It's kind of like a mystery, those guys who sit on the neutral ground in Central City, on South Claiborne near Jackson on weekends. They bring out chairs, and sometimes folding tables. (Actually, sometimes they leave the chairs there all week, waiting for the weekend.) If the weather is warmer than they expected (as on Sunday), they hang their jackets and windbreakers on the limbs of a nearby tree and lift their faces to the sun. Sometimes they are playing cards, and sometimes chess or checkers, and sometimes they are eating. Other times, they just seem to be sitting around talking, observing the passing scene.
I often wonder about them. I assume they live in the neighborhood, pretty close by. Is it a closed group? A club? Is it the same guys each time? Would they welcome newcomers? How long have they been gathering there? Is it a post-Katrina thing? Or does it pre-date the Storm?
I pass them so often that I keep getting the urge to wave. Being New Orleanians, I bet they would wave back.
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