Brief historical notes on Austin, WWII, Jacques, and the Moon

[infrogmation]

Two years ago today was my last day of evacucation in Austin, Texas, before I started heading back to New Orleans.

On 3 October 2005 Ms.Hollie and I had BBQ for lunch at Ruby's-- sorry, anyone who thinks that's quality BBQ needs to come eat at "The Joint" in Bywater, New Orleans. The Tex-Mex place our kind hosts tooks us to for dinner that night was much better -- Austin is the Tex-Mex capital as far as I'm concerned. The next day we hit the road, drove the newly reopened but still Rita devastated I-10, crashed in Baton Rouge. Next morning the usually 40 minute drive from BR to NOLA took 4 hours.

A hell of a lot has happened in the last two years, but that doesn't seem so long ago. July of 2005, on the other hand, seems like it was back in the 1980s or something.

H & I are planning to mark the anniversary of our return on Friday by going back to Specialty in Terrytown, where we had our first meal back at one of the few restaurants open (limited hours and menu) in Greater New Orleans at the time.

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Last week Pentomino was visiting town. He thought the nail gun from reconstruction work down the street was gunfire.

Pentomino, H, & I went to the WWII museum, which has interesting stuff and ties in with the Ken Burns series running on PBS.





German "ENIGMA Machine".
In the early '40s taking a photo of one of these babies probably would have gotten you shot.

A "Higgins Boat", via which New Orleans saved the world from Fascism. You're welcome.

I was glad the last episode of the Ken Burns series at least touched briefly on how war often screws up for life even those who escaped without physical injury.

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Monday there were memorials for late musician/bandleader Jacques Gauthe. Things started off in the afternoon in front of Preservation Hall.




A "jazz band", via which New Orleans saved the world from Squareness. You're welcome.


There was then a memorial second line parade-- sort of a tumble, stopping at various bars-- winding to the Palm Court for a memorial concert with buffet. Good music for a good musician.


Tuesday H & I saw the film "In the Shadow of the Moon", about the Apollo moon astronauts. Reccomended!

Comments

[mshollie.livejournal.com]

I have pics from the Jacques Gauthe memorial concert for you. I'll see you tomorrow, so can have them for you then.

[crystalgee.livejournal.com]

Is Specialty pizza still in business? I remember it as being very good :)

Specialty MMm, garlic bread pizza!

[infrogmation.livejournal.com]

Yes, they changed the name to something like "Specialty Italian" (Hollie would know the details). When we went there 2 years ago they offered a "Special Katrina Overcomers" limited menu, and were closing at something like 4:30 to allow enough time to clean up and get home by curfew.

[plorkwort.livejournal.com]

Thanks for saving the world twice over!
I keep thinking of you when I see announcements for this upcoming event (http://honkfest.org/).

Honk!

[infrogmation.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a fine event I'd be eager to participate in were I in that part of the country.

Thanks for reccomending "Shadow of the Moon"!

BTW, did that radar you showed us have any connection to Loomis Laboratories?

[pentomino.livejournal.com]

The best trips are the ones where you do something that would have gotten you shot in earlier decades.

I hopped between East Berlin and West Berlin about 50 times before it got old.

[fofalex.livejournal.com]

I didn't know they had an Enigma. One was selling on ebay a while back, going for the price of a new car, or SUV.