I really, really, do. It is arguably my favorite place on Earth. Why? Tough to put in to words... There is no place that is like it, you see things there - around every corner - that you just don't see anywhere else, and it is probably the only place in the world that, when you mention it to people, they immediately smile. The Life Guzilla has been fortunate and blessed with a lot of travel, and no place has the magic of New Orleans. To say it's my "happy place" underutilizes and misuses both "happy" and "place"... It is pure magic, in a world that desperately needs it and yet is trying to stamp it out.
One of The Wife's favorite actresses, the comedic genius Jennifer Coolidge, put it exceptionally well in a "60 Second Interview" with the Times-Picayune's (and acquaintance) Chris Rose:
Without making references to food or music, describe the magic of New Orleans.
It's the only city I've ever been to that has its own feeling, its own ambiance. It has its own eeriness. Sometimes I'll go into the park and this mist comes out of nowhere over the park and I feel like a vampire family could just appear out of nowhere and join me.
Like tonight: The wind is blowing and the mist is coming. I feel like anything could happen, like you could sprout wings in a second and just fly away. When I lived in New York in the '80s, it was such an exciting time and you never knew where the night could take you and I feel like this town is like that times 100.
This photo was taken at approximately 4:00am as Gano & I were wandering the French Quarter. And the Vieux Carré had exactly that mist and that feeling and it stopped us both in our tracks. We both fiddled with the camera for about 15 minutes trying, and failing, to capture that same ephemeral magic. It has to be experienced to be believed...
No comments:
Post a Comment