“Happy New Year, followed by tragedy in New Orleans”
We rode a real rollercoaster of emotions this week. The joy and camaraderie of our New Year’s Eve party, followed by the tragic news of terrorism that we woke up to the next morning. Thanks to the many folks that contacted us to check on the safety of our family and friends.
The early part of the week was spent on party preparations – several shopping trips, put up decorations, set up the Bartesian bar area, and finally, pick up the Saj (local Mediterranean restaurant) catering.
We invited folks to begin arriving at 6:30pm, not expecting anyone until around 7:30pm. Wrong – John and Julia showed up right on time and helped with the final preparations. We had around 35 folks, including the various kids (really young adults) that came and went over the night. Here are some pictures of the group:
Those are our neighbours, Roeland and Jules, on the right. Jules brought his famous meatballs to share with the group. Kenny is standing to the left of Diana, and he brought his very popular open-faced muffulettas. Here are Nina (one of Diana’s favourites) and the leader of her fan club:
Diana repurposed Mardi Gras throw hats with New Year’s Eve appropriate bands:
Denny and Kenny organized a special performance from the original New Orleans character that is Valerie Sassyfras:
She set up in the side yard and everyone moved outside to enjoy the performance. Very well received by most (Bad Fred isn’t a huge fan.) I was amazed that McD was oblivious to the whole thing until I invited folks into the backyard.
We’re all getting older. Only six of us made it to midnight:
We woke up to the tragic news of the terrorist attack around 3am on Bourbon Street. I love what Chris Peet, one of our party attendees did to send a message when Bourbon opened up again:
I was reading the paper and thought, “that looks like Chris Peet,” – sure enough that’s exactly who it was, “reclaiming the route for love.”
I joined the guys at the Bulldog on New Year’s afternoon to watch the UT vs Arizona State college football playoff game. UT had a comfortable lead and then Arizona came back to tie things up. Double overtime was very stressful for Thom – he had to go inside and away from the chatter of the group to watch the last portion of the game. UT ultimately prevailed.
On Thursday we celebrated Jack and Mason’s 22nd birthdays (born on o1/02/03) with a dinner at Pascal’s Manale. The girls (including a special appearance by Julia, whose daughter works at Pascal’s) started with oysters at the stand up bar, and then we had a great time in the “Manning” private dining room. That was followed by ice cream cake back at the Ogan residence.
Happy Birthday boys!
On Friday we had the pre-op appointment for Diana’s back surgery. It’s starting to get real and bit nerve wracking for both of us.
In the afternoon we went to the Broad to see the new movie about Bob Dylan, “A Complete Unknown.”
The movie was very well done, with Timothee Chalamet excellent as the young Dylan.
After the movie, we walked across the parking lot to the Broadside Theater for the Willow High School band fundraiser. This was a well done event, starting with a performance by the Willow band. That was followed by the Hot 8 Brass Band – a group that I always enjoy.
Shamar Allan’s son is in the Willow band, and he had organized the event as a fundraiser for a trip the band plans to take for a competition at Disneyland. Shamar’s band gave a fun performance, including a solo from his 13 year old son.
Saturday began with a couple of laps around Audubon park, and then we got to work on taking down the Christmas decorations and loading them up into the third floor attic. We needed to get those down in preparation for putting up Mardi Gras stuff on Twelfth Night – Monday. Not much of a break between the two this year.
Meanwhile, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, David was quite pleased with his completed puzzle:
I started “Table for Two” by Amor Towles this week. I’ve had it for over almost a year and have been waiting for a quiet time when I can really savour it. The book consists of six short stories based in New York City and a novella set in Golden Age Hollywood.
I’ve heard mixed reviews on this from friends – some preferring the short stories, and others the novella. I’ve enjoyed the first couple of short stories quite a bit – very entertaining and well written.
I heard this wonderful song, co-written by Bobby Charles and Rick Danko of the Band again this week. Great music.
A wonderful cover by the Scotsman, John Martyn:
I really like this cover of “Treme” by Mahmoud Chouki, originally from Morocco and now based in New Orleans:
And let’s finish up with something celebrating the good aspects of the Crescent City:
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!