Dear Friends,

It has been quite an interesting night, one in which I did not sleep, so my words will be quite few today. After our TulaneLSU's Top 10 boudin stands adventure this weekend, Mother wanted to stay closer to home for an adventure yesterday. She has, as you know, slowly come out her coronavirus shell since going into exile twice during the Spring. While we both understand the severity of the virus and the diseases which it causes, thus the need for universal masking, which begs the question why the new TD store does not sell TD masks -- Mother would buy ten! -- we also understand the importance of keeping the economy moving. Mother has devoted quite a sizeable sum of money for spending in the French Quarter's establishments over the next year, so yesterday we started in that quest.

Parking in the Quarter is ample and easy. It was not long ago, though, that you could find free, non-residential parking. Those days are gone, so we found a spot on the street not far from Bourbon. It was only $3/hour with a maximum of two hours. It is a bargain price for parking in the nation's best neighborhood. We walked near buttocks favorite haunt, which I think would make for a great holiday decoration store rather than liquor outlet.

Our journey, though, was to see the state museum at the Cabildo, perhaps the most historic building in our nation after Independence Hall. We had not been to the Cabildo in several years and there is no excuse for such an oversight. We both love the Cabildo, a building which once housed our Spanish government and in which the Louisiana Purchase was made official. It burned in 1788, and then again 200 years later, in 1988, an event of which I have vague memories. Mother was weeping in our backyard as she pointed to dark cloud in the still May afternoon's sky. She entered a deep depression that lasted all week until she received reassuring words from Mr. Sefcik that all was not lost, including one of our family's donations to the museum.

The museum's exhibits, sadly, have not received the due resources or attention such a building deserves. Still, I would like to share some pictures I took during our tour. Before we began, we did enter St. Louis Cathedral to pray. Every day, even every action, should begin and end with prayer. How many of our nation's ills would be cured if only prayer entered the hearts and lips of our citizens. Like Jesus said, "Pray always."

One of the first exhibits in the Cabildo contains 20th century New Orleans ephemera. Although interesting, I think of it as beneath what the Cabildo should host. More historic documents would be my preference, but the masses like things like K&B and Rex Queen dresses. I will say I enjoyed the streetcar paraphernalia, all of which reminded me of my year as a New Orleans streetcar conductor.

1904 Map of the old streetcar routes

First Jazz Fest poster. Although popular, I have always held that Jazz Fest posters are tacky. While appropriate for a great restaurant like Kenner Seafood, there should not be a place for such posters in a home.

Daniel Henry Holmes, whose first store at 22 Chartres Street, which was a building consumed by the massive Marriott, near the corner of Canal, was the seed of the greatest department store in city history.

Summer Snow machine. For more on the history of the sno-ball, see TulaneLSU's Top 10 snoballs.

Napoleon's death mask

The uniform of Col. William Hamilton, worn at the Battle of New Orleans. He later became Surveyor General for Louisiana and Mississippi and then nearly became our governor. Mother told me he is a distant relative from our North Carolina branch.

The current special exhibit in the Cabildo is titled "Chasing the Butterfly Man." I found it wholly uninteresting and a pet project for some rich collectors who collect antique New Orleans armoires. Of all the things to collect in this world, I can safely say a collection of armoires will never be found in my home. These collectors postulate that armoires in the early 1800s that used double dovetails hinges on their doors were made by the same person. Thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars have gone into researching who this person was, and the answer is inconclusive. I could give these researchers some topics that have more historical significance as well as mass appeal. The exhibit is a giant flop. This one armoire was handsome, though.

This post was edited on 11/13/20 at 6:09 pm