Seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes
A friend came by and brought us a Hanukkah gift – a mezuzah with a kiddie sports theme for Tin’s door and a book, Where We Know: New Orleans as Home. As part of my nostalgia tour these past few days, I began reading it last night only to discover myself described in the second story written by Sarah Inman. What was interesting is the description, “Rachel, a newly divorced redhead” was sort of jarring. Remember the red hair? Geez, I had almost forgotten 16 years of flaming hair color. “Newly divorced” made me flinch as well. That sort of has a tainted ring to it – a newly divorced redhead – there is nothing worse.
But as I read her reminisces about gutting the Gentilly house of a mutual friend, I started thinking back to that time, when the city still smelled sour, and people were still raw, and we were all living on alcohol and adrenaline. Interestingly enough a friend was recalling that period of our lives the other day and wistfully said she missed them. I don’t. I felt like I had abandoned ship or it had abandoned me and I was just paddling to stay afloat. No I don’t miss those times.
We’re living in some interesting times and as Oprah once said, “They’re getting interestinger and interestinger.”