PALM SUNDAY

Palm Sunday; I was in the Quarter at 9;00 and the line outside Cafe Du Monde was already down the street and around the corner. If you like deep fried donuts smothered in confectioners sugar, it’s the place to be. I like the coffee but not so much the beignets. I tried one once and I leave them alone. I had been sampling pralines at the candy store. They set generous samples out and they’re too rich to have more than 4 or 5 bites, maybe 7 or 9. A dozen praline samples is enough to make a full grown praline and they cost $2.69 so I probably only owe them $5 for this time. I’ve been going there since 1993. So passing on the beignets hasn’t kept me out of the sweets. 

Today was the 4th day of French Quarter Festival. There were a dozen or more stages set up in the streets and music was great. Lots of regional funk and dixieland-brass. Some of the local buskers were working street corners with their horns, guitars and keyboards. A 10 piece street band was blowing funk on Decatur Street at Latrobe Park. They were mostly teenagers and the sound was very good. Nashville is famous for unemployed musicians on street corners but NOLA never slowed down for pickup trucks and grandpa’s moon shine and I like where they’re taking it here. 

More people in the Quarter today than I can remember. It’s normal for the police to set up barricades in the afternoon but pedestrians had taken over the streets by noon and cars were marooned in the crowd. I have favorite places but I walk a lot, all the way from French Market to Canal St., zigging and zagging 3 or 4 blocks deep into the Quarter and back. You listen to a band for a while and move along. Just about the time you get out of earshot the next band up the road starts coming in. 

I bought some Cafe Du Monde coffee, a couple of coin purses and a tee shirt. Parking is expensive. I got in early, got a good spot in the shade. As I was walking up to the truck to leave a guy in an SUV called out; was I leaving? I nodded that I was and it was understood. He would help wall off traffic so I could get out and his wife would sit on the spot until he could pull in. Once backed out into the street, waiting on the cars ahead of me the man came up and asked if I still had my receipt (you leave it on the dash - if you don’t have one they boot your car and it cost $90 to get the boot taken off) He was going to give me some money for it. It’s against the rules; not supposed to do that. I still had it, gave it to him. When you feed the kiosk you have to include your license number. My Michigan number was on the receipt but he didn’t seem to care. I hope they had a great day and no bad news when they headed home. I’ll be driving all day tomorrow, listening to CD’s, singing along. “You know I’ve always been a dreamer, spent my life runnin’ round. And it’s so hard to change, can’t seem to settle down. - So put me on the highway, show me a sign. And take it to the limit, one more time.”