The other day (ten days ago to be precise!) my friend Mary called me from "Celebration in the Oaks." The event is a New Orleans City Park tradition that Mary and I strolled through two years ago during it's less than fully realized return after the Katrina floods had turned City Park into a lake. The other day she called to share the amusement at "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," as her niece and nephew danced along, but her call reminded me of my introduction that year to "A Cajun Night Before Christmas."There is just something about Christmas in New Orleans that goes beyond my favorite line from one of my favorite films, "Anglo Saxons go better in the tropics!" It is indeed interesting to go through this particular season of the year in the lovely temperate climate of New Orleans, but more importantly there is just something about the spirit of the whole place that I am missing right now. It could be the playing of "Peace Stories" in St. Louis Cathedral, or walking along the river on a still balmy evening, or the lights along the street, or the bonfires on the river... or just the sense that, like everything else, Christmas is just different in New Orleans and I miss it.
My life right now is an interesting juxtaposition of crazy and peaceful (there is a sense in which that is the nature of the holidays in general, but that's probably for another post). I was recently informed that I need to find a new place to live by the end of the year. The person from whom I've been subleasing my latest residence has decided to make changes in his travel plans and the way he works with this house and his life in London, so in the middle of holiday madness I am also finding myself house hunting. This leads me to a rather keen awareness of how Joseph might have felt while he frantically scanned the buildings of Beautiful Downtown Bethlehem, holding onto the slim hope of a Vacancy sign. It makes for an interesting experience, this scrambling for housing while scrambling for presents. Not that it has dampened my spirits. The fact is, I find this year's holiday to be the most joyful Christmas I have experienced in quite a long time and I am excited about the possibilities and challenges of the coming year.
But I still miss my Crescent City Christmas... So, Merry Christmas New Orleans! Y'all are in my heart!
