Down South: Introduction

           I have never been to New Orleans. Over the course of five days, I walked 65.55 miles to get to know her. Not just what you see on TV, in Hollywood movies or distorted tourism rags but the real her. I do not feel my mission was accomplished, well not to the extent that I wished it to be. There is so much life, culture, and history outside the French Quarter, where my hotel resided, that I felt sorry for those who were not daring enough to stray from her tiny borders. Those people felt that the sun rose and set on Bourbon Street and I am here to tell you that is not the case. For all her complexities, New Orleans is one of the simplest cities I have traveled to this year. I do not mean that as a slant either. A simple life is often the happiest life. Do not misunderstand me, she has pitfalls for the naive, as I discovered speaking with people who are native to her streets, she presents dangers to those who are uninitiated. However, I am neither one of those people. Her similarities to other metropolitan areas were abundant, but to date, her differences have been my favorite to discover. I heard many tales while I was there from a multitude of people. But to tell their story in a singularity does a disservice to the city as a whole. For telling their tales in an accumulative sense, can I embody what New Orleans is to me.

Over the course of the next serval days, I will post essays and short stories that chronicle my five-day adventure. I will post several pictures each time to accompany these nail biting yarns as a supplemental means of description. Upon conclusion, I will revisit specific encounters with individuals so I may give them the respect that those conversations deserve. So please enjoy this magical journey filled with wonder and amazement, romance and loss, spiritual awakenings and rebirths. Not to mention a very detailed section on why you should avoid Bourbon Street.