Shāmgarh I had been encouraged to go see Robert Plant by a groundskeeper at the Chalmette National Cemetery; and he had picked the right guy to sell me on, because I always lean towards the epic, and when you give songs titles like “The Battle of Evermore” you’re certainly at least aiming big. I’ve enjoyed some […]
Monthly Archives: June 2014
Robert Plant at Jazzfest.
07-Jun-14As Long As There’s Love and Delight.
07-Jun-14http://fft3.com/install/success.html From Arcadian Books I headed for Jazzfest, well-armed with sunblock and big cowboy hat. Jazzfest is the last of the great New Orleans festivals, and it ushers in the hot weather. I’ve never been in New Orleans in the summer, but a friend from the city, who is not given to exaggeration, said simply of […]
I remember not that long ago there were used bookshops in all the better little towns in America, and in great cities like New York – which was really at the time just an assemblage of better little towns, with an ethnic flavor – there were very many great used bookstores. Invariably each was staffed […]
The City Immutable.
04-Jun-14The next day I brought my stuff over to my old haunt, Johnny Angel’s place in Carrollton. I had rented a room there five years ago; and I had always been impressed by Johnny, and wanted to get a chance to talk to him again. He had real depth as a person; he was thoughtful […]
My friend Tom and I, after a few beers at a local saloon, went on down to the Mississippi to get a look. As we stood there, the cool air off the river blowing the hair back from our faces, a little man – he was so little I thought he might be a dwarf […]
Mr. Okra.
02-Jun-14As I was wandering around uptown looking at the streets I used to know so well – Birch and Short and Fern and Oak – I heard a high-pitched voice on a microphone crying out: “I have bananas… I have … strawberries… I have… asparagus… I have pineapples.” I turned the corner and saw a […]
My Old Pastor.
02-Jun-14I stopped off while uptown at my old parish, Mater Dolorosa, to see if I could see my old pastor, whom I knew simply as John. He was the only priest I have ever known to inspire me to come to mass every Sunday; he was one of the few priests that I have ever […]
John James Audubon in Audubon Park.
02-Jun-14New Orleans Day and Night.
02-Jun-14I walked along Freret Street to Tulane University, where I looked for Richard Campanella, a New Orleans expert who I thought would be worth talking to about the Mississippi River. But I rarely schedule things – this gives me freedom to be spontaneous, and it allows Fate to determine the outcome of many things, but […]