Coming and then going
"Coming?"
That's the first word Rob said to me when he called me at 6:40 a.m. Saturday. See, we planned to leave at 6 a.m. I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. Either it didn't go off or I turned it off in my sleep.
So we rushed through the spine of Illinois, into Missouri, Arkansas, Tenn, and then once in Mississippi got off the Interstate and onto Hwy 61. Rob suggested that we go to a place called Abe's BBQ, the quintessential bbq joint hidden off the highway. After a good lunch of pork, beans, coleslaw, we got back on 61 and drove through all the Delta towns and then the Interstate.
Rob took over the driving an hour outside of New Orleans since I obviously got sick, the result of having a sore throat Friday. I had a fever, chills. I don't remember entering the city, but once we got the windows down we could smell the mold. The parts of the city hit with water smells putrid. In Charles' neighborhood, around midnight, it struck me how things had changed. Most businesses were vacant storefronts -- the hardware store, barbershop, Dominos pizza, etc. Yet amid some of the businesses would be a bar where college kids hung out. Partying next to devastation. It was humid, which didn't help the smell much. I dropped Rob off and then made my way to Ken and Denise's home where they waited up for me, setting up their front parlor with a bed upon my arrival. I collapsed and woke up this morning. We ate breakfast in their backyard and now are about to go on a tour to see how really things have changed.
That's the first word Rob said to me when he called me at 6:40 a.m. Saturday. See, we planned to leave at 6 a.m. I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. Either it didn't go off or I turned it off in my sleep.
So we rushed through the spine of Illinois, into Missouri, Arkansas, Tenn, and then once in Mississippi got off the Interstate and onto Hwy 61. Rob suggested that we go to a place called Abe's BBQ, the quintessential bbq joint hidden off the highway. After a good lunch of pork, beans, coleslaw, we got back on 61 and drove through all the Delta towns and then the Interstate.
Rob took over the driving an hour outside of New Orleans since I obviously got sick, the result of having a sore throat Friday. I had a fever, chills. I don't remember entering the city, but once we got the windows down we could smell the mold. The parts of the city hit with water smells putrid. In Charles' neighborhood, around midnight, it struck me how things had changed. Most businesses were vacant storefronts -- the hardware store, barbershop, Dominos pizza, etc. Yet amid some of the businesses would be a bar where college kids hung out. Partying next to devastation. It was humid, which didn't help the smell much. I dropped Rob off and then made my way to Ken and Denise's home where they waited up for me, setting up their front parlor with a bed upon my arrival. I collapsed and woke up this morning. We ate breakfast in their backyard and now are about to go on a tour to see how really things have changed.
posted by burningsun | 12:19 PM
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