What did I do this weekend besides get dolled up and party with law students at their end-of-semester and Easter celebrations? Why, I journeyed to Harold’s in the Bywater, the best plant nursery this side of the Mississippi, and bought plants and potting soil. Harold’s is a place I would take my father – a plant lover’s dream with its endless and winding paths lined with every variety of green thing that can transform your backyard into one in India. Having lost all but one outside potted plant to Katrina’s winds and the days of scorching sun that followed, it is now time for my gallery to bloom once more. A second trip is in order to purchase another mandevilla and a basil plant. Until then, here are the results thus far:
Aren’t they lovely?
Orleans Parish elections are next Saturday and I still don’t know who to vote for mayor.
Landrieu – out. What exactly was he doing as Lieutenant Governor before, during and after Katrina? I understand that his position is purely ceremonial, but I have reservations about anyone associated with the Blanco administration. I’ll keep him in my back pocket if he says or does something that changes in my mind in the next few days.
Forman – out. Four deputy mayors, two black and two white, will run this city while Forman is off drumming up business out of state. WTF. My city will be run by an elected mayor and not a cabal of politically-correct appointees. Read Ashley’s post on this
… who“s black and who“s white [especially in this racially-mixed city]? If part-time New Orleans resident Lenny Kravitz wanted to be a deputy mayor, would he have to be a white deputy mayor or a black deputy mayor? I guess next, he“ll tell us how having 2 Blacks and 2 Whites will prove that he“s a uniter, not a divider.
Wilson – out. New Orleans as a tax-free city will open up this place to plunderers. How will New Orleanians take ownership for their home and prosper off no federal, state or local taxation? Besides, it’s an old idea that was previously shot down in D.C. It’s all about Peggy and she sees herself in the runoff with Nagin. As we say in Wisconsin, crap in one hand and wish in the other, see what fills up faster.
Watson – out. We need a doer, not a preacher. However, I agree with him that “[City Hall does not want] to engage in honest dialogue about race because they don’t want to offend anyone. They’re scared.” That’s about all the Reverend has going for him.
That leaves me with Virginia Boulet or good ol’ Ray, and I haven’t really seen much action on his part since he ushered in the new year at Jackson Square. What’s a girl to do but get her hands dirty with potting soil to get away from it all?
More yard work is in order – the front yard is littered with dead magnolia leaves and the ferns need a-trimmin’. J has promised to attack the backyard if I take care of the front yard and driveway.
A word of caution to New Orleanians and newcomers: The weeks surrounding French Quarter Festival and the first weekend of Jazzfest are when this area heats up without warning. Anything longer than shorts and tank tops will begin to fuse with your skin, ingested water doesn’t go as far as you thought it would and the heat will have you on your knees in seconds. While I enjoy this time of year and the summer that follows, I advise all of us to drink a lot of water, stay indoors with airconditioning as much as possible and style your way outside in one of many chapeaux available in this fine city of dress-up. Especially in our current state of stress and scarcity of hospitals, passing out and other heat-related ailments are something we can avoid.
Or, at the least, leave it for until after the election results are announced. :-)
Mayoral Debate Reaction
Virginia Boulet
complete twink!
Rob Couhig
sounds like an idiot to me, a real politician
Ron Forman
eh, not sold, but he’d be 2nd pick
Mitch Landrieau
I will vote for Mitch, he came off as intelligent, thoughtful and well spoken (he was here shortly after the storm hit actually, trying to get things rolling as best he could, Lt Gov is a ribbon cutting position mostly so not a lot of clout)
Ray Nagin
I think he needs a rest
Tom Watson
oy! go back to church, and stay there
Peggy Wilson
not practical enough, she has a very high opinion of herself, and I think she’s the only that sees her that way
I don’t understand how your criticism of Mitch doesn’t apply to Ray. Unless studying liabilty issues qualifies as doing something. Actally, I can understand that, but it took him til 1:00 Sat. to announce that city employees would be off Monday. Doesn’t lend much urgency to calls for people to leave town. Doesn’t show much concern for your employees either. He should have been calling for voluntary business closings and setting an example while examining liabilty. That’s not hindsight, I thought it at the time.
bsjd, I am equally confident and leery of Landrieu and Nagin. Incidentally, it was because of Nagin’s announcements and the pleas in his voice that my business closed down and I left town. Also, since I’m completely undecided at this point, I’m going to keep watching the debates until I make up my mind on Saturday. What bothers me is that a clear choice still hasn’t emerged, and it’s less than a week to crunch time!
Good call on the gallery gardening. I’m looking to transform my deck into a veritable oasis myself, though I don’t know of a Harold’s equivalent here. Of course, I can’t take all of the greenery in come winter, so my preference is for annuals that will die anyway. Still need to figure out what’s good.
The NOLA mayor’s race sounds like the biggest circus since the last California governor’s race. Bust out the popcorn and make the best of it.
I wish I were coming down this weekend as I originally planned. July is going to be something else.