Favorite Things in NOLA 2011

I continue to accumulate favorite things about New Orleans, but here’s my second year favorites in a nutshell. Anything named previously in my Favorite Things in NOLA 2010 is marked with an Asterix*. Though there are too many “ties,” revealing an inability to “just pick one,” I promise you there were so many more things I wanted to include, so many more people and places I felt deserved mentioning.

Saints in the Playoffs at the Dome!

The Saints have a name for for the fans that attend the games at the Superdome – the Twelfth Man. Like all fans, we cheer on our team when they do well and encourage them when they need it. What makes us the Twelfth Man, the extra player on the field, is our volume. We play defense, drowning out all attempts by the opposing team to communicate in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. Just like the team brings a little extra enthusiasm to each playoff game driving them closer to the Super Bowl, so did the Twelfth Man.

Happy Thanksgiving, Darlin’

Just after Thanksgiving two years ago this week, I moved from Los Angeles, my city of nearly 18 years, and came to New Orleans. I spent last year’s Thanksgiving in L.A. with the same friends I was lucky enough to see again a week ago. So, this year I opted to share supper with my family across the lake. I started the day watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade doesn’t normally make my to-do list but I wasn’t about to miss the “Ordinary Men, Extraordinary Moves” of the 610 Stompers, New Orleans first all male dance troupe.

Saints and Tigers – Who Dat!

What a weekend for football in Louisiana. First up was the hugely anticipated “game of the century,” the “clash of the titans,” number one ranked LSU faced off with number 2 ranked Alabama. It’s fair to say they were evenly matched. The game was a very low scoring, edge of your seat, defense-heavy tit-for-tat that ended in a 9-6 victory in overtime. What a game. Though I never attended LSU, I’ve always owed the university my life as my parents met while attending there.

Saints at the Dome and Brass Bands Everywhere

Even before going to the Superdome to watch the Saints crush the Colts 62-7, I was having one of those great weekends you can only have in this glorious city. Saturday, I came across 2 brass bands in Jackson Square, including the Storyville Stompers leading a parade. People costumed as storybook characters carried a banner honoring “Jim and Terra’s Parade through the Quarter” from Wishes, Wonders and Who Dats.

Saints and Tigers – Celebrate Good Times

If you love winning, and most fans do, it’s a great time to be a Saints and Tigers fan. The latest Saints game was against the Carolina Panthers. It was the first division game for both teams and things were a bit more personal than usual. Former Saint, Jeremy Shockey, is now a Panther. Insanely talented (first rookie QB in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in his first NFL game) Panther quarterback, Cam Newton, admitted to being a huge fan of Drew Brees. Newton’s brother used to be a center for the Saints.

Hornets and Tigers and Saints, oh my!

The New Orleans Hornets had their 6th straight win last week. They’ve beat several of the top ranked teams to remain undefeated. They’d already surpassed a team record when they got 5 wins to start the season. This new coach seems positively inspirational. But don’t take my word for it, watch a game and see for yourself.

Family Tree

Like many children of divorce, I spent most of my childhood with my mother, so, although both sides of my family are from Louisiana, I’d really only met one half. Sure, I knew my father’s mother and siblings and their children, but that was it. Last weekend, my father and brother flew into town and we all headed to Baton Rouge for a weekend of seafood and family.

Who Datitude (Mardi Gras 2010 wrap-up)

I’ve wanted to live in Louisiana most of my life. It’s a free country and I could have moved here anytime, but I didn’t arrive until after Thanksgiving 2009. The Saints were undefeated. People were excited to not be losing and harbored dreams of going to the Super Bowl. And the weather sucked – colder than in decades.

I’d timed this move so that I’d be here for Christmas with my family and have time to make some friends before Mardi Gras. I’ve learned that  this is not the dress rehearsal, this is my one and only life. I’ve learned that my perspective on life defines my experience of life. I’ve learned to try new things, embrace the unknown. I’ve learned that the only things I really value over time are the people in my life and my experiences. So, although I was alone for most of the Mardi Gras season, I didn’t wait for my fears to pass or for a time when I knew more people or more of the city, I just dove in and attended over 25 parades.

Unzip the Sky

Looks like Louisiana will have more rain this year than in the last 100. Seriously. Since 1909. Before women could vote. That’s a lot of rain. Yesterday was the worst of it (I hope/think).