When you put on a beautiful lei upon arrival in Hawaii, you instantly declare readiness for Hawaiian culture and experiences.  In New Orleans, the same phenomenon occurs with Mardi Gras beads.

We Orleanians have long been enthusiastic to receive visitors to our home town and, like any good host, have endeavored to make sure they enjoy their stay.  That’s why, like the lei, we often offer beads to new arrivals to welcome them, as we did these Canadian Volunteers, the Mission Team from St. Albert Catholic High School who recently volunteered a week of their time to help our residents.

Knowing that it takes both visitor and host for a successful stay, we’re optimistic when we see visitors openly wearing Mardi Gras beads, like Tim Onasch and Rich Becker from The Potomac River Jazz Club who attended this year’s French Quarter Fest.  They told me they come every year for the festival and that putting on the beads is a way of starting the fun.

At the 2011 Sugar Bowl Game, over both Arkansas and Ohio jerseys, the beads around fans’ necks as they walked the streets and cheered in the Superdome made a similar statement.  They declared their intent to enjoy the setting in which their favorite teams competed, win or lose.  Would men and women walk around wearing bright, inexpensive beads in their home towns?  It doesn’t matter.  What a sweet compliment their beads conveyed:  “We accept your hospitality and we’ll match your enthusiasm for this place with ours.”

Thank you to all of you who wear our New Orleans lei; we’re confident you’ll enjoy your stay!

Did you attend French Quarter Festival this year? Have you previously? It’s billed as the largest free music festival in the U.S. south, because there are outdoor stages set up throughout the Quarter, where bands take turns performing a wide variety of music free to the public from 11:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. for three days in a row.

It was my good fortune to work all three days right across the street from the Old U.S. Mint where there happened to be a stage for Cajun music. While I remained near my table most of the time, my husband, Bob, meandered throughout the Quarter to sample the entire fare.  When I asked him what impressed him about the festival he replied,

“The uniform quality of performers – excellent music, the tremendous enthusiasm and participation of the people who came to be with them, and the reciprocal relationship between the performers and the people.”

I couldn’t agree more. Over the three days I heard Read more…

Donald and Helena Midkiff

Donald K. Midkiff is one of the residents I interviewed for Why People Live in New Orleans. When asked why he lives in New Orleans, he replied,

“King Tut! The New Orleans Museum of Art exhibit was a huge success with hours spent in line. Problem? No, not to the people of New Orleans. A spontaneous block party broke out in line with coolers of shared sandwiches and cold beer. ‘Watcha need, darlin’?’ Love, New-Orleans-style, is all about food, family, and events made special by total strangers.”

Gary Wallerman, co-owner of GW Fins mentioned similar thoughts last Wednesday at my book signing that he and co-owner Tenney Flynn hosted:

“At the first French Quarter Festival after Katrina we had a booth at Woldenberg Park. Here we were along the Mississippi River on a beautiful April day with lots of people enjoying the free music that the festival offers. I looked around at the smiles, the food, the music, the shared values, and thought, ‘This is why I came back to New Orleans; this is why we all love being here!’”

Like Gary and Donald, Read more…

Does a book signing at New Orleans International Airport the day after Mardi Gras seem an unlikely illustration of the city’s culture? Actually, it provided the perfect setting for the ordinary interactions that we locals think add extraordinary value to our lives. I sat at the table shown in the photo, with tantalizing books at my back, wearing and displaying beads from the season that culminated the day before, looking at the stream of visitors walking past the bigger-than-life statue of Louis Armstrong on their way back to Atlanta, San Antonio, San Francisco, Idaho, England, Belgium, and elsewhere. Many looked tired, but smiled when I asked the same question of each, “Did you have a good time?” To a person the answer was, “Yes!” Needless to say, that was music to this native’s ears, as was a particular reason mentioned, “the friendliness of the people.”

Throughout the book signing, I experience that friendliness firsthand in the delightful exchanges that come so easily in New Orleans among locals and former strangers, where in a matter of moments, through comfortable conversation, connections are found. “May all of your flights be safe ones,” I tell the pilot who is seemingly in a hurry. He slows down for a few moments. He finds out I used to fly for Pan Am and he for Delta. We reflect on the differences in the industry now, and then he is gone. I ask a policeman if he worked yesterday, and nodding, he happily reports that his beat on Mardi Gras was incident-free despite the large attendance. He moves on, but I recognize him when he passes a little later, because in that short, friendly exchange, he became a person and not a uniform. Two gentlemen walk up and read my author description on the poster. They nod to a young girl with them and say, “She wants to be an author, too.” The girl and I chat about what she currently writes. I mention that she can see children her age in my book, because they were among the people I interviewed to ensure multiple points of view. When her guardians so lovingly buy her a book, the written best wishes with her writing that accompany my signature hold the memory of our connection. A musician from Algiers, just across the river from New Orleans, warmly congratulates me on my book. He asks my opinion on future possibilities in our area and emphasizes the need to develop concrete strategies to build on the positive energy from the Superbowl win and new mayor just elected. He excuses himself as someone else seeks information about my book. During all this time I witness the respect and friendliness Luisa Chinchilla (standing with me in the photo) and her assistants give people who enter Hudson Bookstore, even those simply looking for airport information.

I felt quite at ease throughout the book signing, because these connections and others with airport employees and travelers were easy. There is a culture of openness to each other here. As resident Marilyn O’Connor says in Why People Live in New Orleans, “People are friendly. I can be at a shopping center and hold a conversation with almost anyone.” That obviously holds true for the airport, even the day after Mardi Gras!