such items in their stores. However, its really no biggie down here. These special items are collectible. Owwie! Guess maybe it isn't the best time to tell you guys that I went to a plantation. Two, actually. Sawry!
The trees were a big part of my life when I was wee. I used to love staring up at the Spanish Moss. I thought that tumbleweeds were fallen knots of moss until I finally asked my dad about it in third grade. My mom would read to me under the Weeping Willows in Audubon Park. When we moved Uptown I'd walk home from school past Persimmon trees and Plumbago bushes. We used to be scared of the stinging furry caterpillars that fell from the leaves once a year. We'd squish them and watch their black bodies burst open like paint tubes, covering the sidewalks with their bright orange guts.
They say the Oaks hold the history of the South in them. You can hear ghosts in the trees and whispers in the cemetaries. If you don't believe me take a walk through a raised cemetary or around a plantation when you visit. I got the heebs being around those slave quarters. Alot of trees are missing here now because of the hurricane. City Park looks like someone swept it with poison. Its nearly barren in some areas. Ugh. Maybe I shouldn't try to write when I'm bummed out about natural disaster, history, and Strange Fruits. I'll try again tomorrow.
xo
Aviva
I've been in New Orleans visiting Mrs. Veevers all week for her birthday. My mom used to be a total babe. Now she's just a cute little old lady. Its actually kind of weird. I'm scared that my parents are getting old. My family is the first priority in my life, so the thought of them having aches and shrinking makes lil Veevers heart break a tiny bit. Here's my mom now:
First thing we did was grab some breakfast and go look at the houses in the 9th Ward that were lost in Katrina. Sorry to tell you guys about sad stuff, but truth is we lost alot in the Hurricane. Our family photographs, letters, jewelry, heirlooms, paintings, family articles and written history, my mom's beautiful clothing, and lots of important places from my childhood are gone forever. I'm not sad anymore, but when I think about all the sentimental stuff I won't be able to pass along to my future kids from our lineage I get angry. On the upside, New Orleans still has an ethnocentric pride and mini-nationalism that makes the French look like a bunch of traitors. My mom is super happy living here, which is good for me because I can visit whenever I want.
Crawfish Etouffe over hash browns and eggs. Cajun deliciousness. New Orleans for me is basically a food vacation.After breakfast we went to look at sad stuff (pictured below). You can see the FEMA codes spray-painted on the front of each house. They tell you how many dead bodies and/or animals were found inside. There are still floodlines stained into the sides of closed businesses and abandoned homes all over the city. As we drove through the damage I thought about those old people who sat on their rooftops for days and days waiting for helicopters, boats and food that didn't come. I know its old news and we've moved on, but I was seeing this stuff for the first time. Are you catching my gloomy vibes yet?
You can see straight through to the back of the house. A pink rusty carcass. We should probably stop being mad that we're not famous and Jessica Alba isn't our girlfriend and that our roommate is a pig.To take our minds off of the hurricane, we decided to go shopping. There's tons of this stuff everywhere:
We never see this crap in New York. Old ladies would get shot for carrying such items in their stores. However, its really no biggie down here. These special items are collectible. Owwie! Guess maybe it isn't the best time to tell you guys that I went to a plantation. Two, actually. Sawry!
The trees were a big part of my life when I was wee. I used to love staring up at the Spanish Moss. I thought that tumbleweeds were fallen knots of moss until I finally asked my dad about it in third grade. My mom would read to me under the Weeping Willows in Audubon Park. When we moved Uptown I'd walk home from school past Persimmon trees and Plumbago bushes. We used to be scared of the stinging furry caterpillars that fell from the leaves once a year. We'd squish them and watch their black bodies burst open like paint tubes, covering the sidewalks with their bright orange guts. They say the Oaks hold the history of the South in them. You can hear ghosts in the trees and whispers in the cemetaries. If you don't believe me take a walk through a raised cemetary or around a plantation when you visit. I got the heebs being around those slave quarters. Alot of trees are missing here now because of the hurricane. City Park looks like someone swept it with poison. Its nearly barren in some areas. Ugh. Maybe I shouldn't try to write when I'm bummed out about natural disaster, history, and Strange Fruits. I'll try again tomorrow.
xo
Aviva