Recharging with Shimmer and Shine

Living in the Louisiana countryside is not as inspiring as it sounds. Though small-town life can be idyllic, it's often boring and wrought with the kind of narrow thinking one can only find in places where there are more churches than libraries and schools combined. And some of those schools are churches too.

That's why, even with the lingering smells of last night's stale revelry, the fresh air of New Orleans is always worth the three hour drive. While there, my husband and I usually spend most of our time in the famed French Quarter - window shopping, eating, and dodging those stumbling drunkards we've come to lovingly refer to as "bourbonites" (so named for their tendency to wander over to Bourbon street and stay there).

Jazz notes dot the air as the sun sets and you can't avoid the sparkle of beads hanging from any given lamp post, balcony, or bourbonite. The people come in all kinds - touristy, local, colorful, drunk and sober. Street performers and even indigents are welcoming. It feels like a city of gypsies.

New Orleans is a sensual place; any hedonist would be happy there. The weather is warm and consistent, as are the people. The food is a heady mix of French, African, Spanish, and Italian traditions, as is the history. The architecture is eye candy decorated by crowds of attractive people and awash in free music.

Each shutter hides a different story, a different fantasy. In one, I'm a pedicab driver collecting people's stories for a book. In another, I'm a street performer by day and writer by night, living in an austere and forgotten corner of the French Quarter. In yet one more I'm just a bland woman on a business trip who longs for adventure - finally sloughing off my skirt-suit for a taste of freedom out on the Gulf of Mexico.


I feel like my creative batteries have been charged by the endless celebration that takes place in New Orleans. The people I've met, the experiences I've had, and the food - oh, jeez, the food! - I've eaten are all material I'm happy to use; and sometimes happier just to collect.

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