The Voodoo Baby lay nestled in the protected side of a pile of debris.  While the picture looks like it’s a natural stone outcropping, it really isn’t.  It’s more like a heap of demolition junk.  You know, cement, bricks, and a bunch of dirt and weeds.

Dominic went over to take a picture of her.  She’s one of those BIG dolls, what are they called?  Something like “just my size?”  This one’s maybe 2 1/2 feet tall.  Like a good fish story, we didn’t actually measure her.  She just gets bigger with every telling.  Anyway, we thought it was kinda strange.  This perfectly good doll lay there on the side of the hill, and nobody, I mean NOBODY ever took her.  She just lay there as days turned into weeks, and weeks into months.  And then it struck us.  This IS New Orleans, after all.  She could be all voodoo’d up.  I mean, who in their right New Orleans mind would WANT to bring a strange doll into their home?  That’s like opening the door and inviting in . . . Chucky!  “Hey Chucky, come on in!  We’d be glad to have a little dolly mayhem!  Maybe you could kill us in our sleep.”

Needless to say, we didn’t invite the Voodoo baby in, either.

But when Dominic was over there taking pictures this bum walked by.  A kinda pudgy guy, pushing a baby stroller.  No, there isn’t a baby in there, just all the man’s worldly belongings.  That stroller is his mobile home.  Anyway, he shouts out at Dominic:

“That’s MY baby,” he says.  “Leave my baby alone.  I HATE you people, always messin’ with my baby.”

Dominic just smiled, and nodded his head like he thought the guy was a-okay.  Then he hustled back across the street.  The homeless guy just went on his way.  Nope, even he knew better than to invite the Voodoo Baby into his mobile home.

She’s gone now.  Some guys came and cleaned up the lot across the street.  They mowed, and weedeated, and sprayed chemicals all over.  I suppose it was weed killer, ’cause the lot looks pretty weed-free nowadays.  But they didn’t pick up the Voodoo Baby.  Nope, they brought a tractor and scraped up that pile of debris and hauled it on down the road.  They dumped it onto an even larger pile of junk, and the doll is nowhere to be seen.  She’s somewhere in that pile of dirt and junk waiting to be dug up.  But that’s a different story . . .

Mad

it’s been a couple of weeks, sorry I left without a word!  I went to a wedding in Albuquerque, and it’s taken me a little while to get back into the routine.  Anyway, I just had to share this hearse with everyone!  I think it’s almost a landmark, it’s probably the most visible auto in town.  I’ve seen other cars similarly encrusted and bejeweled – in San Diego and in Miami.  But what makes this one special is the ‘hearse’ factor!  It’s the last ride everyone takes.  How’d you like it to be in this one?

Mad

back of the hearse

Izzo's Illegal Burrito

Are you hungry?  Me too, at least until we got to Izzo’s Illegal Burrito.  Long ago, Richard and I agreed to try out every Mexican restaurant we could.  It was pretty slim pickings when we lived farther East, but now we’re back on the ‘west’ side of the Mississippi River.  Well, okay, you can see the bridge from our window, but we ARE West of the river!  And don’t even try to tell me the Mississippi meanders around, and crooks back up to the west of us.  That’s just a geographical thing, and I’m not here to talk about geography.  Right now, I’m talking about burritos.

Izzo’s is a Louisiana chain, but there are only four places.  Three are in Baton Rouge, and then the one we went to here in New Orleans.  It’s actually a Metairie address — at 4316 Veterans Blvd.

This place makes great burritos.  It’s also VERY well liked, so we had to stand in a long line waiting to get up to the counter so we could order.  Some people ahead of us got a burrito in a bowl.  It was HUGE!  Richard got a burrito in cayenne tortilla, and I got the grilled tacos.  Everything was really tasty, and you can bet we’ll be going back.

If you’re driving through and need a quick lunch, hey, I’ve got two thumbs up!

(if you live in the area, and know of a great place to eat leave a comment and I’ll check it out!)

Mad

The long line at Izzo's

Izzo's tacos

What a thought! I don’t think I’d really like it out there in the fog, because you really do feel like you’re out in the middle of nowhere on this bridge, and I don’t know about you, but I’d never be able to swim to shore if I fell into the drink.

Anyway, when you head out of town, you’re on the new side of the bridge. It’s a little higher than the other side, and it’s a pretty smooth ride. But when you come back, you’re on the old bridge that was built back in 1956. That side is a bit bumpy, and if you’re prone to it, you might feel a bit, well, seasick.

Oh yeah, and make sure you’ve got three bucks in your pocket, ’cause that’s what it takes to get back to the city.

Mad

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Hi guys,
We drove around town and found ourselves over in the 9th Ward. It’s on the East side of the French Quarter, and around a bend in the Mississippi. In New Orleans, there are 17 “wards” — basically districts. Some pretty cool cats came out of the 9th — like rapper Brian “Baby” Williams, hip hop artist Awood Johnson, better known as “Magic,” and my personal favorite – Fats Domino. His house was flooded during Katrina, and he had to be rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. At some point I’ll get a picture of his house and post it for you.

While down there, we passed a fenced lot. It was filled with broken bits of the city. Flotsam and jetsam, really. Whoever keeps the lot has stacked whatever can be reused on pallets — things like old bricks, slate, and the like. Then they’d built a shed, about the size of a kid’s playhouse you’d put in the back yard. The amazing part is that it was completely covered in mirrors. It looks like they’d cut broken mirrors into rectangles and then mosaicked the pieces onto the house. It’s kind of ironic, don’t you think? This delicate thing of beauty sits in the center of what is still devastation.

Across the street was some fabulous graffiti on the side of a vacant building. Like the glass house, it’s really a testament to the human spirit — that such beauty can exist in the darkness. Yes, it’s graffiti. We’re conditioned to think it’s ugly and destructive. But in this case, it’s rather uplifting. I’m including pictures so you can see these things for yourself.

Mad

Glass House in the 9th Ward

Wicked Good Beans in the 9th Ward

A Good Day in the 9th Ward