New Orleans--
There is a sign in the Aidan Gill Shaving Store--
thats right , a Shaving Store-- that declares 'Beware
Of Pick-Pockets and Loose Women'-- I'll do my best, I
thought . Mr. Gill's store is on Magazine street here
in New Orleans and it is a place that probably used to
be called a Barber Shop -- they sell all manner of
spiffy old-timey shaving stuff -- brushes and cups and
scented shaving soaps for men . You can also== for 35
dollars-- get an amazing shave. Which I did. They give
you the whole shebang -- the hot towels, the
skin-softener, the crazy-hot lather-- and the menacing
straight-razor shave; applied by the equally menacing
Andre-- who didn't exactly put me at ease by asking me
, "Y'all a Yankee?"-- When I answered in the
affirmative, he replied, "I know some Yankee's"--
whic-- given the fact he was weilding a
straight-razor-- didn't do much for my comfort level.
I shouldn't have worried -- there is something
grown-up about getting a shave-- something mid-century
about it -- it's the kind of thing your dad used to
do.
My wife hates when I don't shave -- I shave maybe
once or twice a week -- my stubble is reddish and
gray-- and my face looks like a Cocker-Spaniel's ass
if I let it go for a week. I look like the world's
best paid piss-bum when I don't shave. So I walked out
on to Magazine street feeling....clean.
Magazine street is a bit like my neighborhood in
Chicago -- Bucktown -- it's full of hip stores and
restraunts that I'm not cool enough to eat in -- it
was also the scene of some of the most Brutal looting
in the aftermath of Katrina -- George Morales; who
manages the Ace Hardware store on Magazine, fought off
looters with shot-guns and Machetes -- he is only
grateful that he didn't have to kill anyone -- the
police were otherwise engaged in rescue efforts -- he
even understood the necessary kind of looting-- food,
medicine, diapers and such -- he took issue with the
other kind -- "I saw a 70-year old lady carrying a
power-saw out of my store-- I said , Ma'am -- what the
hell you gonna do with a power-saw?" She dropped it ,
and walked away. George sees his neighbors in a
different light now -- many of them came to his aid--
helping him fight off looters -- he gave away a lot
of things -- flashlights, charcoal, and things like
that. In is voice is a catch that you hear a lot down
here-- the verbal tremor of people tying to make sense
of events that make no sense -- He relates that he
didn't see a police officer, national guardsman, or
any other law enforcement for 5 days -- his first
responders were fish and game officers.
In the lower 9th ward, my friend Keith Calhoun is
building an arts center called L-9-- Keith and his
wife Chandra are amazing photographers who have been
chronicling life in this neighborhood for over 30
years-- they work with kids in this center providing
what meager art supplies they can afford -- Down the
road I will post an address where people can send
donations-- in any amount-- I spent this morning with
Keith and his nephew Isaiah-- who just recently
finished service in Iraq. Keith and Chandra's photos
are amazing-- There are Portraits of Fat's Domino --
who lives here, Sister Gertrude Morgan on the steps of
her church-- the rebirth jazz band , who formed as a
result of Katrina, to revitalize this place.
These photos are an amazing document of life. What
Kieth is doing is truly inspiring -- and he is
culturally holding a neighborhood, and a history
together, almost single-handedly. Bless him.
Catastrophe has made people here adapt-- to do
something with nothing-- and they have learned the
human lesson of sharing. When they finish working they
gather on each other's porches and tell each other the
day's stories -- the lesson the day has taught them --
they are not poor , they are alive.
Tony Fitzpatrick --
|
There is a sign in the Aidan Gill Shaving Store--
thats right , a Shaving Store-- that declares 'Beware
Of Pick-Pockets and Loose Women'-- I'll do my best, I
thought . Mr. Gill's store is on Magazine street here
in New Orleans and it is a place that probably used to
be called a Barber Shop -- they sell all manner of
spiffy old-timey shaving stuff -- brushes and cups and
scented shaving soaps for men . You can also== for 35
dollars-- get an amazing shave. Which I did. They give
you the whole shebang -- the hot towels, the
skin-softener, the crazy-hot lather-- and the menacing
straight-razor shave; applied by the equally menacing
Andre-- who didn't exactly put me at ease by asking me
, "Y'all a Yankee?"-- When I answered in the
affirmative, he replied, "I know some Yankee's"--
whic-- given the fact he was weilding a
straight-razor-- didn't do much for my comfort level.
I shouldn't have worried -- there is something
grown-up about getting a shave-- something mid-century
about it -- it's the kind of thing your dad used to
do.
My wife hates when I don't shave -- I shave maybe
once or twice a week -- my stubble is reddish and
gray-- and my face looks like a Cocker-Spaniel's ass
if I let it go for a week. I look like the world's
best paid piss-bum when I don't shave. So I walked out
on to Magazine street feeling....clean.
Magazine street is a bit like my neighborhood in
Chicago -- Bucktown -- it's full of hip stores and
restraunts that I'm not cool enough to eat in -- it
was also the scene of some of the most Brutal looting
in the aftermath of Katrina -- George Morales; who
manages the Ace Hardware store on Magazine, fought off
looters with shot-guns and Machetes -- he is only
grateful that he didn't have to kill anyone -- the
police were otherwise engaged in rescue efforts -- he
even understood the necessary kind of looting-- food,
medicine, diapers and such -- he took issue with the
other kind -- "I saw a 70-year old lady carrying a
power-saw out of my store-- I said , Ma'am -- what the
hell you gonna do with a power-saw?" She dropped it ,
and walked away. George sees his neighbors in a
different light now -- many of them came to his aid--
helping him fight off looters -- he gave away a lot
of things -- flashlights, charcoal, and things like
that. In is voice is a catch that you hear a lot down
here-- the verbal tremor of people tying to make sense
of events that make no sense -- He relates that he
didn't see a police officer, national guardsman, or
any other law enforcement for 5 days -- his first
responders were fish and game officers.
In the lower 9th ward, my friend Keith Calhoun is
building an arts center called L-9-- Keith and his
wife Chandra are amazing photographers who have been
chronicling life in this neighborhood for over 30
years-- they work with kids in this center providing
what meager art supplies they can afford -- Down the
road I will post an address where people can send
donations-- in any amount-- I spent this morning with
Keith and his nephew Isaiah-- who just recently
finished service in Iraq. Keith and Chandra's photos
are amazing-- There are Portraits of Fat's Domino --
who lives here, Sister Gertrude Morgan on the steps of
her church-- the rebirth jazz band , who formed as a
result of Katrina, to revitalize this place.
These photos are an amazing document of life. What
Kieth is doing is truly inspiring -- and he is
culturally holding a neighborhood, and a history
together, almost single-handedly. Bless him.
Catastrophe has made people here adapt-- to do
something with nothing-- and they have learned the
human lesson of sharing. When they finish working they
gather on each other's porches and tell each other the
day's stories -- the lesson the day has taught them --
they are not poor , they are alive.
Tony Fitzpatrick --
- bill 2-15-2008 9:05 pm