Blog a la Cart

Tom Piazza’s “Why New Orleans Matters”

And all across the city, in living rooms and dining rooms and corner bars, in dives and high-class parlors, in dens and on porches and in bedrooms, in the Ninth Ward and the Seventh Ward, Mid-City and Back o’Town, Carrolton and Irish Channel and Broadmoor and the Garden District and Gert Town, the French Quarter and the Bywater and Faubourg Marigny, everyone is saying the same thing: thank you for this beautiful day, thank you for one more day, thank you for this beautiful food, thank you for this wine cooler that my brother-in-law brought over, thank you for this bed because I can’t stand up, thank you for passing the potatoes, thank you for everything, thank you, thank you.

It’s a powerfully touching and genuine portrait of New Orleans written by a fellow Eph who I’ll be dining with in The Crescent City this evening.

It’s overwhelming reading his words, just as it’s overwhelming to walk this city’s streets, a juxtaposition of joy and sadness, spirit and despair. Such culture. Such flavors. Such music. All with the weight and aftermath of tragedy and trauma. I feel lucky to navigate her streets once again, sharing them for the first time with James.

To keep up on our adventures pictorially follow along on Twitter and Facebook

And if you Instagram, find us as @igalacart and @billsvilledad.

I’ll end by saying that I cannot recommend this book enough: for those who are from New Orleans, for those who live in New Orleans, for those who have been or are planning a visit, or for those who merely wish to understand why we’re fortunate to call her one of our own.