Those Clever Folks

One of the reasons that Sophie Wright Academy has improved its academic performance and its stature in the city is the hard work and creativity of its faculty, staff, and parent support groups.  And when I say creative, I mean creative! 

Sophie Wright owns its own (confounded!) buses, it has purchased uniforms for sports teams, bands, and spirit groups.  It does this by writing some pretty spiffy grant applications to supplement its budget, and through good ol' industrious ingenuity.  Witness:

Charge folks $20 to park, feed 'em, load 'em up on soda and beer (beer?!?!  And for only $2.00?!?!), then charge 'em to use the facilities.  They do this both weekends before Carnival.  You just have to love such a hard-working and enterprising place!

(Could this ever happen anyplace other than New Orleans?  Unlikely.)

Carnival 2011 -- Weekend 1

My wonderful friend (she who should've been my sister, the one who lives part-time in Little Rock and the rest of the time in Hong Kong) came for a visit this weekend!  She is what is known around these parts as a "Mardi Gras Virgin," in that she has never experienced Carnival.  We're doing our best to make sure she gets thoroughly de-flowered.  Here is a little bit of the stuff we've dragged her to (and made her wear!).

The Krewe of Cork's sashay through the French Quarter.

This is a friend of mine dressed up as champagne bubbles.  Doesn't Moogie have interesting friends?

The Irish Channel Marching Club's St. Patty's Day "Practice Parade" near Harrah's, including SIL#1 as a brand new member.  The wife of one of SIL#1's cousins says she doesn't understand why a bunch of grown men need to practice drinking and marching at the same time.  Well, it's obvious to me why they need the practice -- it's to get their "sea legs" so they can use the porta-potties on the float-in-motion.  That takes some practice, according to SIL#1.

Franky & Johnny's.  They make the best fried onion rings and peppers on the face of the planet (but, you don't want to look at the floor!).

A large black dog on guard duty as revelers head toward the neutral ground.  We sat on the porch soaking up the gorgeous weather in between parades.

Parades, parades, parades!

And, last but not least -- the Sophie Wright Marching Band and Spirit Groups in full regalia (the sound's kinda loud)!

There's still much more fun to be had!  I'm going to go revel a bit more and try not to think about union thugs and Ghadify and the NorKs.  I doubt I'll have much trouble not thinking about them!

Get to Know Zeus' Place: A Haven for Critters

Copyright, Zeus' Place, New Orleans

With all the wicked and incomprehensible nonsense going on in the world, I'm just in the mood for a good ol' feel-good story and this news clip fits the bill perfectly. 

Michelle Ingram is the owner of Zeus' Place here in New Orleans.  Since she and her husband bought a flooded-out building after Katrina, she has transformed her little kennel into a thriving business enterprise where pets are lovingly boarded (including Bouie and Rosie -- yes, they board special needs pets!), groomed, and, literally, saved.  One of their sweet groomers has even figured out that our blind little Rosie won't freak out and is not so very hard to groom if she is simply held in the groomer's lap while getting gorgeous.  Now, that's a genuine animal lover.

Zeus' Place takes its name from Michelle's late chocolate lab, and, as you may have already surmised, the employees are among the nicest people you'd ever encounter.  The front office walls are covered with poster-size pictures of regular "clients," and the large front picture-windows are home to the kitty crates.  Kitties like to look out of windows, so this is the ideal spot for the many boarded and rescued cats from across the region.  In the evenings, the kitties (at least those that work and play well with others) are turned loose to play and romp.  It's a hoot to watch them on one of the many cameras they have set up so that you can monitor your pet, and check out the goings-on at ZP, via their website.

Adoption Days are staged regularly -- there's no telling how many pets have been placed in loving homes as a result of Michelle's hard work and the network she's cultivated over the years.  They even post photos on their website, and Facebook, of adoptables and "visiting pet of the day," along with a little narrative (or poem!) about the critter.

Zeus' Place was also an anchor in Freret Street's commercial renaissance following Katrina.  The transformation of that business corridor has been nothing short of remarkable, considering that it pretty much resembled the aftermath of Armageddon a few short years ago.  Well, I suppose it was smack-dab in the middle of the aftermath of Armageddon.  But today, it's a clean, cheery, bustling street with schools, businesses, monthly Markets, an annual festival, and even decorated bus stop shelters, thanks to the efforts of Michelle and company.

I feel blessed to count the Zeus' Place family among my friends.  I try to donate a little food to them every now and then because, well, just because.  Thank goodness there are such compassionate, energetic people in this sometime-dismal world!

Yesterday, Michelle and friends rescued a starving puppy stranded on an island, and WWL, the local CBS affiliate, went along for the ride.  It's a heart-warming story.  Enjoy!

Thought For the Day

That is all.  You are excused now.

Thank God for Right-to-Work States and Their Thinking Citizens

I must say, I have never been quite so pleased to live in a right-to-work state as I have this last week.

To my way of thinking, the public unions in Wisconsin have shown at least the dark underbelly of their self-perpetuating existence, and at worst, they've shown their intent.  Their intent can be no less than to choke every last concession possible out of the taxpayers even if it means taking down the whole state with them.  What will happen when the layoffs start and union dues revenue falls off as a consequence?  We just might see the leopard's true spots at that point -- and it ain't a leopard at all, it's a jackal.

