Eighteen Years

Today our marriage can finally buy porn and cigarettes.

End of New Orleans, Graceland, and a long drive home

We've been back from the trip for a couple of days now. The last morning was spent in the French Quarter, after which Eldest and I began the long drive home.

Right here is the complete set of New Orleans service pictures, featuring lots of kids that you don't know.

That morning, I mocked the few students kids who, while in the historic, colorful French Quarter, wanted to eat at McDonalds. That night, on the historic, colorful Beale Street in Memphis, Eldest and I ate at the Hard Rock Cafe.

It was killing me to eat at the corporate rock and roll megachain on the a street filled with real live blues, but alas, not so many places are welcoming to the pre-21 set, let alone the pre-15. There was a live band, and though they were influenced more by the 80s second wave than by B.B. King or early Elvis, Eldest liked them a lot, and they reminded me of a time when The Fixx and Wang Chung dominated my bedroom turntable.

On Beale Steet, we saw this guy, who blew my mind:



The highlight of the trip back was stopping at Graceland, which was much more fun that I had imagined. I've always been more a "mock fat Elvis" than "appreciate cool Elvis" kind of guy, focusing on the bloated excesses of his Las Vegas years than on the whole helped-create-rock-and-roll early years. But Graceland, while, okay, a huge touristy shrine, also gives you a feel of where he came from and what he did. And, then, what he became.

While we were there, no kidding, a car crashed into the Graceland sign.

So now I'm all Elvisy, and there are two Elvis biographies on the counter and a collection of albums and DVDs waiting to be picked up at the library.







This is Eldest and me in Elvis's mirrored ceiling.

It's nice to be back. Daughter, Youngest, and I built a cool fort out of big boxes in the basement, complete with drawbridge. It worked out well that they then wanted to sleep down there the same night we had crazy storms and tornado warnings. Eldest has been attending daily rehearsals for a play he is in, and we've lately we've mixed getting things done with enjoying the lazy days of summer.

N.O. Update: Pier, Rock and Bowl, Deck, Barbecue, Get Smart

We're leaving the hotel soon for beignets at Cafe Du Monde and some time in the French Quarter, so this will be a quick entry.

Thursday was the first day that Eldest worked with a different crew. He worked with young kids at a head start program. We haven't talked in much depth yet, but he really seemed to enjoy it.

Here are pictures from Thursday, with some from earlier days that I got from a students camera:



Our crew worked on a destroyed pier, mostly because the hosts wanted to treat us to some fishing. We then installed insulation. The evening was a high point of the trip, Rock and Bowl. Live zydeco music, dancing, and bowling.

Yesterday we helped a woman with her back deck, after which she and our hosts threw a huge barbecue to celebrate the week. It was hot - really really hot - but the piles of crayfish, deer sausage, blackened red-fish, jambalya, burgers, and freezer pops made for a great party. We ate like pigs, finished what we could on the deck, cleaned up a bit, and made our not-entirely-tear-free-even-from-the-toughest-guys farewells.

The woman we helped, Miss Shirley, was fascinating, a member of the New Orlean's Zulu Social Club, a group with a long, interesting Mardi Gras history.

Then dinner for 41 (one student left early), and a good rest at a movie, Get Smart, which was darned funny.

A Busy Day

Youngest is going to help with the text for today's blog entry . . .


We started out our day with a visit to Bumma and Grandpa's to play Wii Fit. Youngest really got into some of the games. His favorite was a balancing game called Tilt Tiles.


Youngest and Bumma picked a bowl of blackberries. Bumma is freezing them until she has enough to make jam.

Binoculars come in handy when you are trying to find blackberries hiding in the middle of the bush.

Youngest found a ton of berries hiding in the middle of the bushes.


It is mini-Bon Bon's birthday today. We had Rotelli's pizza and made funny faces with her.


We bought her a princess crown and jewel earrings and new princess shoes. Scooter had fun playing with mini-Bon Bon's new presents.

So did she.

And Youngest . . .

And even mini-Scooter . . .

They had fun playing with the new chalk.


Youngest made a guy surfing and he went on the fake surf board.




We ended the night with Poker and Blackjack.

N.O. Day 5: The Kids Are Taking Over

Today the kids took ownership. At one point, one of the kids with us was ripping up some old flooring and need someone to clean up. He called "Who doesn't have a job?"

We looked around and all of the kids were working. Except one of the host kids, a recent graduate. He had worked most of the day laying tile, cutting tile, and, mostly, showing our kids how to work with ceramic flooring. But now he was standing around, because the girls were tiling his room. So this tough, hard-working, well trained, Marine-to-be answered the brand-new freshman. "I'm not." He started walking, looked at me, and said "Those girls have taken over my job."

Another story: During the lunch break, all of the adults: me, the other chaperone, and the two hosts, Bob and Mary, were finishing lunch, and we realized that all of the kids had started working again. We looked at each other.

"Did you tell them lunch was over?"

No one had.

The kids are taking over.

Teaching is one of those weird jobs where your goal is your own obsolescence. We made strides in that today.

Slide show: Day 4 and 5

N.O. Day 4: Re-do; Taking Over; Slide Show

That last post was an error. The internet at the hotel sketchy, and after writing a pretty long entry, the connection went kablooey, the text was lost, the pictures were posted, and I was late getting to the vans, so I left it as is.

Here's some of what it said.

This is the house we worked on yesterday, and again today:



The woman who lives here rented it for twenty years, saving pennies until she could buy it in 1992. So her whole life is here, and everything she's got. It's a double, but she doesn't rent out the other half so her grandkids can stay there when they need to. She is a poor woman who has only ever known this house, and she wants to live here again.

This is the owner with Bob, the Youth Rebuilding New Orleans organizer:But.

Here's the house across the street:



It seems clear that the owners are gone and they aren't coming back. What will happen to this house? The neighborhood was poor and troubled before. If most of the houses are like this one, and they are, the neighborhood will be a haven for junkies and dealers, and crime will flourish.

Plus, we're tiling the whole house. No carpet, no wood, no linoleum. Tile in every room. Why? Because tile will survive the next flood. The assumption is that there will be another flood.

Should this house be rebuilt? Should the neighborhood? If so, who should pay to built houses that are such a risk? If not, where should these people go?

These aren't easy questions, and the person who discusses all of the sides best is Bob. He sees the need so clearly, but he sees the futility just as clearly. And still he shows up everyday and puts in the hours and the sweat.

And he keeps saying "I don't know the answers. You just gotta show up and do your part." And his big wish is that the high school kids who work with him learn something about the system, because they are the ones who are going to have to come with the answers.

On Safari at the Wilds

We drove out to the Wilds with Bumma and Grandpa. As you can see from the pictures, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. The animals were very active and we got to see lots of them!