Okay, I know what it

Okay, I know what it means to Miss New Orleans

In no particular order ... free drinks at the Hofbrau; Danny at the Pub; Rick Testa; Blanche DeBris long before she was this incarnation; Arnaud's shrimp bisque; Mr. B's; fried dill pickles; root beer in a frosty mug (what was the name of that place?); David Skeele; playing Verezzi in "Zastrazzi;" my first date with Kevin – he looked like Alan Carr; 421 Royal Street and the amazing balcony; Edwin and Amy; the Can Can; Zelda Rose; Daphne; Rick and Renee; Michelle; Kat (did she marry Paul S.?); Debbie and her spaceman's neck brace; Chris H.; "La Vie en Rose;" the Chair Dance; wishing I was Lestat; waffle fries at the Clover Grill; taking JH to Taco Bell for the first time and then eating it all on his sailboat; Tavi; Laurie and her PBR; KMM and KH rolling their brains out at Jazz Fest -- standing behind really cute boys and draping their white linen skirts over said boys’ heads; Bloody Marys at the MRB -- a garden salad w/ your cocktail; poppers on the dance floor of the Parade; Susan Spicer's restaurants before she got famous; Dixie long necks; Camelia Grill; the smell of burnt oil and grass near the streetcar; really good gumbo; Tommy Tune at Cafe du Monde at 2 in the morning; cafe au lait; beignets; Tipatina's; Miss Mae's; 3-4-1 Thursdays at ... oh dear; what was that bar on St. Charles ... Deja Vu??; my sister taking my return ticket home and nailing it to her wall saying, "this is art" -- I left 4 years later; the NOPD; Lucille's; the barefoot, pinball-playing boy I met at Lucille’s and KLC coming over that same day w/ flowers; Rohn; Becky Allen (sha-reik); that biker bar in the Quarter where we used to eat fried cheese at 3 in the morning; Petunia’s; the Marigny; wanting to blow up that damn calliope, but loving it all the same; Riverwalk when it was new; Cooter Brown’s; Pork Chop; putting sunglasses in your shirt pocket when you went out at 2am, because you knew you’d need them when you left the bars at 8 in the morning; thinking New Orleans Rep was all that – ah the follies of youth; John and Lorraine; my 25th birthday party – the only surprise party that’s really ever worked (thank you Kevin); 25 purple roses; Patty -- my Juliet (R&J) and my Julia (Zastrozzi); discussing white imagery in “Moby Dick” w/ Nicholas Cage in my apartment; the hookers in the slave quarters behind us; Hall and Oates; Winston; Jewell’s; making groceries; Maison Blanche; coffee houses before there were Starbucks; visiting grandma Rose “across the river;” and much, much more.

Standing on the balcony at the Royal Sonesta hotel at midnight, throwing our champagne glasses onto Bourbon Street as the street cleaners were heading down, with the cops on the bullhorns blaring, "This year's Mardi Gras is offically over. Please clear the streets and go home."

It may be the city that care forgot, but tonight I find myself a trifle nostalgic.

(I know I should put in a bunch more links, but please ....)