Dangermond.org

We went to 820 North Rampart Street or now known as Tonique last night for a cocktail. I was trying to show off some of my favorite haunts to an out of towner. We walked into an empty bar and I said, things are happening in here. Then the bartender turned into CUJO about my comment and we were so turned off we instantly left. I walked down the street and heard from service people in the hood that no one goes in there because of the attitude problem. Such a shame, a beautiful space, delicious drinks. Sigh.

Where we did go is Meaux Bar which always manages to over-deliver in friendliness and tastiness.

Loca dressed up like Obama-dog and Arlene as a lobster and their slogan for the canine costume parade was A Lobster in Every Pot! Honestly, the whole event was a little disconcerting as Arlene tried to leap out of the cart and Loca tried to eat Cashew, the Yorkie in a tutu. Thankfully, a colleague was in town to help me keep the mayhem to a dull roar. Yet, I was awakened early this morning to the sound of Arlene bucking and bucking in her barkmares, probably still reliving the trauma the entire event induced.

My pumpkins are all thoroughly carved and ready for tonight – Happy Halloween! But there is debt to pay, these carver(s) seek fame and glory, albeit secondary, from THE BLOG, so in honor of their skill and cunning, below is Haiku for Pumpkin Prankster:

Pumpkins from front porch
Abducted, carved then returned
Mystery now solved

A emissary for the prankster came by to collect two pumpkins – supposedly this mule was paid $50. I said take more! But she said $50 only buys two.

We have high hopes to expand our little family here at the LaLa and as I was thinking of all the things that I want my future to hold, a child calling me Mom is tops on the list.

Last night, five women sat in my living room listening to Obama’s thirty minute recap of what he is going to do as president. Yes, some of it was rehashed, but still, I had goosebumps thinking we will finally have a president that we deserve. I haven’t felt this way since Jimmy Carter. Okay, say what you will about Carter – there was no president who cared deeper about this country and its collective soul than that man. And who the hell do you think has been in New Orleans since Katrina rebuilding our homes – uh, that would be Jimmy.

This morning, a woman sent me an email stating:

It has been a very long time since I voted for a person I believed in rather than simply voting against a person or a party. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to vote for a man I actually believe can be an effective president. Aint America a hell-of-a place?

Last night, at the end of the 30 minutes, J stood up and began marching around my living room singing, “God Bless America, Land that I Love…” You gotta love it.

Really – Obama is the one! And damn cute too.

Do you think it is weird to be spammed all day by Watch and Clock sites?

I was speaking to a friend in San Francisco about her musical prodigy cousin who had been taken under Leonard Bernstein’s wing. He grew up in the projects down the street from where I lived on Mason Street. I insensitively said, how could your aunt have lived there?

The other day T said she was going to do five acts of charity a week and I thought now that is a goal to start your week with, much better than I’m going to get through this week, which seems to have been my mantra of late.

We pulled out of the driveway to go to the gym, and got to the corner of Dumaine and Moss. A car was in front stopping and starting and just generally making me want to pull my hair out. But as I pulled along the side of it trying to get passed, we saw it was an elderly woman, around my mother’s age and we rolled down the window and asked if we could help her.

Turned out she was confused and lost and looking for the brake tag station – and Moss Street is very confusing because it is Moss on both sides of the bayou and ends on Esplanade and becomes Jeff Davis on the other side of Orleans. Last year, my mother missed a party I was having because she got to the corner of Orleans and saw a sign that said Jeff Davis and she ended up getting so confused she went home and cried.

My mom has always had a heart that leaned towards the helpless. It has taken me years and experience to be like her.

There are many things wrong in this country and never a time like the present to address some of the more dire issues like education, health care, poverty. Go Obama! But on the flip side, I have always been enamored by the spirit of the Individual that America has uniquely bred.

I remember in San Francisco, friends who were dismissive of a Filipino family who lived next door with three or four generations piled into a single family house. The tenor of their complaint was the Filipinos didn’t know how to act right; the undertone, the unsaid, was a lament for not having the same safety net.

An European friend was visiting the other day and we were discussing poverty in the U.S. and the current economic crisis and she said, here in the States, there is no one to help you and it seems that everyone lives so precariously from one paycheck to the next. Yes, it is curious, I thought as I scratch my head trying to impress upon reporters from certain areas of Europe to work for us and they respond, “too much work, why bother?”

America equals rugged individualism and cultural hybrids.
Europe equals safety nets and national identity.
Now we are all in crisis together.

We went last night to see a screening of a documentary about Katrina, The New Orleans Tea Party, directed by friends who said it was curious to them as Europeans how the most compelling theme turned out to be the spirit of volunteerism that arose from the ashes of the storm.

I left thinking that if I saw George W. Bush I would spit on him for turning his back on this great city. I should also spit in his other eye for turning his back on the world. Shame on you W.

A friend shared this blog last night which shows that Obama could win by a landslide.