Whether it’s called The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, or NOLA; Some of my earliest memories are of New Orleans. Our whole family would pile into our vehicle early in the morning to make the multi-hour trip to New Orleans. Once in New Orleans, there were medical appointments to complete, school clothes to shop for, and specialty items to be purchased. It was always an exciting day for someone who was raised in a small town of several thousand people.
We would always return home late at night exhausted from all the activities of the day but filled with wondrous sights and memories. Seeing all of the large buildings, and thousands of people on the streets were amazing sites.
But, my true relationship with the Big Easy didn’t start until I was twenty-two years old. After graduating from college, I was accepted into LSUSD (Louisiana State University School of Dentistry) in New Orleans.
It was in New Orleans that I learned that you eat red beans and rice with sausage on Mondays, and fried fish with white beans, rice, and hush puppies on Fridays.
New Orleans was also where I saw Pete Fountain perform, and watched Pete Maravich playing with the New Orleans Jazz in the brand new New Orleans Superdome.
It was in New Orleans where I learned to appreciate the music of Fats Domino, Dr. John, Wynton Marsalis, Louis Armstrong, and Professor Longhair to name a few of the great New Orleans musicians. I was able to eat candy from the Roman Candy wagon usually found near City Park.
Who could forget eating a Central Grocery Muffuletta in Jackson Square? Watching tourists while eating a Muffuletta and drinking a Barq’s root beer was the perfect lunch getaway from dental school.
I learned about the Garden District, the CBD, MidCity, the French Quarter, the Marigny, The Ninth Ward, Magazine Street, the Irish Channel, Chalmette, New Orleans East, and all the places that make New Orleans special. I found out about “Aints” and “Who Dats.” It was here where I experienced my first Jazz Fest in the late ’70s.
I was able to skip the long lines and viewed the traveling King Tut exhibit three times in New Orleans because LSUSD is just a few blocks from NOMA.
Tourist activities like eating beignets at Café Du Monde, riding the Saint Charles Avenue Streetcar, and taking the riverboat from Canal Street to Audubon Zoo (Where they all ask’d for you) were checked off the to-do list.
But more importantly, it was here that I found the soul of New Orleans. My four years here were an education in dentistry, but also an education about life in the Big Easy.
New Orleans’ people are some of the most unique in the world and come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some of the most talented people that I’ve met were born in, or live in New Orleans.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a big deal. Let me write that again. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a big deal. Mardi Gras in New Orleans begins on January 6 (The Twelfth Night) and grows to a fever pitch until its culmination at midnight of Mardi Gras day. “Costuming” on Mardi Gras day is also a big deal. Getting caught “In the box” on Mardi Gras is a big deal.
The Coronavirus epidemic didn’t stop Mardi Gras. Just like the Coronavirus, which mutated during the year of the Pandemic, Mardi Gras mutated into Yardi Gras. But now, Mardi Gras is back with all the traditional splendor and pageantry.
When I think of the Moonlight and Magnolias tradition of the Deep South, I think of New Orleans. Singer Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco in 1962. Anyone who lived in the Big Easy of the 1970s probably left their heart there.
Over the years I have been saddened by the loss of many New Orleans greats such as Pete Fountain, Pete Maravich, Nick’s bar on Tulane, Tony Angelo’s restaurant, and of the devastation of the great hurricane Katrina disaster. Dr. John no longer sings about being in the “Right Place, Wrong Time.” Magazine St. wasn’t always chic. The “Poboy” sandwiches were at least two feet long and when “dressed” had to be smashed a little before biting into them. Jackson Brewery was still producing Jax Beer instead of selling souvenirs. Canal St. still clung desperately to it’s title as retail heart of the CBD (Central Business District) of New Orleans. “Jazzland,” which opened in 2000, wasn’t even a concept board idea in the 70’s, but it’s gone now too.
I still visit The Big Easy periodically and have a daughter who resides there. This blog was written at the NOLA house in New Orleans (thenolahouse.com).
These few losses haven’t stopped New Orleans. The Big Easy is still the Big Easy, and all these places and events of the past still exist in my memory.
The Big Easy has more nuanced meanings for me now. The fast walks of the past have slowed to a stroll to enjoy the architecture and people of New Orleans. The meals taste better, and time passes more slowly in New Orleans (Not like the frenetic pace of my past), and these are all good things. My affection for The Big Easy has changed much as passionate young love changes to a deeper and more meaningful relationship over time. But the Big Easy has changed too. Much of what I remember of The Big Easy of the late ’70s has been washed away by time and hurricanes. The memories remain, but the places of my past are mostly gone.
The Big Easy that I loved has been replaced by the NOLA of today. But this is the joy and challenge of travel.
Travel and travel memories are individual and specific for each person. I have always loved to travel, and maybe it all started with childhood trips to New Orleans. By the age of twenty, I had visited most of the continental United States, and Hawaii, and had spent almost a month in Europe.
The retirement period, especially early retirement, is normally a period of increased travel. But traveling is not a love that everyone shares. Some people travel a great deal during working years, and after twenty to thirty years on the road, they have lost the desire to travel in retirement. Others do not feel joy or happiness while traveling and look at the whole process as unnecessary and tiring.
Proper financial planning normally provides the means for retirees interested in retirement travel. Many retirees “Front Load” travel while they are younger and more mobile. As people age the desire and ability to travel decline. Thus, the impetus to front load travel in early retirement.
Wanderlust may not be an integral part of your DNA, but for many retirees, travel becomes an important part of the Purpose portion of RWE. Travel affords the chance to experience new places and events. It provides the opportunity to expand knowledge, experience new and different cultures, and create new memories.
Even though the Big Easy of my memories is gone, anyone can travel to NOLA and create new memories. That’s what travel is about!
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