Living in New Orleans – the first 10 years

My family is from Louisiana for generations on both sides but I didn’t move to New Orleans until late 2009. I’d lived in Maryland, Japan, Washington D.C., Alabama, New York, and almost 18 years in Los Angeles before finally following my heart home. Looking through photos for this blog post, I saw the story of a New Dat becoming a Saints season-ticket-holding Who Dat, a parade-goer becoming a Pussyfooters parade dancer, strangers becoming friends, and a blogger becoming an author. I saw the evolution of my love story with this city, and with the man I met my first year here.

I’d just produced Hell Ride with Quentin Tarantino when I decided to leave Los Angeles.

New Orleans Mystery Books

When I started this blog, I was working on a novel, Lemonade Farm. Ten years later, I’ve finished that novel, an acting book,  Know Small Parts: An Actor’s Guide to Turning Minutes into Moments and Moments ints a Career with foreword by Richard Dreyfuss and endorsements from Kevin Costner, Lou Diamond Phillips and many more – and with the release of The Family Secret: A Charlotte Reade Mystery – I’ve just completed a 5-book series.

The first book of the mysteries-not-murders series begins as the Saints are marching toward their Super Bowl victory during Mardi Gras in 2009-10. As actor/producer Charlotte aids in the search for a birth mother, she comes across a haunted chandelier, and a mystery in her own family’s past.

St. Patrick’s Parades 2019

The month of Carnival parades just ended on the 5th but we were back in the streets again ALL weekend starting with the Molly’s (Jim Monaghan’s) Irish Parade Friday in the French Quarter. The Pussyfooters were invited to join in the festivities this year and I love any chance to dance. The weather was awful, cold and rainy, but we were grateful for inclusion in the lively second line.

Saturday, we met family at the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club‘s Irish Channel Parade. The parade features double-decker floats, dancers and bagpipers but the heart of the Irish Channel parade is the many groups of walkers exchanging silk flowers for kisses (mostly on the cheek).

Fat Tuesday – Costumes!

Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) splits the city into 2 main groups – parade-goers and costumers. The Krewe of Zulu starts the day of parades, followed by regal Krewe of Rex, then a long procession of truck parades – just floats, no bands or dancers.

We’re costumers so we headed to the Marigny to dive into the wackiness. There were group costumes including many clusters of Ruth Bader Ginsburgs. Trump wall interpretations were also popular. There were even 2 last suppers. The most popular costume was a blind referee or anything related to penalty flags.

Krewes of Proteus & Orpheus Parades 2019

Lundi Gras is all about the floats. Krewe of Proteus, the oldest night parade, was established in 1882 and the last I heard, the majestic floats still sit atop the original wooden chassis. The Krewe of Orpheus floats include lighted favorites like the dragon whose head moves and blows smoke, the super-long locomotive Smokey Mary and the Trojan Horse carrying a live band. But the real showstoppers are the floats covered in vibrant and plentiful flowers flecked with gold.

Orpheus celebrates musicians and performers. This year’s star-studded royalty offered Mario Lopez and Trace Adkins. Krewe co-founder Harry Connick Jr. rode as king along with his wife, Jill Goodacre, in the same float we got to ride in with Quentin Tarantino in 2014.

Krewes of Thoth and Bacchus Parades

I was looking forward to dancing with the Pussyfooters in the Krewe of Thoth parade, but the threat of severe weather led to a slimming of the day’s festivities. The 3 morning parades rolled without marching bands and dance krewes – just floats.

Krewe of Tucks 2019

Focused around toilet humor, the Krewe of Tucks parade is irreverently fun and kids love it.  Throws include hand-decorated plungers and scrub brushes and other potty-humored beads and toys. This year’s 50th anniversary theme was “Tucks Gets Sick” so there were also bandaid slap bracelets, stethoscopes and other medical goodies. Rolls of purple, green and gold toilet paper are always tossed over the arching live oak bows, leaving the route strewn with streamers. It’s actually kinda beautiful.

Tucks always puts on a great show with the animal-bikes of  Kolossos, the beaded corsets of Dames de Perlage and the Laissez Boys reclining in their motorized loungers, cocktails in hand.