Fresh, Hot Wastes of Time

Today was such a lovely day that it was cliche. It was the kind of day that you could bottle up and sell for outrageous prices to deprived Yankees. It was sunny and mild, and we took the St. Charles Streetcar through the Garden District. That’s where all the old Victorian homes live, sitting quiet, genteel, and grand. The streetcar goes up the ‘neutral zone’ of St. Charles – in actuality it’s the median. All the windows in the streetcar were open and letting in the breeze, which carried on it the smell of the blooming magnolias, the grape Jolly Rancher the guy behind us was eating, and a pleasant smell that was apparently from the streetcar which was just like a bonfire made out of cedar wood. The monumental live oak trees had Mardi Gras beads tossed up into them, festooning them with a kind of gaudy spendor. In the lower Garden District, the old buildings had an air of desperate elegance, belying their current purpose as hair salons or locals bars. We passed some truly majestic homes and I loved seeing them. If I ever had to move to New Orleans, I think I’d want to live in the Garden District.

Tonight we’re off to Upperline for dinner.

Welcome to my birthday. It doesn’t seem like a special day anymore, not like it did when I was a kid. Then, it would be weeks of build-up; first the potato chips would gradually have 5/23 as an expiration date, then it would be a real sign it was getting closer when that was when the milk expired. Finally the big day came and I felt like it was really important. Usually I’d have a slumber party to celebrate, and there would be 10 girls in sleeping bags in the living room watching movies on the Betamax. Carrie was always a favorite, because I could grab someone and make her scream during the last scene. I pissed off my friend Debbie so much when I did it that she called her mom to take her home.

Slumber parties and spending the night were the best. Up all night giggling and whispering, trying to prove that you can make someone pee by putting their hand in warm water while they sleep, putting bras in the freezer, putting on makeup while wearing pajamas, talking about boys. I miss those times. There are some times that I can recapture that spirit now with hub. We stay up late after the lights are off and just whisper and giggle.

I’m beginning to wish I brought tennis shoes with us on the trip. I brought 4 pairs of sandals.