George Will had a pretty good column today in which he lays out some of the economic issues surrounding the bill, i.e., pension and health insurance contributions by the public employee.  Will notes that Wisconsin's Civil Service law is the source of most worker "rights," not collectively bargained union contracts.  He also compares and contrasts the "leadership" qualities of Wisconsin Governor Walker and President Barry Obama, and it is George Will, so you can count on it being elegantly stated.  And accurate: the Prez comes off as an interloping cheerleader.  A somewhat prevaricating interloping cheerleader.

Most of the debate about this Bill revolves around collective bargaining and economic issues.  What has gotten short shrift in most media coverage of the shenanigans going on up north, however, is the simple fact that Wisconsin public employees are currently de facto members of a "Union Shop" or "Agency Shop," (under which payment of union dues and/or membership in the union is required of every employee).  These arrangements are permitted under current federal law (the Taft-Hartley Act), but not favored, and they lead to some very powerful unions and union leaders.  The proposed Wisconsin statute would require unions to submit to an annual representation vote (to prove that more than 50% of the affected employees want continued representation by that particular union); would permit affected employees to opt out of union membership; and would do away with dues "check-off" (a practice in which the employer automatically deducts union dues from employees' paychecks and turns the dues over to the union -- see also, the Employee Free Choice Act).  I see nothing wrong with these proposals whatsoever.

I understand that some people get a lot of satisfaction from membership in a union, and I really don't have a problem with that.  Let those who want to go to Labor Day picnics with their brethren have their way!  I get satisfaction from supporting several organizations and going to their gatherings, too.  But that is my choice.

Like I said, I'm really pleased today to be living in a right-to-work state where the individual gets to decide which organizations he wishes to join and support.

Now, that whole "demanding that the taxpayer subsidize public union employees' pensions and health insurance" thing is a big ol' can of worms, and I think I'd rather not go fishing anymore today, thank you very much.

A Glorious Friday Afternoon and New Orleans' Finest

New Orleans pedestrians are among the most aggressive on the face of the planet.  They challenge vehicles, as if daring the drivers to hit them.  Their sauntering, I-have-all-the-time-in-the world gait is infuriating.   And don't get me started on the bicyclists.  It's a literal miracle that more of them don't die on the mean streets of the Crescent City. 

Two of them almost did today.

I'm normally a pretty nice person, considerate of others, and willing to wait my turn in most situations (unless it involves major blood loss, or something in that vein).  I always defer to pedestrians when I'm supposed to -- in crosswalks and at major intersections where signs instruct me to yield to folk on foot.  (Well, almost always).  And I always slow to posted speed, or slower, in school zones.  Children are unpredictable and can dart past a crossing guard on a lark, not thinking about the consequences.

Adults should know better.

I was toodling down Prytania Street earlier, on my merry way to accomplish some stuff, and the light turned green for my direction as the car ahead of me approached the intersection at Napoleon.  Two oblivious young women -- twenty- or thirty-somethings -- stepped into the street to cross, causing the car in front of me to stomp on the brakes and swerve to avoid them.  But, even as they looked up to note that they were crossing against the light, did they return to the sidewalk?  Did they even stop? 

That would be a big negatory.

And they kept right on strolling!  One of them was even talking on a cell phone!  (There's a shocker, huh?)

Moogie must've been feeling a little peckish this afternoon because I slowed, and as I swerved around them, I laid on the horn.  That got their attention and they stopped long enough to allow me to pass, after they returned to Earth from their startled leaps into the air.

I didn't see the Police car on the other side of Napoleon. 

He woop-wooped his siren at me, and I briefly thought, well, hell.  I'm going to rot in the Orleans Parish pokey for terrorizing thoughtless pedestrians.  But, no.  This is New Orleans!

As I looked at him to see what he wanted me to do, he flashed me a big ol' grin and shot me a thumbs up out his open window.

Sometimes ya really gotta love the cops in this city.

It's Boom-Boom Time!

All right!  It's time to start getting pumped about Mardi Gras!

Moogie's Mansion is one block off the major Uptown parade route.  There are usually in excess of 20 parades that roll during the last week and a half of Carnival, and the marching bands always practice drumlines while they're waiting to get started.  Consequently, hearing drumlines always gets me pumped for Mardi Gras, and I thought I'd share a bit of that excitement with you. 

This is the Sophie Wright Marching Band, Spirit Squads, and chaperones doing an around-the-neighborhood practice run yesterday, training for the miles and miles and miles that they'll march over the next several weeks.  The little guy on his dad's shoulders in the street is our nearly-2-year-old neighbor, Ren.  He was spitting a cloud of unswallowed graham crackers from his mouth as he clapped and cheered for the band -- his dad told me that when the drums started up, Ren yelled, "Boom-boom, Daddy!  Boom-boom!  Go see!  Go see!  Go see!!!"  So, they went to go see, go see, go see!!!  Without even finishing his snack!  They're never gonna be able to get that kid to move away from the parade route.

Without further ado, Sophie Wright's finest:

Welcome to my World.  They'll do this every day for the foreseeable future.  Often.  They and their sponsors work so very hard.  Ya gotta learn to love it, and I have!