Saints, Katrina and Rebirth!

It’s been 9 years today since Katrina made landfall on the Gulf’s coast. By the time it reached New Orleans, winds were estimated to have been Category 1 or 2 but then the levees failed and all hell broke loose. And then the world watched on TV as Americans stood on rooftops for days begging for water and worse and worse and worse. The Superdome became a symbol for loss, despair and failures at every level. It only took 4 1/2 years to change the Superdome into a house of triumph and a symbol of rebirth, renewal and rebuilding. The Dome, and all it represents, have become part of this city’s story and what better way to celebrate how far we’ve come than to go to a Saints game with the Rebirth Brass Band kicking things off in Champions Square.

Saints and Treme Finish Strong

The Saints ended their regular season with a Superdome victory over Tampa sending our boys to the playoffs. It’s been a rougher ride than many of us hoped for but we’re going to the show again and that’s all that matters. Bless you boys!

Then HBO’s Treme finished their season strong as well. Sadly, it’s also the end of the road for the series.

Treme Overlaps Life

The Saints lost today – bad. All the more reason to sit back and watch HBO’s Treme and remember all the ways this city overcomes. This week’s episode covered the week following Christmas 2008 into New Year’s 2009. I happened to be in Louisiana that week in real life. I was visiting family for the holidays when I had an epiphany. I’d always meant to retire here, but I remember walking toward my cousins at their docked boat as the sun set over the Tchefuncte River and thinking, “What am I waiting for?” By December 2009, I was here.

Saints Lose and Treme’s Season Ends – Dang

It’s such a joy to head to the Superdome to watch a Saints game. The city is cloaked in black and gold optimism. All the other teams that had to lose Sunday to keep our playoff hopes alive lost. All we had to do was beat the 49’ers and things were looking pretty darn good. Alas, it was not meant to be. Warren Easton‘s marching band opened the game and got me in the mood for Mardi Gras as they are always one of the favorite parade bands. Favorite person of the game this time was definitely our usher who didn’t even try to hide her enthusiasm for our team.

Treme does Mardi Gras and Geaux Saints!

First things first – Who Dat!?! It was like it ought be in the Superdome Monday night. The Saints beat the Eagles, keeping our play-off hopes alive for another week. Quarterback Drew Brees has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 51 straight games which breaks yet another NFL record. The one advantage to not having season tickets is that we meet new people every game. At this game to our right, a great gang of football-loving young men. To our left, 3 women over 60, including one over 80. Yep, some women go to the Saints games, not to appease their husbands, but to get a “girl’s night out.” SO many women attend the games. In fact, the demographics of the Dome aren’t so very different than those of our area – men and women from baby to death’s door in an array of skin shades.

Treme Again

When HBO’s Treme started, the sets, decorations and character wardrobes were a reflection of having just survived a horrific flood. Walls were watermarked, photos were stained with black mold and clothes were utilitarian. Everything was about “making do.” In this season of Treme, which takes place in late 2007, much has changed. Homes are being rebuilt and businesses are growing but, for me, the clearest indicator that the city is on the mend is all the Saints merchandise everywhere.

2 Weeks of Treme

It’s been too long since I last blogged, long enough to have missed posting on the Saints’ first win this season and the records broken by Brees and Colston. It’s also been long enough to have watched 2 more episodes of HBO’s  multi-award winning Treme. The more I get to know this city, the more familiar the musicians, locations and traditions are for me this season. At some point in the season’s second episode, I heard the familiar refrain of Mr. Okra rolling through the neighborhood in his colorful truck chanting, “I have eggplant. I have collard greens. I have oranges.” In L.A., you never knew who or what you might see. I remember seeing a car that was a chicken, a 3 story-tall Oscar on a flatbed truck and a gladiator walking through a neighborhood. In New Orleans, you also never know who or what you might see, but it’s not because someone is trying to make movie magic, it’s because life here can be truly magical.

Treme Finalé – There’s No Place Like Home

I was out of town for a wedding for the season finalé of Treme, but thanks to HBO Go, we were able to watch the episode from a hotel in Napa, CA. The show opened with Bayona‘s extraordinary chef, Susan Spicer, playing herself during the Kim Dickens‘ chef character’s trip to NOLA. As Dickens took her short ride on the streetcar and started welling up with homesickness, I began crying for home too. I’d only been gone 4 days.

Treme – Rebirth

On the previous episode, the people of New Orleans marched on City Hall to take back their city and demand more from their public servants after a crescendo of senseless violence. I felt the show had hit its darkness bottom in the past few weeks and would finally reveal the complexity and beauty of a city renewing, rebuilding and rebirthing itself. This week, HBO’s Treme seemed to do just that and delve more into why this city is so special and wasn’t as doomed as it looked. I like that the series shows how important music, food, parades and traditions are to the city’s strength and spirit and why they make this a place worth fighting for.

Krewe of Orpheus

The Krewe of Orpheus is the last parade to roll before Fat Tuesday. Like Endymion and Bacchus, Orpheus is a super-krewe with giant floats, mountains of throws and celebrity guests. Founded in 1993 by Harry Connick Jr. and Sr. and theatrical director, Sonny Borey, the krewe accepts members of any race or gender. Named for the son of Apollo whose music enchanted everything in nature, the 27 Blaine Kern designed floats portrayed the theme of, “Visions of Other Worlds.” Celebrity guests included Jennifer Coolidge and Jonathan Silverman as well as a chunk of HBO’s Treme cast including Steve Zahn, NOLA native Wendell Pierce, Khandi Alexander, John Goodman, David Morse, Kim Dickens and many more.