New Orleans will take as much as you can give. So, when you read this post, don’t think there’s nothing going on. There is SO much going on (and I am still reeling from yesterday’s 4.5-hour Unifed New Orleans Plan meeting) that I need to take a mental break and smell the roses. My dad is such a rose.
If every daughter were to have a father like mine, the world would be a much mellower place. Retirement and his kids’ busy lives haven’t been easy on Dad who loves projects and lots of time with his family – he’s had his ups and downs. For the most part, though, he is the epitome of “live and let live.”
Conversation with my father this past Saturday night:
Dad: “Hiiiiii, area code 504, tell me, what are you doing?”
Me: “On my way to dinner with some friends. What’s up?”
Dad: “When mom and I talked with you earlier today, you didn’t bring up the recent shootings. It’s all over CNN.”
Me: “Sadly, I’m used to them. The crime is simply moving from Central City to the relatively unpatrolled parts.”
Dad: “Where do you live relative to these shootings?”
Me: “Nowhere close. Why?”
Dad: “I know you go to the French Quarter a lot, and the shootings happened by there, so I just want you to be careful when you go out at night.”
Me: “The shootings happened in a neighborhood called Treme on the other side of the Quarter and Marigny – an area where I don’t normally hang out, dad. But, I will be careful.”
Dad: “We drove through there once when touring New Orleans, didn’t we?”
Me: “Yes, in fact, we did.”
Dad: “Ok, have a nice time … Love you.”
Me: (smiling) “Love you, too, dad.”
How simple was that? My mom would have heard the words shootings, New Orleans and French Quarter and immediately launched into a fit of perma-worry, never mind the scientist that she is. Dad’s … just dad. He knows I will continue going out with my friends at night, and that I probably have the common sense to watch myself. I do.
However, I do believe in the wrong place at the wrong time and that anything can happen anywhere in this city, or even in Ohio for that matter. For that reason, it’s nice to have a quiet guardian angel who lets you go about your business while caring for you from afar. It might just save me and probably has so far.
Yeah, your pop’s okay.
My dad is “cool as a cucumber on ice” (that’s what other people say).
Does he still live in the W to the I?