New Orleans
It is my intention to visit all the stations that air Barnaby Druthers, and two stations in Lousiana fit that description: WXDR in New Orleans and WHYR in Baton Rouge. Right on the heels of my Indiana adventure, I had the opportunity to fly into New Orleans and the visit was so exceptional that the inspiration is still with me as I write these words now! But it should be noted that the additional traveling time is why the “station showcases” will be posted at a later date as I not only want to memorialize the trip, but also write the scripts for Druthers AND write some short stories inspired by this traveling.
“One can not help but be inspired by New Oreleans, The Big Easy, Crescent City, The Paris of the South: You can call it what you like; New Orleans welcomes interpretations, but it defies one singular definition.”
-J. Timothy Quirk
J. Timothy Quirk at Cafe Du Monde after eating two beignets.
A few years ago, I had written a story based in New Orleans called “Lorelei” and after visiting the city, I was happily assured that the story still held up.which is why we repeated it this week. But I’ve found inspiration to write more short stories and Druthers stories and listeners will hear them when they are ready.
One can not help but be inspired by New Oreleans, The Big Easy, Crescent City, The Paris of the South: You can call it what you like; New Orleans welcomes interpretations, but it defies one singular definition. Each visitor has a unique New Orleans story, although some experiences may rhyme with others in the poetry of life along the Mississippi. Put another way, I could write you a narrative description of “jazz”, but if you never heard jazz, the words would be truthful but the definition itself would not be “true”. And so if I had to choose to define New Orleans in just a word, I would say “jazz”, because jazz must be experienced for any real understanding.
We had two nights before returning home so we wanted to make the most of the experience. We made the French Quarter our focus for the first afternoon into evening. We enjoyed beignets at Cafe Du Monde and I purchased a straw hat, which was not an uncommon fashion choice given the weather. My daughter and I ate dinner at a restaurant whose ambience was the main attraction rather than their culinary offerings. That evening we walked with my sister and her coworker to a hotel where their bar had an unsual attribute which inspired a short story I wrote which we will record this upcoming Monday. The evening ended without incident and plans were made for the following day. In the morning I was to take a long bus trip to visit a radio station in Baton Rouge. That will be the subject of my second post.
