Remembrance of Things Past
I was appalled to learn that Emirates Airlines was now providing in-flight mobile phone service and that other airlines might follow suit. Since the public has already displayed epic rudeness on the ground, imagine the cell phone nightmare in an enclosed space at 30,000 feet! Along with sardine-like seating, charges for food and luggage, minimal in-flight service and delayed and cancelled flights, airlines seems hell-bent on creating new customer inconvenience. To realize how bad it’s become, consider what was available for air travelers seventy-five years ago. In 1939, Pan American World Airways introduced trans-Atlantic passenger service between New York and Southampton, England. Their plane was the Boeing 314, dubbed “Clipper” in homage to the graceful...
Read MoreApocalypse Now? Maybe not.
HBO’s darkly amazing new series, True Detective, co-stars Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson and south Louisiana. I use that particular billing because the surreal landscape is such a strong character it’s difficult to imagine its denizens being anywhere else. The third episode had the guys driving through an embattled terrain more wet than dry, and talking about how the land there is fast disappearing. Having lived in New Orleans, I knew this was no plot gimmick. Thanks to logging, drilling, oil spills, dredging and other man-made nightmares, the Gulf of Mexico gobbles up a football field of Louisiana wetland every hour. Every hour! No, that’s not a typo. When the French arrived in 1699, appropriately enough on Mardi Gras day, they christened the new colony...
Read MoreRevel with a Cause
As a New Orleans expat, my favorite Louisiana holiday is January 6 or Twelfth Night, the first day of carnival season. It’s also the Feast of the Epiphany when the magi found the baby Jesus, and it’s celebrated with everything from small jambalaya suppers to lavish masked balls. Costumed guests bask in the purplish glow of Mardi Gras trees while feasting on Creole and Cajun dishes, and the evening’s crescendo is always the appearance of the gateau de roi, or king cake. Gaudily festooned with icing of purple, green and gold, the colors of carnival, it hides a tiny baby Jesus and is sliced and served with much ceremony. Whoever finds the baby is crowned king or queen for the evening and given a special gift. When I fell in love with a Californian and left the...
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