Only in New Orleans, Part Whatever

Three little incidents that fall back into that familiar category, "Only in New Orleans:"

-- Big Man and I are walking down the arcade towards Elmwood Fitness Center recently and we pass two other people coming in the other direction. The first person, a handsome older man who looked Creole, carrying a gym bag, smiled and nodded at us, as he went by, and we did the same toward him. The second person, a younger man also with a gym bag, did not respond at all to our smiles and nods and "heys." As we got farther away from the second man, Big Man muttered to me, "He must not be from here." Of course not -- a New Orleanian would have greeted us, strangers or not.

-- The other day we were in the car, listening to WWOZ, and the DJ was playing Mardi Gras Indian music (Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias) from a music fest at Tulane years ago. When the song was over, the young DJ said, (quoting another traditional Indian chant), "Mardi Gras's comin' and it won't be long, y'all." Big Man and I looked at each and burst out laughing. Mardi Gras's coming and it won't be long?? Yeah, not if you don't consider *6 months* long!

-- Even though September is upon us, it's been raining nearly every day and when it's not raining, the sun is still shining pretty hard. It's not at all unusual to see folks with umbrellas out when the showers are coming down. But here's the thing: the other day, the afternoon was cloudy, but with a lot of sunshine. A young black man was striding down Louisiana Avenue toward the Post Office, holding a big black umbrella over him as a parasol or sunshade. I asked Big Man, "In other cities, do young urban males carry open umbrellas as parasols when it's not raining?" "NO," Big Man said back tersely, "they do not."

Only in New Orleans.