On the way to work

When I drive to work in the morning, I go through the warehouse district, the CBD, and the French Quarter and on into the Marigny. It gives me a chance to feel the rhythms of the city in each area.

The Warehouse District in the mornings is quiet but as I approach the CBD the pace picks up. Cars and pedestrians move faster and there are more of them. Its all purposfull and goal oriented. Zip here, zip there - get somewhere!

Then I drive down Charters or Decatur. Both are jerky - stoping and starting unexpectedly. I used to complain about tourists wandering out in the street as if this were Disneyland or a movie set instead of a real city. Now I patiently wait for them. They are our economic life blood and I don't complain about them anymore. I'll sit forever behind a mule drawn buggy, knowing the driver is making up history to tell the tourists. It is really good to see the crowds almost daily now. There is usually a line down the street of people waiting to get in at Cafe Du Monde. (I'm old enough to remember drive up service with trays that attached to the driver's side window. I once got out and shut the door too hard and it propelled powdered sugar beingnets all over my date's black velvet dress. Her name is Carla and she is still around. Not around me, but around.)

Then its down the lower end of Decatur and into the Marigny. The DNA of the city is in the Marigny and it is a microcosm of New Orleans. The ebb and flow of opinion and attitude is a gauge of how the city is doing. The gentle rhythm of the Marigny is more humane than any other place.